Fact File: Video shared as evidence of U.S. election ‘fraud’ actually from Quebec

On Tuesday, Americans in several states elected Democrats in key governor’s and mayoral races. A video posted to X that day claimed to show Democrats using blank ballots for “scheming,” indicating election fraud.

The video, which features a man confronting two women who he claims transported blank ballots in a taxi to fill in themselves, in fact originated from Quebec. It was likely filmed during Canada’s federal election in April, and when it first surfaced, Elections Canada said safeguards were in place to ensure ballots are handled securely.

THE CLAIM

This week, a video shared on the X platform, formerly Twitter, claimed to show “Democrat ladies … carrying around ballots in a taxi.”

In the clip, a man confronts two women carrying large white bags that he claims contain ballots.

“I want to understand how these are just sitting on the street, how you took them into a taxi. And you guys, you just fill out anything you want and put them in the box?” the man asks.

Text overlaid on the video reads, “This is how dems use mail in and blank ballots for scheming.”

The post received around 400,000 views according to X’s metrics and was reposted to Instagram, where the user claimed the video originated in California.

Posted early Tuesday, the video gained traction as Americans headed to the polls for multiple state and local elections that resulted in key Democrat wins, including for the mayor of New York City and governors of New Jersey and Virginia.

THE FACTS

Several signs are visible in the background of the video, including “Mega Vente” and the address “6900.”

The Canadian Press geolocated the video to the Decarie Square mall in the Montreal suburb of Côte St-Luc.

Details from the Google Maps street view of the location like the “Mega Vente” banner, “6900” address, “Ailes” store sign and yellow crosswalk lines match with the video.

It isn’t clear who filmed the video or when it took place. The earliest version of the video without the overlaid text is from X on April 29 this year, one day after Canada’s federal election. The bags carried by the women appear to bear the Elections Canada logo.

In a response to that X post, Elections Canada said there were safeguards in place to manage the custody of ballots and ballot boxes.

The Canadian Press fact checked a similar video where a man confronted election workers who he claimed took home ballot boxes filled with advance votes. However, the boxes shown in the video were empty and Elections Canada disputed accusations of vote tampering.

“Deputy returning officers or central poll supervisors pick up the materials they require to set up the polls on election day from the local returning office where supplies are held,” the agency told The Canadian Press at the time.

“Supplies include things such as signage, feedback forms, and activity logs. They bring it home if they do not have access to the polling ahead of time, since some polling places are only leased for one day. The empty ballot boxes can be used to transport the materials.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently made false or misleading claims about voter fraud in his country. This week he claimed, without providing evidence, that California Republicans were “shut out” of mail-in voting and called the voting process “rigged.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025.

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press