In mid-November 2024, a rumor spread that there was a notable surge in Google searches for the phrase "change my vote" and similar following Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election. This spike allegedly indicated a sense of voter remorse among those who cast their ballots for Trump.
The claim spread on social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Threads, and TikTok. Similar claims also appeared in several news articles. For instance, a Nov. 13, 2024, Newsweek article on the topic claimed "queries about 'how to change my vote' spiked on the morning of Election Day."
What Google Trends Data Says
Social media posts on the topic often included screenshots from Google Trends, a tool that analyzes the relative popularity of search terms over a specified period. It assigns a value from 0 to 100 to indicate the search interest for a term, where 100 represents the peak popularity within the chosen timeframe.
On Nov. 20, 2024, we performed a Google Trends search for three queries mentioned most frequently in social media posts (for the past 30 days):
- how to change my vote;
- change my vote;
- can i change my vote.
Below you can see the results, indicating there was a significant surge on Election Day, as well as on Nov. 13, 2024:
(Google Trends)
On Nov. 14, 2024, one X user noted "there may be some level of Streisand effect going on here because people are looking it up to check the claim that it's trending," referring to a phenomenon in which an attempt to draw attention away from something only serves to attract more attention to it.
Additionally, all-time data revealed that the spike in searches for the mentioned terms occurred in October 2020.
(Google Trends)
Indeed, Trump himself tweeted in late October 2020: "Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me."
Google Trends Doesn't Equal 'Trending'
Another rumor that circulated on social media claimed searches for terms like "can I change my vote" were trending on Google search. However, it's important to clarify that in this case the phrase "trending on Google" can be misleading.
Google Trends, which shows relative search interest over time, can be confused with the "Trending Now" feature. The latter highlights a curated selection of popular topics and queries in real time, based on absolute search volume and other contextual factors. Just because a term sees a spike in Google Trends data doesn't necessarily mean it appears in the "Trending Now" section, as the two tools serve different purposes.
Unprecedented Increase in Searches?
"People already seem to be regretting their vote for Trump. Google searches for 'Can I change my vote' have spiked since the election," wrote one X user on Nov. 13, 2024, attaching a screenshot that allegedly showed a 700% increase in searches for the query "can I change my vote."
(X user @krassenstein)
This claim also gained traction on TikTok. Meanwhile, on Threads, another user shared a screenshot allegedly showing a 950% increase for the same search term.
When searching for a term on Google Trends, users can view a "related queries" section at the bottom of the page. Rising search terms, like the ones mentioned above, are those that have experienced the most significant growth in search volume during a specific timeframe compared to the previous period. The percentages shown, such as 700% or 950%, indicate relative growth and not absolute search volumes.
Given the nature of how the "related queries" feature works, it is difficult to independently verify information in the screenshots circulating on social media without knowing when they were captured. The data displayed on Google Trends is dynamic, meaning results can change depending on when a search is conducted, the selected query, timeframe, and other variables. Consequently, the screenshots likely reflect searches conducted at different times.
Red vs. Blue States
Another set of claims centered on states that largely voted Republican, alleging a significant surge in Google searches originating from those areas. One Reddit post stated, "Folks In Red States Google Searched 'How To Change My Vote' In Droves After Trump's Victory."
When looking at data from the past 30 days, search results for the queries "change my vote," "how to change my vote," and "can I to change my vote" indicated they gained popularity both in states that voted Republican and Democratic.
However, as noted earlier, the interpretation of search popularity in each state is highly dependent on the timeframe selected for analysis in Google Trends, as search interest can change significantly over time.