‘This is elder abuse’: How a TikTok grandma’s vote for Kamala Harris became the center of a right-wing firestorm

Americans concerned about voter fraud in this year’s general election have found their latest target: a TikTok grandma.

In a since-deleted video posted to TikTok, a woman helped her grandma vote for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. “Ok, grandma. Do you want to vote for the first Black woman president ever?” the woman asks. “Yes,” the grandma responds.

After helping her grandmother mark the ballot, the woman congratulates her on voting for “the first woman president.” However, what was meant to be a feel-good moment has since spiralled into a voter fraud conspiracy theory online.

Far-right political commentator Milo Yianoppolis posted the clip to his nearly 300,000 followers on X, describing it as “Elder abuse.” In follow-up posts, he goes on to say the woman’s head was filled with thoughts of “cake and hate”; he also calls elderly people “pushovers.”

Yianoppolis’ post quickly gained over 174,000 views, with hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump claiming the clip was slam-dunk evidence of voter fraud. “This should be illegal,” one user replied. “Is every assisted living facility just a ballot farm now?”

“Did they just record a felony?” another asked. “If this were a video of someone helping her to vote for Trump. Instant Prison and election fraud,” another claimed. “Yeah,” chimed in X’s billionaire owner Elon Musk.

Some even called for the woman in the clip to be jailed for her so-called “crimes”. “This is elder abuse and coercion. This woman should be in jail,” one user wrote. “Locate her and demand prosecution.” Another demanded that lawmakers pass legislation to deal with elderly voters. “This is happening, and god knows how widely,” the user penned. “Extremely hard to prevent. Probably there should be a piece of legislation to address electioneering amongst elderly and infirm.”

The post was also circulated alongside the hashtag #StopTheSteal, a far-right and conservative conspiracy theory that widespread electoral fraud occurred during the 2020 presidential election. Four years on, almost 6-in-10 Americans say they’re concerned or very concerned that there will be voter fraud this election, according to a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released this month. Almost 90% of voters of Trump supporters say they are concerned there will be fraud, compared with just 29% of Harris supporters.

Despite concerns, aggravated by these widely-peddled conspiracy theories, voter fraud remains a very rare occurrence across the country with numerous studies and investigations (including those led by Republicans) failing to find any evidence of widespread voter fraud—but try telling that to the Twitterati.