Fact Check: Does a viral video show a man admitting he threw away Trump votes in 2026?

WASHINGTON, DC: A video has sparked heated debate on social media, with users claiming it shows a man openly admitting that he threw away ballots cast for Donald Trump following the Democrats' victory in the 2026 US midterm elections.

Was a man really caught admitting to throwing away Trump votes during the 2026 elections, or are social media users sharing an old video with a misleading claim? Let's fact-check the viral video.

Claim: Video shows a man admitting he threw away ballots cast for Trump in 2026

An X post shared a video claiming an election worker had thrown away a ballot marked for Donald Trump. The post accused election officials of widespread election fraud and called the footage proof of stolen votes.

A November 3, 2026, post described the clip as "DISGUSTING: SHOCKING footage shows election worker THROWING AWAY a vote for President Trump," and added, "WHEN WILL LIBERALS LISTEN? It was ALL stolen."

The video shows a man wearing a neon vest tearing up a ballot marked for Trump. In the clip, the man also claims those votes were not sent through the mail.

The footage quickly spread across social media platforms and appeared in several languages before and after Americans voted in the November 3 midterm elections.

Other users also reacted angrily to the video. One X user who shared the clip warned, "Loooooong jail term is coming…" Several posts used the footage to support claims of election fraud and questioned the fairness of the voting process.

The video gained further attention amid the 2026 US midterm elections, which reportedly brought major changes to the balance of power in Congress, with Democrats winning control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Fact Check: The video is an old joke

The claim is false. The viral video dates back to 2020 and has no connection to the 2026 US midterm elections.

The footage first circulated after the 2020 presidential election, when Donald Trump falsely claimed that his defeat to Joe Biden resulted from widespread election fraud.

Several US media outlets and fact-checking organizations traced the original video to a TikTok account named "@bigchoppadoe." The original post has since been deleted, and the account has been made private.

The video gained widespread attention in November 2020 as Trump and his supporters continued to make baseless claims about election fraud. According to Business Insider, Rudy Giuliani, who played a leading role in Trump's efforts to challenge the election results, also shared the clip.

Reports identified the man in the video as Dale Harrison from Colorado. He later explained on Facebook that he had made the video as a joke while wearing his Amazon work uniform.

He wrote, "Sooo I did this video in my Amazon outfit cause y'all know I'm always joking!" He also expressed surprise at how quickly the video spread, adding, "And it's getting crazyyyy views!" The Facebook post has also since been deleted.

The video, therefore, shows an old joke from 2020, not an election worker admitting to throwing away Trump ballots during the 2026 midterm elections.