While ballots cast for the 2020 presidential election continue to be counted, some in right-wing media are scandalizing the slow ballot count — even though it was expected and is following proper procedures — and complaining that ballots seem to be “magically appearing for Democrats.” 

In reality, experts warned for weeks that the country would likely not know the winner on election night, in large part because mail-in voting has been expanded during the pandemic. Experts warned that this could mean one candidate is ahead on election night while the other surges afterward, and in fact mail-in ballots were largely projected to skew Democratic. 

Additionally, Republican-led legislatures in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin blocked laws that would have allowed the processing of mail-in ballots to begin on or just before Election Day.

Still, some in right-wing media are trying to nefariously suggest that pro-Biden mail-in ballots are appearing out of nowhere. President Donald Trump has made this same bogus claim:

Here are some examples of right-wing media seeking to sow confusion and chaos around the ballot count:

• Fox contributor Mike Huckabee said on Fox & Friends that if votes “sort of suddenly get found and they get counted days after the election, it would be a real shame if Philadelphia became the place where liberty also died.”

• The Gateway Pundit published an article titled “Voter Fraud in Michigan – Massive Dump of Over 200,000 Ballots for Biden All the Sudden Appear Overnight.” The outlet also posted a similarly titled article about vote counting in Wisconsin.
• Conservative commentator John Cardillo tweeted: “Every vote ‘found’ when counting paused is for Biden? They’re not even hiding the fraud.”
• White nationalist commentator Faith Goldy wrote on Parler that “remaining states all mysteriously find bags [with] the exact number of ballots Biden needs after America goes to sleep? Shambolic.”
• Right-wing pundit Steve Deace tweeted:

• New York Post columnist Sohrab Ahmari tweeted that “magically more Biden votes are conjured in the coming hours and days.”
• Right-wing commentator Buck Sexton tweeted: “Notice how all the ballot counting shenanigans are happening in Democrat strongholds, in states Democrats were behind in last night and desperately need to win.”
• Federalist contributor Benjamin Weingarten complained about a surge in ballots for Biden, saying, “If you wanted to create appearance of fraud how would last night have gone differently?”
• The Federalist’s Sean Davis tweeted: “So while everyone was asleep and after everyone went home, Democrats in Michigan magically found a trove of 138,339 votes, and all 138,339 of those 'votes' magically went to Biden? That doesn't look suspicious at all.” Twitter labeled his tweet as “misleading.”