Fact check: Biden won popular, Electoral College votes in several battleground states

Chelsey Cox, USA TODAY
·7 min read

The claim: Trump won the 2020 election based on legal votes

A Nov. 17 claim posted to Facebook says President Donald Trump is the true winner of the popular vote in the 2020 election — if "legal" votes are considered.

"I have maintained since election night that Trump is the clear winner, counting the legal votes. But he’s only 23,800 votes away from winning by a squeaker even if you use the crooked vote tallies widely reported by Associated Press," begins a post on the Facebook page for Clean TV.

Clean TV is a media site owned by publicity agency Special Guests. The agency specializes in bookings for conservative news and talk shows, according to its website.

The post is a synopsis of an attached video by Jerry McGlothlin of "20 Days to Save the USA." He is also credited as CEO of Clean TV on a LinkedIn page. "20 Days to Save the USA" is the name of a virtual media/news conference featuring conservative pundits and the religious right, according to its website.

In his video, McGlothlin says Trump won the popular vote in 48 states except California and New York and needs to flip only 23,800 votes from President-elect Joe Biden to win the presidency.

"Those would have to come from Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia to give a tie of 269 to 269 and with a majority of Republican state delegations, Trump would win the presidency for a second term," McGlothlin said.

In an email to USA TODAY, McGlothlin said he stated Trump won the combined popular vote in 48 states.

Biden leads Trump by over 6.8 million popular votes. Six swing states — Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia — have certified the president-elect as the winner of the popular and Electoral College vote, USA TODAY has reported.

The claim relies on false allegations of illegal ballot tabulation and software failures that helped Biden edge out Trump in key swing states. Election officials say there was no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election, according to USA TODAY.

Trump could reach 269 Electoral College votes in AZ, WI, GA

The Electoral College vote total for Trump stands at 232 and Biden has 306, according to USA TODAY. The final count was solidified on Nov. 19 when the Associated Press declared Biden the winner in Georgia after a recount.

The claim suggests Trump can "flip" votes in Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia to tie Biden in Electoral College votes. "This is only if Trump’s legal team is able to shift 22,500 votes, but with all the vote fraud, they should be able to do better than this," it says.

More: Can Electoral College really tie at 269 to 269 ? Yes. It's not likely but here's how it works

The post predates the Georgia recount results, which Biden won by 12,670 votes. Biden beat Trump in Arizona by 10,457 votes and in Wisconsin by 20,608 votes, according to USA TODAY.

But Trump could make up for a loss in Georgia, the claim says, by "shifting" 47,000 in Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

McGlothlin and Clean TV claim software from Dominion Voting Systems flipped votes in Pennsylvania from Trump to Biden. USA TODAY has already rated this assertion false.

Trump and the Republican Party filed lawsuits to challenge election results in six battleground states; most have been dismissed by judges. The lawsuits are unlikely to affect many votes, the AP stated on Nov. 6.

A lawsuit filed in Wisconsin and one of the four filed in Arizona are pending, USA TODAY reported.

A suit filed in Pennsylvania against the state government by several voters and GOP candidates alleging unconstitutional mail-in voting rules was dismissed by the state Supreme Court on Saturday, USA TODAY reported. Allies appealed the decision to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post.

Biden was certified as the winner on Nov. 24.

More: Fact check: Dominion voting machines didn't delete votes from Trump, switch them to Biden

Miscounts, election fraud in Michigan, according to signed statements

A lawsuit filed on Nov. 11 in Michigan includes over 100 signed affidavits by people alleging poll watchers had limited access to vote-counters, according to the Detroit Free Press. The suit is pending; a prior lawsuit was dismissed by a judge.

"There are 131 signed affidavits in Michigan of cheating for Biden in Michigan so the courts shouldn’t hesitate," says the claim about flipping 73,000 votes in the state for Trump.

A similar claim about election workers blocking the vote-counting from poll watchers in Pennsylvania is unsubstantiated, according to CBS News.

The Michigan affidavits also alleged ballot counting errors, backdating and a computer glitch in Antrim County in the northern part of the state, but no proof of widespread fraud or misconduct was determined from the signed statements, according to the Free Press.

Most of the statements centered around the TCF Center in Detroit, but the Free Press reported more than 134 Republican poll challengers were allowed into the TCF and hundreds more into the area where votes were counted.

