Fact Check: Did viral video show election workers tampering with voting machines in Arizona?
MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: A viral video circulating on social media allegedly shows election workers in Maricopa County, Arizona, tampering with ballot-counting equipment.
The footage appears to show workers inserting flash drives into computers, raising concerns about election security ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
However, the video has drawn scrutiny, and officials have disputed the allegations of wrongdoing.
Let’s fact-check what the video actually shows and whether the claims are supported by evidence.
Claim: Maricopa election officials broke into sealed machines
🚨Maricopa County election workers were caught on video late at night inserting flash drives into already-certified voting equipment. They left for the day around 6:20 p.m., then returned after 9 p.m. and stayed until after 11 p.m. The county says it was just routine work, but it has not said what the task was or why it had to happen after hours on equipment already tested. One of the employees has been identified as Brian Ramirez, the same person previously accused of deleting files ahead of the 2020 Arizona audit. This is the same county that admitted installing new memory cards after logic and accuracy testing in 2022, right before machines failed on Election Day.
— Pascal Najadi (USSF) (@imPascalNajadi1) October 14, 2026
An X user shared the footage, claiming, “New video evidence of Maricopa election officials illegally breaking into sealed election machines after they were tested, reprogramming memory cards, and reinstalling them.”
The video's caption also alleged, “59% of these machines would shut down on election day in GOP areas They’ve been CAUGHT.”
Another X user shared the claim, writing, “Maricopa County election workers were caught on video late at night inserting flash drives into already-certified voting equipment.”
🚨BREAKING🚨 New *video evidence* of Maricopa election officials illegally breaking into sealed election machines after they were tested, reprogramming memory cards, and reinstalling them 59% of these machines would shut down on election day in GOP areas They’ve been CAUGHT https://t.co/a0ZR95bXsH
— Deep Leaks (@DeepLeaksHQ) October 16, 2026
The post further alleged, “They left for the day around 6:20 pm, then returned after 9 pm and stayed until after 11 pm. The county says it was just routine work, but it has not said what the task was or why it had to happen after hours on equipment already tested.”
The post then identified one of the employees as Brian Ramirez, claiming he was “the same person previously accused of deleting files ahead of the 2020 Arizona audit.”
It also alleged, “This is the same county that admitted installing new memory cards after logic and accuracy testing in 2022, right before machines failed on Election Day."
Fact Check: False, no evidence to back the viral claim
The claim is false. The video does not show election workers engaging in illegal activity.
Instead, it shows a routine procedure livestreamed by Maricopa County officials in 2022. Multiple fact-checkers have also examined the footage and explained its context.
The video contains timestamps from October 14, 2022, and comes from Maricopa County’s public livestream of its Ballot Tabulation Center.
It shows workers installing memory cards containing the election program, which had passed the required Logic and Accuracy (L&A) testing on October 11, 2022.
The workers then ran a limited number of test ballots to verify the installation, reset the machines and sealed them for delivery to vote centers.
Election officials routinely perform these steps before elections, and the county did not conduct the procedure in secret.
Maricopa County officials, election experts and fact-checking organizations have explained that the process followed standard election procedures.
They found no evidence that workers illegally opened sealed machines, reprogrammed memory cards without authorization or committed misconduct.
A judge also found related claims in a lawsuit challenging the 2022 election unconvincing.
The captions added to the viral video, including “BREAKING THE SEALS AND REMOVING MEMORY CARDS” and “REPROGRAMMING THE MEMORY CARDS,” misrepresent the activity shown in the footage.
