Social media users have been sharing content online that claims that eight key election states had a higher number of votes cast than there were registered voters, therefore being evidence of electoral fraud. This claim is false as the numbers of registered voters presented are outdated.
Examples can be seen here and here .
The posts show a table which lists Nevada, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Georgia. The table compares the number of registered voters, projected votes and percentage of turnout for each state.
The table lists its two sources as realclearpolitics.com and a worldpopulationview.com URL. This URL ( here ) no longer reflects the numbers in the claim, as it has likely been updated since. Most of the states listed had a significantly higher number of registered voters closer to the election.
The post implies that the high vote projection and high turnout (often higher than the registered voters mentioned in the list) for these eight states is proof of fraud, with one post reading, “Sometimes the obvious is right in front of our face but the media won’t mention it which allows the authorities to ignore it.”
A live Reuters count of the number of votes cast in the 2020 presidential election can be found here , selectable by state here .
NEVADA
The posts give Nevada’s registered voters total as 1,277,000 and projected votes as 1,593,143.
Nevada has same day registration available, so registered voter numbers may have increased on the day of the election ( here and here ) .
As of this article’s publication, Nevada’s voter turnout has been 69.99% for having 1,821,864 active registered voters and 1,275,207 ballots cast as of Nov. 4, 2020 ( here ) .
PENNSYLVANIA
The posts give Pennsylvania’s registered voters as 6,469,000 and projected votes as 7,041,672.
The total number of registered voters shown in the “Voter registration statistics by county” excel document on the Pennsylvania Department of State website shows a total of 9,091,371 as of Nov. 2, 2020 ( here ). This is significantly higher than the number in the claim.
Pennsylvania does not offer same day voter registration ( here ) .
MINNESOTA
The posts give Minnesota’s registered voters total as 3,000,000 and projected votes as 3,197,528.
The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State has voter registration statistics available on its website. As of Nov. 2, 2020, the total number of registered voters was 3,588,563 ( here ) .
Minnesota allows same day voter registration, which may have increased the number of registered voters even more ( here and here ).
NORTH CAROLINA
The posts give North Carolina’s registered voters total as 5,160,000 and projected votes as 5,453,943.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections has voter registration statistics available on its website. The total number of registered voters as of the week of Nov. 3, 2020 was 7,361,219 ( here ). This number is significantly higher than the number shown in the claim.
North Carolina allows same day voter registration ( here and here ) .
So far, North Carolina has reported unofficial data showing 7.36 million registered voters and 5.49 million ballots cast, which shows a 74.6% voter turnout ( here ). This is unofficial data from election night and will be updated on the website after results are finalized on Nov. 24.
WISCONSIN
The posts give Wisconsin’s registered voters total as 3,129,000 and projected votes as 3,283,532.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission has voter registration statistics available on its website elections.wi.gov/node/7220 . The total number of registered voters in the state on Nov. 1, 2020 at 7 a.m. was 3,684,726.
Reuters Fact Check debunked other social media claims showing similar numbers for Wisconsin, here .
Wisconsin allows same day voter registration, which may also mean the registered voters for election day could be higher than 3,684,726 ( here ) .
MICHIGAN
The posts give Michigan’s registered voters total as 5,453,000 and projected votes as 5,716,581.
The Michigan Voter Information Center has registered voter statistics on its website here . The number shown at the time of publication is 8,127,804 (no date). This number is significantly higher than the number shown in the claim.
Michigan allows same day voter registration ( here and here ) .
The Detroit Free Press reported that voter turnout in Michigan is projected to be between 53% to 55% ( here ) .
ARIZONA
The posts give Arizona’s registered voters total as 3,262,000 and projected votes as 3,292,705.
The State of Arizona Secretary of State has registered voter statistics available on its website here . It shows a total of 4,281,152 as of Nov. 3, 2020 (also on page 5 here ).
Arizona does not allow same day voter registration ( here ).
GEORGIA
The posts give Georgia’s registered voters total as 4,840,000 and projected votes as 4,662,728.
A document on the Secretary of State’s office website here listed the total number of active voters as of Nov. 1, 2020 as 7,233,584.
Georgia does not allow same day registration ( here ) .
VERDICT
False. The table shows outdated and incorrect information on voter registration in eight key states. These states did not see more votes cast than people registered.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.