Fact check archive

Ballotpedia Fact Checks

Does Colorado law allow payday lenders to charge over 200 interest on small loans (October 30, 2018)
One Nation vs. Manchin on Immigration (August 24, 2018)
Is the term administrative state used only by conservatives? (August 8, 2018)
Does a Colorado petition signer's information go into an internet-accessible public database? (August 2, 2018)
Did Dean Heller change his policy positions in order to accommodate Donald Trump? (June 25, 2018)
Cary Kennedy on Colorado teacher salaries (May 10, 2018)
Fundraising in the Arizona Senate election (April 10, 2018)
Are half of all Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or their children? (February 13, 2018)
Did Sen. Dean Heller change his position on funding for Planned Parenthood? (February 5, 2018)
Has Michigan fallen in education rankings? (December 7, 2017)
Gov. Rick Scott and Chris King on Florida's economy (November 29, 2017)
Connecticut public vs. private sector employee compensation (November 21, 2017)
Public opinion on the two-party system (November 20, 2017)
Tony Evers on University of Wisconsin free speech policy (November 14, 2017)
Did Trump cut flood-proofing regulations? (November 7, 2017)
Hartford's city budget and tax-exempt property (November 2, 2017)
Did Gov. Bruce Rauner flip-flop on abortion bill? (November 1, 2017)
Did Evan Jenkins support Hillary Clinton and cap-and-trade? (October 31, 2017)
Phil Murphy and Kim Guadagno on New Jersey's economy (October 30, 2017)
Does Wisconsin's Foxconn law change environmental standards? (October 26, 2017)
Ohio Issue 2 and VA drug price availability (October 19, 2017)
Who is promoting Ohio Issue 2? (October 18, 2017)
Are teen pregnancy prevention programs facing a crackdown? (October 13, 2017)
Was Senate candidate Patrick Morrisey NeverTrump? (October 11, 2017)
Public opinion on abortion (October 5, 2017)
Does Ohio Issue 2 give promoters the right to defend the law at taxpayer expense? (October 4, 2017)
The opioid crisis and national emergency declarations (October 2, 2017)
Would West Virginia's Amendment 1 raise taxes? (September 28, 2017)
Donald Trump on NFL ratings (September 28, 2017)
Public school funding in Texas (September 27, 2017)
Have GOP lawmakers tried to shield drivers who hit protesters? (September 22, 2017)
Did New Jersey family planning cuts increase STD rates? (September 21, 2017)
How many GOP senators voted to repeal Obamacare? (September 14, 2017)
Does Washington State Senate candidate Manka Dhingra support a state income tax? (September 12, 2017)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules on class action lawsuits, arbitration agreements (September 11, 2017)
Ralph Northam on Virginia pipelines (August 29, 2017)
Do 97 percent of journalist donations go to Democrats? (August 16, 2017)
Ed Gillespie on Virginia's economy (August 15, 2017)
Does research show that federal student aid increases tuition? (August 14, 2017)
Is the New York City subway the state's responsibility? (August 9, 2017)
Has Seattle's minimum wage increase impacted employment? (July 27, 2017)
Did Rep. Mo Brooks refuse to endorse Donald Trump? (July 26, 2017)
Would Michigan sanctuary city legislation mean more duties for local governments? (July 24, 2017)
Was Sen. Josh Newman the deciding vote on California's gas tax increase? (July 14, 2017)
Scott Pruitt on U.S. carbon dioxide emissions (July 12, 2017)
Nutritional value of cow's milk and plant-based beverages (June 30, 2017)
Does child care cost the typical family a third of its income? (June 27, 2017)
Do Minnesota courts face rising caseloads? (June 26, 2017)
Does nearly 40 percent of Iowa's electricity come from wind? (June 22, 2017)
China, India, and the Paris Climate Agreement (June 21, 2017)
Does Chicago Public Schools receive $500 million less than their enrollment dictates? (June 16, 2017)
Elizabeth Warren on Social Security in Trump's budget (June 15, 2017)
Does Louisiana have twice as many people in jail as other states? (June 12, 2017)
Would Missouri legislation allow discrimination, harassment, and assault? (June 9, 2017)
