Bucks County Board of Elections warns of fake video showing destroyed ballots

The video has been reported to law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Pennsylvania Department of State.

Friday, October 25, 2024
Election 2024: Bucks County, Pennsylvania warns of fake video showing destroyed ballots
Election 2024: Bucks County, Pennsylvania warns of fake video showing destroyed ballotsOfficials in Bucks County are warning of a fake video showing ballots being destroyed.

YARDLEY, Pa. (WPVI) -- UPDATE: FBI: Russian actors made fake video showing destroyed mail-in ballots in Bucks County

Officials in Bucks County, Pennsylvania are warning voters to beware of a fake video circulating on social media purporting to show mail-in ballots being opened and destroyed ahead of the 2024 election.

"The envelope and materials depicted in this video are not authentic materials belonging to or distributed by the Bucks County Board of Elections," the board said in a bipartisan statement on Thursday.

The video has been reported to law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Pennsylvania Department of State.

Officials in Bucks County are warning of a fake video showing ballots being destroyed.
Officials in Bucks County are warning of a fake video showing ballots being destroyed.

The Bucks County Republican Committee wrote "fake" on the video, warning their followers not to be dissuaded from voting by mail in their post about this manufactured clip.

"We have seen the video circulating on the internet showing someone, allegedly in Bucks County, ripping up ballots with votes for President Donald Trump. We immediately worked with our attorneys, as well as attorneys with the Trump campaign to investigate this. The Bucks County Board of Elections has confirmed that the actions seen in this video did not occur," Bucks County Republican Committee said in a statement. "Our County Party Chair and staff all voted by mail because we are sure that our system in Bucks County works and is safe."

They note differences like the shade of green on the envelope being too dark and the paper quality being too glossy compared to legitimate ballots.

"No mail-in or absentee ballots have been or will be opened and counted until election day on November 5th," Bucks County Republican Committee added.

"This type of behavior is meant to sow division and distrust in our election systems and makes a mockery of the people working incredibly hard to ensure a free and fair election is carried out. The Board of Elections unequivocally condemns this purposeful spreading of dangerous disinformation. We will not be distracted from the job the voters of Bucks County have entrusted to us," the board said.

The Bucks County District Attorney's Office and Yardley Borough Police are also investigating.

"Our investigation has concluded that this video was fabricated in an attempt to undermine confidence in the upcoming election," said the district attorney's office in a statement. "Our office is in contact with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who will be attempting to locate the source of this manufactured video."

"Please do not let their scare tactics work... please continue to cast your ballots," Bucks County Republican Committee added. "We will remain vigilant. We will continue to work to help voters and ensure that every vote is properly counted."

This comes as voters have been lining up at sites in Bucks County to sign up for mail-in ballots or drop them off before the November election. The lines have been long in recent days.

Before the fake video came out, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Al Schmidt discussed election security.

"I'm not worried. I know our county partners are professionals, and I know they're civil servants and doing everything they can to make sure every voter in Pennsylvania -- Republican and Democrat -- can cast their vote and have their vote counted," Schmidt said.

ABC News contributed to this report.

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