Republicans Reprise Unfounded Claims of Widespread Election Interference

As voters went to the polls, prominent conservatives latched onto glitches and other problems at polling stations to claim — without presenting evidence — that the results were being rigged.

Election machines briefly went down in Cumberland County, N.J., a state where the governor’s race is seen as a bellwether of President Trump’s second term. The problem was quickly resolved and voting resumed, according to an election commission official reached by telephone. A series of bomb threats in the state — a reprise of threats in several states in last year’s presidential election — also turned out to be a hoax.

In Pennsylvania, independent voters were left off the voter rolls for state judicial and municipal races in Chester County, a swing district with a recent history of election disinformation. The county announced that it had replaced the voter rolls, and voting hours were extended as local officials vowed that all ballots submitted by those who chose to cast them in person would be counted.

The problems were enough for Jack Posobiec, the conservative podcaster, to make a sweeping claim of intentional interference across multiple states.

“We are seeing a coordinated attack to suppress Election Day voting,” he wrote on X. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The reflex to declare interference shows how much the conduct of elections continues to animate Republican politics — at least in races where the party’s candidates could be headed to defeat.