In fact, officials said, the young voter was recording a ’milestone in his life.’
Social media posts that claim a video shows a young man is illegally putting other people’s ballots into a drop box are false, say election officials in Lincoln, Nebraska.
In a Nov. 4 statement shared to X, the Lancaster County Election Commission said it was aware of a video showing a young man on a skateboard returning his ballot to a drop box. The commission said the claims on social media “erroneously implied he was doing something wrong.”
Officials say that the video in fact shows the young man voting in his first presidential election and then taking a selfie to memorialize the “important milestone in his life.”
Lancaster County Election Commissioner Todd Wiltgen said any other implications or allegations that this incident is a case of election fraud are “false and misleading.”
Wiltgen says an online group is spearheading efforts to portray the incident as possible election fraud. They said they were suspicious that the man was taking a photo of himself, interpreting it as proof he had completed his task of dropping off multiple ballots so he could be paid.
“It is unfortunate this group is spreading false and misleading information to deceive the public and undermine confidence in our elections,” Wiltgen said.
“They should remove the post and apologize immediately.”
As a precaution, the Lincoln Police Department has been informed about the incident and possible safety implications for the voter, officials said. They said they reviewed the surveillance footage and were able to identify the young man after retrieving his ballot.
“We were concerned about the voter’s safety when we realized commentors on the social media posts were threatening to harm him,” the election commission said in its statement.
Wiltgen said any situation where a voter might be intimidated and threatened for exercising their “right to vote” is “shameful and un-American.”
In the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, security concerns had been a prominent theme among voters.
According to an Oct. 24 report from the think tank Pew Research Center, conducted among 5,110 U.S. adults, including 4,025 registered voters, respondents were split on whether election systems are secure from hacking and other threats.
At least 52 percent of voters said they were confident that U.S. election systems are secure from hacking and other technological threats. Nearly as many, 47 percent, said they were not confident.
There was also a split over whether the election process would go smoothly.
Around 90 percent of respondents who identified as supporters of Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris said they were confident that elections across the United States would be administered well, compared to 57 percent who identified as supporters of Republican candidate former President Donald Trump.