How quotation marks turned a story about a clerical error into one about voter fraud

A voter hands over his ballot to an election judge at a drive-through ballot drop site in Denver on June 28, 2022. State election authorities accidentally sent voter registration information to 30,000 non-citizens who are ineligible to vote, which has fed conspiracy theories about the upcoming midterms. (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

A clerical mistake by Colorado election officials weeks ahead of the November election has taken on a conspiratorial spin, researchers found via Twitter data.

The Colorado Secretary of State's office, which oversees the state's elections, accidentally mailed about 30,000 postcards to non-citizens who were not eligible to vote containing instructions for how to register. At least some of the people who received the postcards are living in the country without authorization.