Is everyone living in poverty covered by Medicaid in Wisconsin? (May 31, 2017)
Does Ed Gillespie's tax plan include spending cuts? (May 30, 2017)
Does the AHCA make being a woman a pre-existing condition? (May 22, 2017)
Is Jon Ossoff a small business owner? (May 22, 2017)
Did Rob Quist advocate for a national gun registry? (May 15, 2017)
Is Texas Central Partners threatening to seize family farms? (May 10, 2017)
Jimmy Gomez on paid family leave in California (May 5, 2017)
Heath Mello's voting record on abortion (May 1, 2017)
Rep. Mia Love on human trafficking (April 27, 2017)
Did healthcare premiums for families double under George W. Bush? (April 25, 2017)
California's state budget and transportation infrastructure spending (April 24, 2017)
Sean Spicer on Trump White House visitor logs (April 21, 2017)
Did Gov. Roy Cooper betray promises on HB 2 repeal? (April 17, 2017)
Is Bob Gray right about immigrant skill levels? (April 14, 2017)
Did Karen Handel reduce the Georgia secretary of state's budget by 20 percent? (April 13, 2017)
Would the Clean Power Plan mitigate climate change? (April 3, 2017)
Did Tony Evers fix the achievement gaps in Milwaukee and Madison schools? (March 31, 2017)
Did 14.5 million gain health insurance through Medicaid expansion? (March 24, 2017)
Does New Jersey lead the nation in tax burden and pension debt? (March 23, 2017)
Was economic growth sluggish during the Obama presidency? (March 22, 2017)
How has marijuana legalization impacted state revenue and crime? (March 15, 2017)
Has the Office of the Ohio Public Defender lost a third of its staff since 2000? (March 13, 2017)
Has public opinion changed on the medical use of marijuana? (March 13, 2017)
Did 52,000 Canadians leave Canada for healthcare in 2014? (March 9, 2017)
Did President Trump make it harder to save for retirement and for first-time homebuyers to buy a home? (March 8, 2017)
Is Nebraska doing well in most economic indicators? (March 8, 2017)
Do 67 percent of Americans think the EPA should stay the same or be strengthened? (March 6, 2017)
Did federal debt fall over President Trump's first month in office? (March 2, 2017)
Did Harry Reid make it easier to confirm President Trump's Cabinet and Supreme Court nominees? (February 28, 2017)
Has Kentucky recovered more manufacturing jobs than neighboring right-to-work states? (February 27, 2017)
Are Republican state lawmakers trying to criminalize peaceful protests? (February 24, 2017)
Did Delaware Senate candidate Stephanie Hansen change her position on standardized testing opt-out? (February 22, 2017)
Is Sen. Elizabeth Warren right about stagnating wages and rising costs? (February 21, 2017)
Did President Trump's executive order include "a clause making it a crime to help an undocumented immigrant"? (February 17, 2017)
Will CalPERS' new investment assumption lead to higher pension costs for school districts? (February 16, 2017)
Do ridesharing services reduce drunk driving and related fatalities? (February 15, 2017)
Do bag taxes induce shoppers to bring reusable bags and get rid of plastic bags? (February 14, 2017)
Is distracted driving out of control in Washington state? (February 13, 2017)
Does Utah have a homelessness crisis? (February 8, 2017)
Has Ryan Zinke changed his position on climate change? (February 7, 2017)
Will Lyda Krewson's crime plan cost $34 million without additional oversight? (February 6, 2017)
Is Oregon seriously underfunding education? ( February 3, 2017)
Did the Supreme Court strike down major parts of the Voting Rights Act? (February 2, 2017)
Did the North Carolina legislature eliminate state supreme court oversight of the General Assembly? (January 31, 2017)
Did 60 percent of Andrew Puzder's company's restaurants violate the Fair Labor Standards Act? (January 30, 2017)
Did recent bills limit North Carolina's gubernatorial powers? (January 27, 2017)
Does Betsy DeVos owe Ohio taxpayers $5 million? (January 26, 2017)
Has Scott Pruitt opposed all laws providing minimal environmental protection? (January 25, 2017)
Are government estimates of health insurance coverage based on survey data? (January 20, 2017)
