Video Of Ballots Being Ripped Up In Bucks Co. Is Fake, DA Confirms

BUCKS COUNTY, PA —A video that went viral appearing to show election ballots for former President Donald Trump being ripped up is fake, authorities said.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Yardley Borough Police Department issued a statement late Thursday that they are aware of a video circulating on social media appearing to show the destruction of the election ballots.

"Our investigation has concluded that this video was fabricated in an attempt to undermine confidence in the upcoming election," said Manuel Gamiz Jr., director of communications for the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

He said the DA Office has contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation to locate the source of the manufactured video.

"We want to thank the public and the county’s Board of Elections for bringing this to our attention. The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office will not tolerate any voter suppression, intimidation, or fraud," Gamiz said.

"The envelope and materials depicted in this video are clearly not authentic materials belonging to or distributed by the Bucks County Board of Elections," the Bucks County Board of Elections said in a statement on Thursday.

Both Bucks County political parties also issued statements about the fake viral video.

“This obviously fraudulent and, frankly, racist video is little more than a despicable attempt by supporters of Donald Trump to cast doubt on our vote-by-mail system and, ultimately, the outcome of the Presidential election," said a statement by State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, who chairs the Bucks County Democratic Party. "It is clear that whoever made this video and those that are now trying to push it out on the internet are afraid that once again Donald Trump will lose, and so this is also an act of desperation to try and sow doubt in what we fully expect will be the election of Kamala Harris as President of the United States. Fortunately, we believe the public will see this for what it is, and the election process will move forward without incident.”

The Bucks County Republican Committee also responded.

"We have seen the video circulating on the internet showing someone, allegedly in Bucks County, ripping up ballots with votes for President Donald Trump. We immediately worked with our attorneys, as well as attorneys with the Trump campaign to investigate this. The Bucks County Board of Elections has confirmed that the actions seen in this video did not occur," the GOP party said in its statement.

"The video is fake, with things such as the color of the envelopes being the wrong shade of green, the paper is not the same quality used by the Bucks County Board of Elections, the envelopes lack a return address, and no employee at Bucks County Board of Election meets the description of the person in the video," the statement reads.

No mail-in or absentee ballots have been or will be opened and counted until Nov. 5, the county election board and Bucks GOP said.

"To us, this is disinformation, aimed at scaring voters and dissuading them from using mail-in ballots or on-demand voting that uses the same mail-in ballot process. We have seen dirty underhanded tactics this year, from the defacing of signs, and letters threatening Trump supporters, and now this video trying to scare Bucks County voters," the Bucks GOP said.

The Bucks GOP said that county Board of Elections employees help hundreds of voters every day, and work tirelessly to process all applications they have received.

Our County Party Chair and staff all voted by mail because we are sure that our system in Bucks County works and is safe," the statement concludes. "We will remain vigilant. We will continue to work to help voters and ensure that every vote is properly counted. Please do not let their scare tactics work... please continue to cast your ballots, and let's win!"