The Claim: Map Shows California’s 2020 Election Results
A Facebook post from June 2 (direct link, archive link) features a screenshot of a tweet showing a map of California counties, nearly all colored red.
“California is RED,” the post read. “It’s just because of MASSIVE voter fraud that stupid, brainwashed people believe California is blue. Joe Biden only won in the SFO Bay area. In all of the rest of California – including Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County – Trump won BIG in California!”
The tweet has been retweeted over 2,000 times. It has also been shared more than 20 times on Facebook, according to social media analytics tool CrowdTangle.
Other versions of the claim have been shared on Twitter and Facebook, including a Tweeter of former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
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Our opinion: False
The map of California in the post does not accurately reflect the state’s certified results of the 2020 presidential election. President Joe Biden won the majority of votes at the county and state levels in 2020. The map in the message seems to correspond to the results of the 1984 presidential election.
Map shows presidential election results from 1984, not 2020
All but five counties on the map are red, which would appear to indicate that former President Donald Trump, a Republican, won the majority of votes in those counties in the 2020 election.
But the map does not accurately reflect the state’s certified 2020 election results, said Joe Kocurek, a spokesman for the California secretary of state.
Official vote tallies show Biden, a Democrat, received more votes than Trump in 35 of California’s 58 counties, winning more than 60% of total votes statewide.
The map appears to reflect the results of the 1984 presidential election, in which incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan defeated former Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale in a landslide victory.
That year, Reagan won a majority of votes in all but five California counties, according to certified election results provided by Kocurek.
Fact check: What’s true about the 2020 election, vote counting, Electoral College
The message also falsely claims that Trump received the majority of votes in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange counties.
Biden won more than 70% of the vote in Los Angeles County, receiving more than 3 million votes, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar. He also won more than 60% of the vote in San Diego County, receiving more than 900,000 votes, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Electors.
In Orange County, Biden’s lead was less pronounced. However, he still won more than 50% of the vote in the county, receiving more than 800,000 votes, according to the Orange County Registrar of Electors.
Mike Sanchez, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Registrar of Electors, told USA TODAY in an email that “this type of misinformation and misinformation – broad, unsubstantiated and unsubstantiated allegations – undermines the integrity of the electoral process and discourages voter participation”.
USA TODAY reached out to social media users who shared the post for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
Reuters also debunked this claim.
Our fact-checking sources:
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USA TODAY, June 13, Protesters gather outside the Miami Courthouse for the ‘historic day’ of Trump’s impeachment
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California Secretary of State, Accessed June 14, November 3, 2020, General Election: President
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California Secretary of State, accessed June 14, Statement of Vote: General Election November 3, 2020
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California Secretary of State, accessed June 14, California Elections Rumor Control
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California Secretary of State, Accessed June 14, 1984 California General Presidential Results
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California Secretary of State, December 11, 2020 Secretary of State Alex Padilla certifies record general election results
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Joe Kocurek, June 14-15, Interview and email exchange with USA TODAY
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Orange County Register of Electors, November 25, 2020, District Results Report – November 03, 2020
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Los Angeles County Clerk-Recorder/County Clerk, November 30, 2020, General Election: November 03, 2020
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Mike Sanchez, June 13-14, email exchange with USA TODAY
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Orange County Register of Electors, November 25, 2020, District Results Report – November 03, 2020
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Cynthia Paes, June 13, email exchange with USA TODAY
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San Diego County Voter Register, August 26, 2021, November 3, 2020 Presidential Election: Official Final Election Results
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, the map does not show California’s 2020 election results | Fact check