The glitch discovered in Antrim County was blamed on Dominion voting machines in a signed affidavit, but it was a mistake on the part of County Clerk Sheryl Guy, who is a Republican, according to the Free Press.

The paper reported that election information for some races was updated for affected precincts, instead of all precincts in the state. Vote totals were scrambled due to flaws in the update. Once flagged by poll watchers, the error was quickly corrected by Guy and other county officials.

On Nov. 23, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted to certify election results, declaring Biden the winner of the popular vote, according to USA TODAY.

Our rating: False

We rate this claim FALSE, based on our research. The claim references unproven and falsified allegations to support statements about flipping votes in battleground states from Biden to Trump. There is no evidence to support claims of cheating, outstanding software glitches or illegal voting in the 2020 presidential election.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This fact check is available at IFCN’s 2020 US Elections FactChat #Chatbot on WhatsApp. Click here, for more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Biden won in several battleground states

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Opening statements set for Monday in Trump's hush money case

    A full jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money case, setting the stage for opening statements next week in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

  • 'City within a city': Montreal announces plan for 40,000-person neighbourhood

    MONTREAL — After several false starts, the City of Montreal announced on Friday a new vision to redevelop a former horse racing track into a neighbourhood for up to 40,000 people. Calling the project a "city within a city," Mayor Valérie Plante said half the 20,000 units planned for the site in and around the old Hippodrome will be reserved for affordable housing. For years city officials have tried to build on the site — the most recent failure was in the fall in 2022, when Plante couldn't get

  • UPDATE 1-Lululemon to shutter Washington distribution center, lay off 128 employees

    Lululemon Athletica will close its distribution center in the state of Washington at the end of the year and lay off more than 100 employees, the apparel retailer told Reuters on Friday. The Vancouver-based firm will shutter the Sumner distribution center as part of its business optimization effort and cut 128 jobs beginning June 21, according to a WARN notice filed with the state's Employment Security Department. The move comes at a time when Lululemon is seeing slowing demand for its premium athleisure in North America, where excessive inventory levels at sporting retailers has resulted in lower orders for sportswear and apparel firms.

  • Here’s how Phish is using the Sphere's technology to give fans something completely different

    Phish opened its four-night stay at the Sphere Thursday with a four-hour show that used the advanced technology in the $2.3 billion arena to deliver a show that even the band's most ardent fans have never experienced before. “We came in really wanting to do a show that was a great Phish show,” said co-creative director Abigail Rosen Holmes. While Phish shows usually get their visual punch from lighting guru Chris Kuroda’s massive lighting rig, these shows are completely different as the band uses custom visuals on the 160,000-square foot 16K-by-16K LED screen.

  • Tesla, Boeing, Big Tech earnings, PCE data: What to watch

    As the week draws to a close at Yahoo Finance, anchors Julie Hyman and Madison Mills preview the key events to watch in the upcoming week. Earnings results will be in focus. Tuesday sees a number of big names reporting, such as Tesla (TSLA), PepsiCo (PEP), and General Electric (GE). On Wednesday, Boeing (BA) will unveil its first quarter earnings, an eagerly anticipated report as the company continues to navigate significant headwinds and operational challenges. There are also earnings from Big Tech companies Meta (META), Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT). Friday energy giants Chevron (CVX) and ExxonMobil (XOM) are scheduled to release their earnings reports, providing insights into the health and dynamics of the oil market. Last, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, will be released on Friday. It's a crucial metric for the central bank's future monetary policy decisions. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime. This post was written by Angel Smith

  • TSS Rovers FC replace Victoria Highlanders in Canadian Championship field

    TSS Rovers FC are replacing the inactive Victoria Highlanders in this year's Canadian Championship and will face Pacific FC of the Canadian Premier League in the preliminary round. The Highlanders secured the Canadian championship berth by winning League1 B.C. in July. But the club announced earlier this month that it will not operate a men's or women's team this season. "Despite our best efforts over the past two months we have been unable to reach an agreement with the new owners of League1 B.

  • Stock Market Action Plan: Tesla, Microsoft, Boeing, Google, Meta Headline A Big Earnings Week

    The stock market wades into the thick of earnings season with Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Boeing and other leading names due to report.

