Fact check: Viral social media posts claim Helene-related NC election changes are attempts to cheat | WFAE 90.7

It’s time for a fact-check on North Carolina politics. Election Day is just under two weeks away, but people in North Carolina are already casting their ballots. Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, the state has relaxed some rules in western North Carolina to make it easier for those affected by the storm to cast their votes. But a social media post that has been viewed more than 3.5 million times claims the changes are an attempt by the state to influence the election results. Joining me now for a closer look is WRAL’s Paul Specht.

Marshall Terry: First, what changes has the state made to election rules in western North Carolina? And why?

Paul Specht: They tried to improve access to ballots. And to do that, they allowed county boards of elections — through bipartisan voting — to adjust their voting locations as necessary. As you can imagine, many of the early voting locations are having problems – whether they are flooded or physically damaged, and they may need to move them. They also allowed county boards – again through a ballot – to move polling locations on Election Day. Not just early election sites, but also election day voting sites. They also gave people in the western part of the state more time to request an absentee ballot. They also allowed more places to return an absentee ballot. And finally, they’ve expanded the qualifications of the people who can work as election workers to ensure these polling places are adequately staffed.

Terry: So this post on And the notice notes the changes the state has made. Who is MJTruthUltra? And what is the argument they make that the changes are intended to cheat the election?

Woodpecker: We don’t know exactly who he is. He does not mention his real name there on X. If you look at its profile, it leans to the right. He has about 300,000 followers.

In reality, these changes were voted on by a bipartisan board of elections here in North Carolina, the state board. The Democrats now have a 3-2 majority, but the Republicans also voted for this.

Terry: And we should point out that this isn’t the only post on X like this. But you focused on this one because it was viewed so often. Some version of this is really widespread, right? I mean, some people have even claimed that the government caused the hurricane and controls the weather.

Woodpecker: Right. And we checked a lot of it. And we discovered that they are, quite frankly, ridiculous.

This one is also kind of ridiculous, and here’s why. We investigated other claims about people withholding aid in western North Carolina. That’s not true.

One of the reasons people thought that is because former President Donald Trump carried not only North Carolina but also western North Carolina by a wide margin in the 2020 election. So the idea that these changes amount to stealing is kind of ridiculous, because they’re trying to make it easier to vote and access ballots in areas that are overwhelmingly Republican.

Terry: How did you assess this claim?

Woodpecker: We rated this as ‘pants on fire’. We give this to claims that are not only false, but also ridiculous. First, there is no evidence of cheating by election board members or election workers. Second, these changes will especially help Republicans in this region.

And finally, we spoke to a Republican board member of the State Board of Elections and asked him: What do you think of the changes? Do people have any reason to be skeptical?

I’ll give you his quote. He said: “There has been no change to the qualifications to vote, the voter registration process, the vote tabulation process or the voter identification requirements.” And he said these rumors “seem like an attempt to sensationalize something that isn’t controversial.” And so I think his comments on this matter speak for themselves.

Terry: Okay, Paul. Thank you.