A photo of a heat map showing Republican voters in Maricopa County, Arizona, has been shared online, along with unsubstantiated claims that the 2022 US midterm elections were fraudulent. The photo in question has been cropped, and the county’s elections office told Reuters it also has a heatmap of Democratic and general voters at the Maricopa County Counting and Election Center (MCTEC).

The image was shared on Twitter and Facebook by Republican Mark Finkem (here, here) lost to Democrat Adrian Fontes in the election for Secretary of State in Arizona, captioning: There is no independent heat map. No Democrat heatmap. Just Republicans. “

Other users suggest that the apparent lack of a Democratic map proves that the election was fraudulent. “I wonder if it coincides with where the machine stopped working,” said one Twitter account. (here)

They seem to be referring to reports that Maricopa County’s tally machines failed to scan ballots on Election Day. Reuters found no evidence that these dysfunctions were a sign of organized malfeasance within the state, but voters now have other options (here).

The Maricopa County Elections Office told Reuters that the photos circulating online were cropped and that claims that the office had only a Republican heat map were false.

Communications Director Megan Gilbertson said: The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office has a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team that creates all maps in-house. “

“We use total voter maps for future planning for primaries and general elections. There is an in-person voter turnout map.

All three maps can be seen in a photo provided to Reuters by the Maricopa County Elections Authority (ibb.co/tc91NmX)

“We also have a daily map of early voting in-person turnout, which will also help us place future early voting sites where voters live,” added Gilbert.

The Maricopa County Elections Authority website has a map with voter data, including one of the party’s majority voting precincts (scroll down under “Geography Layers”) (here).

verdict

error. Heat’s photos of his map, which shows only Republican voters in Maricopa County, do not prove fraud took place in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections, in contrast to claims on his social media. Original photo cropped to exclude maps showing total and Democratic voters.

This article was produced by Reuters fact-checking team.Read more about fact-checking work here .