Could 36,000 people die if the ACA is partially repealed? (January 19, 2017)
Have presidents before Donald Trump appointed family members to White House positions? (January 17, 2017)
Would it be almost unprecedented for Donald Trump to terminate the Iran nuclear deal? (January 16, 2017)
Did the EPA change its conclusion on the impacts of fracking? (January 12, 2017)
Has Ryan Zinke repeatedly voted to block new national parks? (January 9, 2017)
Has Ryan Zinke advocated for state control of energy development on federal lands? (January 3, 2017)
Was Van Jones correct in calling the 2016 election a "white-lash"? (January 2, 2017)
Are there places where a single insurer is offering coverage through ACA exchanges? (December 29, 2016)
Has state funding for classroom materials in North Carolina public schools declined? (December 28, 2016)
Was Hurricane Matthew a climate-related event? (December 23, 2016)
Are people who have stopped looking for work counted in the unemployment rate? (December 23, 2016)
Do FBI crime statistics show increased LGBT hate crimes in North Carolina since the passage of HB2? (December 22, 2016)
Have most ACA exchange customers chosen bronze or silver plans? (December 16, 2016)
Is Oklahoma "at the bottom for education?" (December 14, 2016)
Must Georgia cities wait 20 years to sell condemned property? (December 13, 2016)
Does Iowa have one of the highest effective income tax rates in the country? (December 12, 2016)
Can the United States change the Iran nuclear deal? (December 1, 2016)
Is staffing at Stateville Correctional Center at an all time low? (December 1, 2016)
Do ACA premium hikes affect a "relatively small number of Americans"? (November 22, 2016)
Has crime increased in Missouri on Attorney General Chris Koster’s watch? (November 8, 2016)
Is Gov. Pat McCrory's "Carolina Comeback" real? (November 7, 2016)
Would NH gubernatorial candidate Colin Van Ostern's preferred rail project carry 2,000 a day, for $300 million? (November 7, 2016)
Is either candidate in Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District correct about who most workers earning minimum wage are? (November 6, 2016)
Has Montana gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte supported a state sales tax? (November 6, 2016)
Did New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan vote to support sanctuary cities? (November 5, 2016)
Was California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom right about mass shootings since Proposition 63's announcement? (November 4, 2016)
Does Mike Gallagher support a plan to reduce Social Security benefits to the poverty line? (November 3, 2016)
Is Illinois constitutionally required to have a balanced budget before the start of a fiscal year? (November 3, 2016)
Did Montana spending increase $800 million under Steve Bullock? (November 1, 2016)
Did John Faso vote against equal pay four times in the New York State Assembly? (October 30, 2016)
Did Evan Bayh "cash in" after voting for Wall Street bailouts? (October 30, 2016)
Does Proposition 60 allow Californians to sue adult film performers, crew members, and television companies? (October 27, 2016)
Did Sue Minter advocate new taxes on 160 services? (October 24, 2016)
Did Sen. Richard Burr vote against funding for the national sex offender registry? (October 24, 2016)
Have non-citizens voted in recent Florida elections? (October 20, 2016)
Did a state ethics commission rule that Katie McGinty violated the law as Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection? (October 18, 2016)
Did Sen. Kelly Ayotte vote six times to defund Planned Parenthood? (October 13, 2016)
Is Donald Trump right that the debt has doubled under President Barack Obama? (October 10, 2016)
Is there a federal court order that would prohibit sex offenders in California from being paroled under Proposition 57? (October 7, 2016)
Does California face a historic housing crisis? (October 4, 2016)
Would inmates convicted of violent crimes in California be eligible for early parole under Proposition 57? (October 1, 2016)
