No, Dominion Voting Systems didn’t say that Michigan voting machine error will ‘affect vote counts’

Shortly before Election Day, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson talked about a programming error with some Dominion Voting Systems machines used in the state. But some social media users misconstrued this as proof of widespread interference in the 2024 election.

An Oct. 30 Instagram post shared a video of Benson answering a question at an Oct. 28 press briefing about a problem with split-ticket voting using a specific type of Dominion voting machine. Benson initially said the programming issue was "a nationwide issue," but her office and Dominion clarified Oct. 30 this was happening only in Michigan.

Text on the Instagram post read, "It’s now been confirmed by Dominion that their voting machines have a programming issue that will affect vote counts, but you can’t talk about it because our injustice system will bankrupt you for criticizing them."

(Screenshot from Instagram)

Another Instagram post shared the video of Benson with a text sticker that read, "Rigged again."

These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

Billionaire Elon Musk and other X users also shared the Benson video. One user said this voting machine problem was "preventing voters from making certain selections."

"According to (Benson’s) office, this ‘programming issue’ CANNOT be fixed, and voters are being forced to deal with it," the X user wrote. This X post received millions of views.

The Michigan Department of State said in an Oct. 25 statement that the programming snag has made voting more inconvenient for some voters, but it hasn’t prevented any voters from casting ballots.

The problem is specific to voters using Dominion’s voter assist terminals, or VATs, which are designed to help voters with disabilities, the department said. All Michigan voting locations are required to have voter assist terminals, but not all of the state’s voting machines are designed by Dominion. Sixty-five of Michigan’s 83 counties use Dominion voting equipment.

If a voter using this type of machine selects the "straight-party" option to vote for all candidates of one party, but then decides to vote for a candidate of a different party, the voter will receive an error message, the state department said.

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“The cheat has begun” because “Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania have officially announced that they will not have election results available on election night.”

To fix the problem, "the voter will need to go back and de-select their straight-party selection and vote for candidates in the races individually or vote straight party without splitting their ticket," the state department said.

Dominion issued a statement Oct. 25 with similar instructions for Michigan voters using the voter assist terminals.

"Voters seeking to vote for a single party for all contests can use the straight-party option," Dominion said. "Voters seeking to split their ticket by choosing one or more candidates of a different political party should be advised not to select the straight-party voting option."

Dominion said in an Oct. 30 statement that this programming error was not happening with voter assist terminals in other states that have straight-ticket voting. The voting equipment company said the Michigan secretary of state’s office updated its website Oct. 30 to clarify that the problem was specific to Michigan.

In Michigan, voters typically have the option to vote straight-party but then override their party selection for individual races, the state department said.

Voters will be able to review their selections before printing their ballots and putting them in the scanner for tabulation, the state department said.

The state department said it’s impossible to fix the voter assist terminals’ programming this close to Election Day, but the problem will be corrected for future elections.

"Although the issue will not stop people from voting or making their preferred selections, and it will not change anyone’s votes, it will make the process more inconvenient for some voters using the VATs," the state department said.

An Instagram post claimed, "It’s now been confirmed by Dominion that their voting machines have a programming issue that will affect vote counts."

Michigan voters using Dominion’s voter assist terminals who select straight-ticket voting and then decide to vote across party lines will receive an error message because of a programming issue, the Michigan State Department said. This can be fixed by deselecting the straight-ticket voting option and choosing candidates individually, or by voting only for candidates of the same political party.

The Michigan Department of State said the programming error could be inconvenient to voters, but it won’t block them from casting ballots. All voters will be able to cast ballots with their chosen candidates. Dominion did not say this problem will affect vote counts.

We rate this claim False.