'America has 133 million registered voters,' but '159 million votes' were cast in the 2020 presidential election.
An image widely shared on Facebook suggested that 26 million votes were fraudulently cast in the 2020 presidential election. It's wrong. It grossly understates the number of registered voters. The image depicts a classroom in which a white student asks a question and a Black teacher responds: 'America has 133 million registered voters. How could 159 million votes be cast?' 'That's not important. What's important is that you're a racist.' The post was flagged as part of Facebook's efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) The number of registered voters is difficult to pinpoint - each state manages its own voter rolls, and with different rules; and the numbers change as voters register, move to another state or die. Some states allow voters to register on Election Day. But experts put the figure for the 2020 election at well above 200 million, or far more than the 159 million ballots that were cast. Registered voters David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told PolitiFact there were nearly 215 million registered voters in 2020. World Population Review estimated 213.8 million. That was based on counts done in each state, and those counts were done at different times during the year, ranging from March 1, 2020, to Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the election. Estimates made by experts quoted by the Associated Press ranged from 195 million to 215 million. Ballots cast and counted According to the United States Election Project, which is run by University of Florida political science professor Michael McDonald, 159,690,457 ballots were counted in the November election, including 158,254,475 that contained votes for president. The project is 'the gold standard of turnout statistics,' said Charles Stewart, founding director of the MIT Election Data Science Lab. Another sign that the 133 million figure for registered voters is way off: In the 2016 election, according to the Florida project, 138,846,571 ballots were cast, including 136,753,936 for president. We rate the statement False.
We rate the statement False.
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