  • Arteta backs scrapping of FA Cup replays as Accrington posit boycott

    The Arsenal manager said the current fixture situation is ‘not healthy’ for top players while he highlighted European leagues helping their clubs

  • P.E.I. teachers' union concerned about lack of subs for French classes

    The union representing Prince Edward Island public school teachers says the current lack of substitutes, particularly those who can teach in French, is causing challenges in classrooms. The P.E.I. Teachers' Federation (PEITF) says if not dealt with, the shortage could lead to the kind of dire situations happening in some other provinces, such as schools cancelling classes. "We're scared that because of the shortage in the rest of the country, it's going to be even more difficult to recruit in th

  • Seven times weather unexpectedly changed the course of history

    History books are full of tragic storms, but there are plenty of major global events that were silently shaped by the weather on those fateful days.

  • Cam Booser walked away from baseball in 2017 and became a carpenter. Now he's in the major leagues

    PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cam Booser thought he was done with baseball seven years ago. Turns out, baseball wasn't done with him. The left-handed pitcher walked away from the game in 2017, discouraged by a string of injuries from Tommy John surgery to a broken back sustained when he was hit by a car while riding his bike, and self-inflicted wounds like a 50-game drug suspension. He returned home to Seattle and poured himself into carpentry, working on acoustical ceilings. He was good at it, just not as

  • US House set to vote on foreign aid package: What's in it?

    The US House of Representatives is set to vote on a foreign aid package over the weekend which will give billions of dollars in support to several regions including Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region. In addition, a bill forcing ByteDance's divestment from TIkTok has found its way into the package. While there is sure to be pushback from either side of the aisle, is there enough bipartisan goodwill to see the package passed? Stifel Chief Washington Policy Strategist Brian Gardner joins Market Domination Overtime to give insight into the House Foreign Aid package and the chances of it passing. On the chances of it passing, Garner claims the bill "will go to the Senate and I suspect it will ultimately pass. The TikTok issue was something that was kind of interesting because there was some apprehension about the TikTok legislation by some Senate Democrats, among others, that's apparently been addressed. So you're going to have a series of individual votes on these different bills that are going to be cobbled together, merged together, sent to the Senate, and I think it passes. " For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Shelter celebrates Taylor Swift album release with kitten listening party

    The Atlanta Humane Society celebrated Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, with a kitten listening party (AP Video: Sharon Johnson)

  • TC Energy reduces pressure on pipeline segment as rupture investigation continues

    CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. says it has reduced the pressure on a segment of its NGTL pipeline system in Alberta while an investigation continues into the cause of a rupture that occurred earlier this week. The Calgary-based pipeline company says it made the decision to reduce pressure on the segment out of an "abundance of caution," and in consultation with the Canada Energy Regulator. The rupture that occurred on a section of the NGTL natural gas pipeline system on Tuesday sparked a wildfire nor

  • Gogglebox's Jenny confused by "dark" dramas

    Friday's (April 19) episode of Gogglebox saw Jenny get confused by "dark" dramas in a hilarious clip.

  • Police pursuit ends in fatal crash at intersection in Stuart

    A police pursuit Thursday night ended in a "traffic fatality," Stuart police said, killing a 76-year-old man.

  • 5 key issues that must be addressed on Tesla's upcoming analyst call for the stock to avoid even 'darker days,' Wedbush says

    Tesla's call on Tuesday must address issues from China to AI in order to appease restless investors, analyst Dan Ives said.

  • Hockey fans score a win with Canadian playoff weather this weekend

    Fans will flock to see four Canadian teams duke it out this weekend as the NHL playoffs begin

  • Kings hoping goaltender Cam Talbot can return to early form as Stanley Cup playoffs begin

    EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — It would be an understatement to say that Cam Talbot's season has been a roller coaster. The Los Angeles Kings, though, are hoping their veteran netminder's game is ascending heading into the Stanley Cup playoffs. “My game is at a place where I like it, but there’s always room for improvement,” Talbot said. “Any time we get a practice day, which is often anymore, I try to take advantage of it.” Talbot signed a one-year contract with the Kings during the offseason, his f

  • Hamilton man due in court after being accused of strangling dog, threatening 2 women

    Hamilton man due in court after being accused of strangling dog, threatening 2 women