Fact check: What specific voting machine issues were reported in the 2025 US elections?

1. Summary of the results

According to multiple sources, no significant voting machine issues were reported in the 2025 US elections ^[1]. Election officials from key swing states, including North Carolina, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, confirmed that their voting systems were secure and "air-gapped" from the internet ^[1]. While occasional technical issues like touch-screen calibration problems can occur, these are not indicative of systematic problems, and election officials have processes in place to quickly address such minor glitches ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual points need to be considered:

• By 2025, 70% of votes were cast using paper ballots, with only 5% using Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) systems and 25.1% using Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) ^[3]
• The trend has been moving away from purely electronic voting towards paper ballots with electronic tabulators, which reduces the risk of unverifiable electronic voting ^[4]
• Voting machines employ multiple confirmation steps to ensure accurate voting ^[2]
• Electronic voting machines have been a source of controversy since the early 2000s, with ongoing debates about security vulnerabilities ^[4]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself might suggest an expectation of widespread voting machine issues, which could stem from several sources of potential bias:

• Companies like Dominion and Smartmatic have been subjects of conspiracy theories despite no evidence of systematic problems ^[3]
• The focus on voting machine "issues" overlooks the robust security measures in place, including:
• Physical security protocols
• Lack of internet connectivity
• Multiple certification processes ^[5]
• Those who benefit from suggesting voting machine problems include:
• Political actors seeking to delegitimize election results
• Media outlets seeking engagement through controversy
• Advocacy groups pushing for specific voting methods

The evidence suggests that while the voting system isn't perfect, it has multiple safeguards and redundancies, and no significant issues were reported in 2025.