A viral image shared on X, formerly Twitter, claims the state of Pennsylvania sent out 1,823,148 ballots during the 2020 presidential election but got back 2,589,242.

Large-scale cheating! 💯 pic.twitter.com/83j3ci37Ly

— Israel & USA forever (@israelUSAforeve) September 16, 2024

Verdict: False

According to data available on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s website, a total of 1,823,148 mail-in ballots were requested during the state’s 2020 primary election, not the general election. Similarly, a total of 6,915,283 votes “were recorded as cast” during the general election in 2020, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website.

Fact Check:

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ruled that mail-in ballots without the correct date on their envelopes “cannot be counted in elections,” according to Fox News. The decision reversed a ruling from a lower court, The Hill reported.

The X image, viewed over 10,000 times as of writing, claims the state of Pennsylvania sent out 1,823,148 ballots during the 2020 presidential election but got back 2,589,242. “Pennsylvania sent out 1,823,148 mail-in ballots. They got back 2,589,242. This is blatant evidence of large-scale cheating,” the image reads.

The claim is false. Data available on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s website shows a total of 1,823,148 mail-in ballots were requested during the state’s 2020 primary election, not the general election. According to PolitiFact, which cited data from the Pennsylvania Department of State, “nearly 1.5 million absentee and mail-in ballots were ultimately cast.” (RELATED: No, ABC News Did Not Put Out Memo Telling Moderators To Fact Check Trump, Not Harris, At Debate)

Likewise, according to Early Voting Statistics for Pennsylvania highlighted by the U.S. Elections Project, a total of 3,087,534 mail-in ballots were requested for the 2020 general election, while a total of 2,629,672 mail-in ballots were returned.

In addition, the claim that there were “more votes than voters” in the Pennsylvania 2020 general election has been fact-checked by the Pennsylvania Department of State. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website, 6,945,045 registered voters “successfully cast a ballot” in the November 2020 general election, while a total of 6,915,283 votes “were recorded as cast” during the same election. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of State directed Check Your Fact to this information when contacted for comment.

Furthermore, besides Politifact, The Associated Press, Reuters, and USA Today all previously reported the claim was false.