Voting conspiracy theories threaten midterm elections
Students react to the conspiracy theories surrounding voting
ABIGAIL CAVIZO / NEWS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA
Since President Joe Biden won the presidency in the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump used social media to ignite people’s beliefs that the election was rigged. Amid COVID-19 and quarantine, it was highly advised for citizens to utilize their mail-in ballot options for the presidential elections. When mail-in ballots were initially discussed, Trump took to Twitter in late March, claiming that mail-in ballots would ensure that a Republican would never be elected again.
Since then, a spark of fury erupted throughout social media from both sides of the political spectrum. Mail-in ballots were a topic of heated debate, causing conspiracy theories about Biden fake-winning the election to overtake social media.
Leading up to the midterms, these conspiracy theories have only fueled themselves more. Although some people on social media are spreading misinformation about fraudulent voting, USD junior Riley Lim does not want people to be discouraged by the conspiracies.
“I wish we could just tell people to not believe in misinformation, but it’s difficult to tell people not to believe in conspiracy theories when it’s something that brainwashes people,” Lim said. “When Trump won the election, his supporters just grappled with the idea that maybe he did win. In reality, they just need to let it go, because it’s really snowballed into making people question democracy.”
The weight that these conspiracy theories hold impact the way some view voting today, especially with the midterm elections coming up on Nov 8. USD junior Ethan Vibal explained that Americans need to vote without the influence of others.
“To be honest, I think we should still all be able to recognize and exercise our right to vote, regardless of whatever is out there in terms of conspiracy theories,” Vibal said. “People are going to talk and spread misinformation and rumors, but we don’t have control over that as voters, so it’s our personal responsibility to be able to find the right information to trust.”
With some people questioning the integrity of the government and both political sides arguing over the validity of mail-in voting, the conspiracy theories are further driving polarization.
Lim also recognized the reality that even the action of using mail-in ballots has become political.
“I feel as though some people will just not vote in the midterms because, if people don’t believe in what the other side is doing, voting will fall through the cracks,” Lim said. “There’s just so much polarization that I feel like even if someone doesn’t believe in the conspiracy theory that mail-in ballots aren’t real, they still won’t use mail-in ballots simply because their political party doesn’t support it.”
The problem of spreading misinformation is a nuanced one, also touching on the debate of what First Amendment rights covers. As an American citizen, everyone has freedom of speech under the First Amendment. However, some are concerned with the lack of censorship for these conspiracy theories.
USD first-year Katelyn Chu stated that spreading misinformation around voting is not something that people should take lightly.
“I’d imagine that with midterm elections happening, the people on social media are only spreading more conspiracies about fake voting because they want people to see the Tweets or posts before the elections actually happen,” Chu said. “Voting is an important right, and if people let their biases get in the way of voting, it would be a real shame.”
Biased thoughts and polarization are being spread on social media. In order to exercise the American right to vote, obtain a mail-in ballot or visit a polling booth on November 8.