Does congressional candidate Tom Nelson (D-WI) have a record of tax hikes and spending increases? (September 29, 2016)
Has the unemployment rate dropped in half during New York Governor Cuomo’s tenure? (September 28, 2016)
Does a proposed salary increase for members of the New York Legislature track that of state employees? (September 27, 2016)
Was Scott Garrett the only member of the U.S. House New Jersey delegation to vote against the Zadroga Act in 2010? (September 26, 2016)
Did the North Carolina state crime lab mishandle evidence in hundreds of cases on Attorney General Roy Cooper's watch? (September 16, 2016)
Are the claims made by Ruben Kihuen’s campaign about Congressman Cresent Hardy’s record on immigration issues accurate? (September 16, 2016)
Did Sen. Richard Burr vote to cut Social Security? (September 13, 2016)
Did state budget cuts in Texas cause an increase in pregnancy-related deaths? (September 12, 2016)
Is Donald Trump's claim that Hillary Clinton said no Americans were killed in Benghazi true? (September 8, 2016)
Has U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) voted for every trade deal while he's been in Congress? (September 7, 2016)
Have more than 92 percent of Rep. Rob Bishop's campaign contributions come from out-of-state PACs and energy companies? (August 27, 2016)
Has Republican Sen. John Boozman enacted only five bills in his congressional career? (August 26, 2016)
Are ratings for MSNBC’s Morning Joe program high or low? (August 23, 2016)
Did Latrice Walker deliver almost $1 billion to her New York Assembly district? (August 22, 2016)
Who has the most union endorsements in the Ohio race for the U.S. Senate? (August 22, 2016)
Has New Hampshire Congressional candidate Carol Shea-Porter consistently opposed Trade Promotion Authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership? (August 20, 2016)
Did U.S. Senate candidate Evan Bayh break with his party to vote against raising electric bills? (August 19, 2016)
Did Frank Guinta switch his position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership? (August 19, 2016)
Are the presidential debates rigged in favor of major party candidates? (August 18, 2016)
Have 4.7 million insurance policies been cancelled as a result of the Affordable Care Act? (August 17, 2016)
Does an increase in the number of propositions on the ballot in California lead to more of those propositions being rejected by voters? (August 12, 2016)
Has New York state Sen. Gustavo Rivera been fighting for ethics reform since he got to Albany? (August 11, 2016)
Have declines in state funding driven up tuition at public universities? (August 10, 2016)
Did candidate for Vermont governor Matt Dunne violate a campaign fundraising pledge? (August 8, 2016)
Was Russ Feingold the lone U.S. Senate opponent of the USA Patriot Act? (August 8, 2016)
Did Deborah Ross oppose legislation to create a sex offender registry while she led the North Carolina ACLU? (August 5, 2016)
Is it true that most people don't care whether Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump releases his tax returns? (August 5, 2016)
If unions go away does everybody’s pay go down? (August 4, 2016)
Has the Massachusetts Lottery failed to expand funding for education and other public services? (August 4, 2016)
Was Kurt Schaefer the only Republican in the Missouri Legislature to vote against a bill allowing businesses to opt out of including contraception in employee health insurance plans? (August 1, 2016)
Is Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner correct that many Chicago public schools are objectively inadequate? (August 1, 2016)
Is Rhode Island routinely ranked as one of the worst states for business? (July 29, 2016)
Did violent crime increase 10 percent in California under Attorney General Kamala Harris? (July 29, 2016)
Are you allowed to set up a super PAC if you are the president? (July 27, 2016)
Do California lawmakers always support Uber and Lyft? (July 22, 2016)
Is it true that Detroit public schools outperform Detroit charter schools? (July 20, 2016)
