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Live Updates: Snopes Post-Election Day Coverage, 11/05/2020

As counting continues on Nov. 5 and uncertainty reigns, misinformation runs wild. We're fact-checking live.

Published Nov. 4, 2020

A "Count every vote" sign lays outside of the TCF center where ballots are being counted in downtown Detroit, Michigan on November 4,2020. - Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden on November 4 neared the magic number of 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House with several battleground states still in play, as incumbent President Donald Trump challenged the vote count. (Photo by SETH HERALD / AFP) (Photo by SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty Images) (SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty Images)
Image Via SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty Images

Voting in the 2020 U.S. Election may be over, but the misinformation keeps on ticking. Never stop fact-checking. Follow our post-election coverage here.

Jump to see each claim:

More Ballots Counted Than Received? | 'Obese Turtle' Flailing in the Sun | 9.7M Trump Votes Missing in California? | Regarding That ‘Sharpiegate’ Lawsuit | French Bulldog Elected Mayor in Kentucky? | Violence Brewed in Facebook Groups Ahead of ‘Stop The Steal’ Protests | 100k Extra Biden Votes in Fairfax County, VA? | Kanye West Got 60k Votes? | White Supremacist Initiations 'This Weekend?' | These States Did Not Count More Votes Than Voters | Ice Cube Reacts to Criticism | 'Voter Fraud' in Atlanta? | 'Dead' Voters in Michigan? | International Election Observer: No Evidence for Trump's Claims of Fraud | 80 Trump Ballots Burned? | Trump Supporters: 'Count That Vote!', 'Stop the Count!' | Biden Abolishing Second Amendment? | Detroit Voter Fraud? | Background | Claims from Nov. 4 | Claims from Election Day

It's been two days since the polls closed, and America waits while a handful of states finishing counting their votes. And in that void of uncertainty, misinformation flourishes.

As the internet's premier fact-checking site, we've been gauging the truth behind the candidates' claims since the beginning of the race (see a collection of fact checks involving Trump here and Biden here), as well as rumors about the voting process and what Americans can expect in this historic election. And on Election Day itself, we checked misinformation as it was happening.

Now, we've got new fact checks to combat misinformation about the election's results. We introduced "rumor alerts" to warn readers where they should tread lightly. We'll use those posts to send up a flare about rumors/misinformation for which we may not have enough information for a complete fact check with a truth rating, but that we want to warn audiences about anyway.

The election process extends days, if not weeks, after Americans cast votes on election night. Even during typical cycles when a pandemic isn't limiting in-person polling and likely to cause a surge in mail-in voting — a method of ballot-casting that can take officials longer to tally — states are unable to count all ballots and legally certify results in one night.

Nonetheless, news reporters often "call" races on election night based on votes counted shortly after polls close. Those media reports are projections, not legally sanctioned results — and as of the morning of Nov. 5, the results in several states remain unclear.

Make sense of what you're hearing and seeing after the polls close with Snopes' live fact checking below.


Refresh this page for updates.


More Ballots Counted Than Received?

12:38pm ET/9:38pm PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324586816465489921
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'Obese Turtle' Flailing in the Sun

10:24pm ET/7:24pm PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324553097939701761
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9.7M Trump Votes Missing in California?

8:12pm ET/5:12pm PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324519880356450307
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Regarding That ‘Sharpiegate’ Lawsuit

5:54pm ET/2:54pm PT
https://twitter.com/alexkasprak/status/1324485361993543681
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French Bulldog Elected Mayor in Kentucky?

5:19pm ET/2:19pm PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324475603073073152
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Violence Brewed in Facebook Groups Ahead of ‘Stop The Steal’ Protests

4:59pm ET/1:59pm PT
A major new investigation from the Snopes Dive Team:

https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324465994216202240
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100k Extra Biden Votes in Fairfax County, VA?

3:57pm ET/12:57pm PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324455259159302144
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Kanye West Got 60k Votes?

3:40pm ET/12:40pm PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324450912614703105
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White Supremacist Initiations 'This Weekend?'

2:36pm ET/11:36am PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324433516352987137
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These States Did Not Count More Votes Than Voters

2:19pm ET/11:19am PT
Look out for this misleading graphic supposedly showing how voter turnout had exceeded voter registrations in several states — the most extreme example claimed that Nevada had 125% voter turnout.

https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324427067757383681
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Ice Cube Reacts to Criticism

1:39pm ET/10:39am PT
The former N.W.A. rapper tweeted Nov. 5: "Let me get this straight, I get the president of the United States to agree to put over half a trillion dollars of capital in the Black Community (without an endorsement) and N—– are mad at me? [sic]...have a nice life."

https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324420202432516099
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RUMOR ALERT: 'Voter Fraud' in Atlanta?

1:14pm ET/10:14am PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324414116140900353
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RUMOR ALERT: 'Dead' Voters in Michigan?

1:03pm ET/10:03am PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324411503345356801
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International Election Observer: No Evidence for Trump's Claims of Fraud

12:09pm ET/9:09am PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324394826863910915
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80 Trump Ballots Burned?

11:52am ET/8:52am PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324393624927408133
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Trump Supporters: 'Count That Vote!', 'Stop the Count!'

11:37am ET/8:37am PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324390045613203459
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Biden Abolishing Second Amendment?

11:26am ET/8:26am PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324387045272420356
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Detroit Voter Fraud?

9:07am ET/6:07am PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1324351501767188482
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Background

8:30am ET/5:30am PT
https://twitter.com/snopes/status/1323622289703870465
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