Fact Check: Did Texas find 20M new fraudulent votes that flipped the state blue?
AUSTIN, TEXAS: After the historic Democratic victory in the midterm elections, a rumor is circulating on social media claiming that Texas found 20 million new fraudulent voters who flipped the state blue. The claim has sparked concern and criticism, with many users skeptical and calling for a fact-check.
Claim: Texas found 20M new fraudulent votes
After Democrats in Texas flipped a Senate seat, won 14 House seats, and won the governor's office in this year’s midterm elections, a claim appeared online alleging that it happened only because the party fraudulently "found" 20 million new voters who all voted blue.
An X post sharing the claim stated, “There's no chance Texas found 20 million new voters who voted exclusively 100% for Democrats. It's fraud!"
The claim also spread on Facebook and other platforms, collectively garnering hundreds of thousands of views as of this writing.
Fact Check: No credible evidence to support the claim
The claim, however, is false, as there is no proof that the Democratic Party in Texas fraudulently "found" and registered 20 million new voters to influence the November 3 election.
According to its secretary of state, Texas had just over 19 million registered voters by mid-October, and the figures from that office showed the number of registered voters had risen by about 2% since the presidential election in 2024.
Between 2022 and 2024, the number of registered voters rose about 5.4%, and an additional 20 million voters would have created a 107.4% increase in registered voters since 2024 or a 113.2% increase since 2022.
According to the state’s unofficial voter turnout figures, 9,850,031 people voted in person or by mail in the recent election, which is only a little more than half of Texas' registered voters.
Hence, Democrats couldn't have fraudulently "found" 20 million people to influence the election results, as fewer than half that number voted in the elections at all.
James Talarico flips Texas Senate seat for Democrats
Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in the state’s Senate race, flipping a Republican-held seat that has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988.
The result is seen as a major setback for President Donald Trump, who endorsed Paxton over incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn during the party’s primary contest.
Talarico’s campaign focused on the rising cost of living, economic inequality, and concerns over the influence of wealthy donors in American politics.
