There have been concerns about voting irregularities in the 2024 election amid allegations that it was “rigged” in favor of President Donald Trump.
These concerns center around data analysis of so-called “drop-off” votes in states across the country on the backdrop of comments made by the president involving Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly Twitter.
Newsweek has contacted the White House, X’s press office, and the Department of Justice via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Trump frequently pushed the unproven claim that the 2020 election was rigged against him in favor of Joe Biden. There are new allegations of results “consistent with vote manipulation” in the 2024 election, where Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris.
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What to Know
Two election integrity groups have suggested that analysis of voting behavior in 2024 swing states could indicate irregularities.
All allegations that the 2024 election was rigged are speculative, and there are no investigations examining the claims. The claims have not contested the election results as a whole.
On Tuesday, the Election Truth Alliance (ETA), a self-described nonpartisan nonprofit organization that was founded in December 2024, said its analysis in Clark County, Nevada, produced results “consistent with vote manipulation.”
Newsweek has contacted ETA via email outside of regular office hours.
The claims were based on the drop-off vote rate in Nevada, a swing state Trump won in 2024, which was higher than the historical average for presidential elections, according to the ETA. The group also said there was an apparent “spike” in Trump’s votes when tabulation machines processed a higher volume of ballots.
“Drop-off vote” refers to the difference between the votes cast in the presidential race, i.e. at the top of the ballot, and those cast in statewide elections, such as Senate races that a voter can find further down the ballot, held the same day.
ETA said that while drop-off votes for candidates are not unusual, the consistency of Harris’ underperformance in numerous counties across the swing states “warrants a thorough review.”
In 2024, Trump received 493,052 votes in Clark County, with the losing GOP candidate for a Senate seat, Sam Brown, getting 441,057. This is a difference of 51,995 votes, amounting to 10.5 percent drop-off.
In comparison, Harris won 520,187 votes, with Senator Jacky Rosen getting 514,662 votes, amounting to a 1.06 percent Democratic drop-off. Trump won Nevada overall in November by nearly 50,000 votes.
In comparison, the GOP drop-off in Clark County in 2016—there was no Senate election in Nevada in 2020—was 5.1 percent, while the Democratic drop-off was 3.9 percent. The drop-off rate between 2016 and 2024 more than doubled in Trump’s favor.
In December 2024, SMART Elections, a nonpartisan project focused on improving election security, also said that analysis of drop-off votes in key swing states at the 2024 election “seems strange.”
Newsweek has contacted SMART Elections via email outside of regular office hours.
In a blog post, the group noted that its findings are not proof that the last election results were “incorrect or manipulated.”
The group also listed reasons why there might be a significant drop-off in presidential votes compared to statewide elections. These include pro-Palestinian voters not wanting to support either candidate, new Republican voters only caring about Trump, and potential racial or gender biases against Harris causing her to underperform.
On the eve of Trump’s second inauguration, several critics of the president suggested he was openly discussing how Musk helped rig the race in the key swing state of Pennsylvania.
While speaking at a rally on Sunday, January 19, in Washington, D.C., Trump said Musk had an understanding of the voting machines used in Pennsylvania “better than anybody,” adding: “And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide.”
Tristan Snell, a former assistant attorney general for New York and vocal Trump critic, wrote on X that he was admitting Musk “rigged the election for me” with these remarks.
What People Are Saying
The Election Truth Alliance wrote in a January 21 statement: “Drop-off vote abnormalities across multiple swing states indicate potential manipulation at the county level, and a consistent underperformance by Candidate Harris across five separate states warrants further investigation.”
SMART Elections wrote in a December 12 blog post: “There are often many more votes for the Republican presidential candidate (Trump) than for the Republican Senate candidate (or major down-ballot race). Especially in the swing states, we did not find this on the Democratic side. Instead, on the Democratic side, we find an opposite phenomenon. There are a large number of votes for the Democratic Senate candidate (or major down-ballot race) where there is no vote for the Democratic presidential candidate (Harris).”
Tristan Snell, former assistant attorney general for New York, posted on X on January 19: “Trump at a rally—Elon Musk rigged the election for me. CNN—crickets. NY Times—crickets. Washington Post — crickets. The mainstream media has already given up and died.”
What Happens Next
Democratic New York Representative Daniel Goldman has called for an investigation into Trump’s “vote-counting computers” comment regarding Musk.
It is unlikely the Department of Justice or FBI, under the Trump administration, will investigate allegations of 2024 election vote rigging at the federal level.
