Video shows first-time voter dropping off ballot in Lincoln, Nebraska, not 'ballot mule'

A viral video claimed to capture a "ballot mule" in action, illegally dropping off election ballots.

The video, filmed at a distance from inside a car, showed a person in dark clothing fishing something out of a black backpack and then putting it in a ballot drop box before taking what looked like a selfie photo.

"Ballot mule caught on camera at Eiseley Branch Library located at 1530 Superior Street, Lincoln, Nebraska on November 2nd at approximately 4:15 p.m.," the Nov. 2 Instagram post said. "Doesn’t this look suspicious?"

(Screenshot from Instagram)

No, not suspicious — not once you know the full story.

The video was 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.)

The term "ballot mule" entered popular use after the 2022 release "2000 Mules," a film by Dinesh D’Souza, a supporter of former President Donald Trump. The film falsely alleged massive voter fraud in the 2020 election involving people — "mules" — who supposedly illegally collected and dropped off ballots. The film’s premise was widely discredited and the media company behind the movie issued a May 2024 apology for falsely representing a Georgia voter as a "mule" who had voted illegally.

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This new viral Instagram video shows nothing nefarious, either.

Todd Wiltgen, the election commissioner for Nebraska’s Lancaster County, where the video was filmed, told PolitiFact that he reviewed surveillance footage of the drop box and found nothing suspicious.

Wiltgen identified the voter as an 18-year-old first-time voter based on the ballot he returned.

"On our cameras, you can clearly see that it was one ballot and you can see that the young man did nothing wrong," Wiltgen said. "He was excited, as he should be, and he took a selfie."

A group called the Nebraska Voter Accuracy Project captured the video, according to Wiltgen, who shared a Nov. 2 email from the group in which it took credit for the claim. Nebraska Public Radio found the Nebraska Voter Accuracy Project has promoted several election-related conspiracy theories, including the false claim that the 2020 and 2022 elections were "stolen."

The X user who posted the video and later deleted it cited Wiltgen’s statement and said, "After clarification, it’s heartening to learn that this young voter was simply ‘casting his first ballot in a presidential election.’"

Wiltgen said he contacted the Lincoln Police Department after several people reacting to the misleading video threatened physical violence toward the voter on social media.

"It is shameful and un-American to intimidate and threaten anyone for exercising their right to vote," Wiltgen said in a statement to PolitiFact.

We rate the claim that this video shows a "ballot mule" caught on camera Nov. 2 in Lincoln, Nebraska Pants on Fire!