The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal has issued a sharp rebuke to allies of former President Donald Trump, dismissing their latest attempts to revive claims of a stolen 2020 election as "partisan nonsense" that responsible Republicans should stop indulging.
The Spark: A Clerical Error in Fulton County
The controversy reignited in December 2025 when an attorney for the Fulton County Elections Board in Georgia admitted during a hearing that poll workers had failed to sign tabulator tapes for the county's early voting ballots in the 2020 election. This was a violation of a procedural rule.
The admission, concerning approximately 315,000 early votes, quickly spread through pro-Trump media circles. Influencers and outlets like The Federalist and Townhall presented the clerical mistake as definitive proof that the election was illegitimate, claiming Trump had been "vindicated."
The WSJ's Fact-Based Rebuttal
In a detailed editorial this week, the Wall Street Journal's board, while acknowledging the error was a serious procedural failure, systematically dismantled the conspiracy theory built upon it. They emphasised that Georgia's ballots were counted three times—twice by scanner and once by hand.
"An error by poll workers isn’t a reason to throw out tens or hundreds of thousands of ballots cast by Georgians who did nothing wrong," the board wrote. They noted that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed all voters were verified with photo ID and that their votes were lawfully cast.
A spokesperson for Raffensperger further clarified that the signature rule "wasn’t even part of the election code," and while there was "sloppiness," "outright fraud was not a concern."
Political Motivations and a Warning to the GOP
The editorial suggested the issue is receiving disproportionate attention because Raffensperger is running for Governor, and his GOP primary opponents are using the Fulton County mistake against him. Crucially, those opponents have offered no evidence the ballots themselves were fraudulent.
The board saved its strongest criticism for the perpetual election denialism, stating that Donald Trump's "constantly shifting claims" are as damaging to public confidence as administrative errors. They concluded with a direct message to the Republican party.
"Mr. Trump will never admit his 2020 claims were partisan nonsense. But Republicans who care about the future could do their man a favor by refusing to keep indulging them," the editorial stated.
This stance continues a pattern of tension between the Rupert Murdoch-owned publication and the former president. Despite the Journal's generally conservative editorial line, its board has been critical of Trump since his return to the White House, culminating in a $10 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Trump against the paper and Murdoch in 2025.