Did 96% of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's contributions come from big donors? (July 20, 2016)
Is Rhode Island projected to accumulate a $300 million budget deficit by 2021, and has it lost nearly 4,000 jobs? (July 18, 2016)
Is homelessness in California at a historic high? (July 15, 2016)
Did Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke equivocate on selling or transferring public lands? (July 12, 2016)
The Alaska Republican Party tags State Senate candidate Vince Beltrami as a "longtime union boss." (July 12, 2016)
Did North Carolina teachers see the largest average pay increase in the country in 2014, and was the state ranked 42nd in the country for average teacher pay that year? (July 11, 2016)
Did U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark sponsor a bill to include pets in restraining orders? (July 7, 2016)
Did amending the state constitution to cap income tax rates have a negative effect on Georgia’s bond ratings? (July 6, 2016)
Did Utah Governor Gary Herbert raise taxes by over $600 million? (June 28, 2016)
Has Chuck Schumer ever held a job in the private sector? (June 24, 2016)
Did Indiana go from having a $2 billion surplus to a $1 billion deficit while John Gregg was Speaker of the House? (June 24, 2016)
Do seven people a day die of a drug overdose in Pennsylvania? (June 23, 2016)
Are Gov. Herbert's claims about Utah's employment picture accurate? (June 23, 2016)
Would it be "totally illegal" for delegates pledged to Donald Trump to vote for another candidate at the Republican National Convention? (June 17, 2016)
Is it true that Colorado House District 16 Candidate Larry Liston "claimed to be against Ref C... but voted for it"? (June 17, 2016)
Did South Carolina State Rep. Wendy Nanney miss more than 30 percent of votes in her current term through March 30 and more than 50 percent this year through March 30? (June 13, 2016)
Did the Nevada State Assembly vote on a “700-page bill” the same day that bill was introduced? (June 10, 2016)
Did the media call the Democratic primary too early? (June 7, 2016)
Would funding for the military, border security, and veterans’ services have ceased without the 2016 omnibus bill? (June 7, 2016)
Did California election officials give independent voters inconsistent and incorrect information about voting by mail? (June 3, 2016)
Do "30 million Americans remain uninsured"? (June 3, 2016)
Did Ted Strickland cut spending for certain programs when he was governor of Ohio in 2009? (June 1, 2016)
Did South Carolina State Senator Wes Hayes vote to block a DOT reform bill in 2015? (May 31, 2016)
Has Nebraska State Senate candidate Dan Quick received “tens of thousand of out-of-state and out-of-area” union dollars? (May 28, 2016)
Does research back a claim by Rep. Loretta Sanchez that "anywhere between 5 and 20 percent" of Muslims support a caliphate? (May 27, 2016)
Did California Assemblyman Devon Mathis vote for a "$100 million health care tax"? (May 26, 2016)
Is Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman in the “crosshairs” of the voting rights group iVote? (May 25, 2016)
Did New York Assemblyman Keith Wright raise a “staggering amount of real estate money” for his congressional race? (May 23, 2016)
Did Scottsdale, Arizona mayoral candidate Bob Littlefield vote for height and density towers that set a precedent for high-rise development? (May 22, 2016)
Did Stockton, California have “its lowest crime rate in the past 15 years” in 2014? (May 21, 2016)
Is Georgia House District 80 candidate Meagan Hanson "the only conservative" in the Republican primary? (May 20, 2016)
Did GOP Rep. Steve Knight vote to allow federal contractors “to discriminate against the LGBT community”? (May 16, 2016)
Is it too late for an independent presidential candidate to get on the ballot for the November election? (May 13, 2016)
Was the 1994 crime bill a primary driver of mass incarceration of African American men? (May 12, 2016)
Is Oregon secretary of state candidate Brad Avakian making campaign promises he wouldn’t “actually have the authority to” keep? (May 12, 2016)
Do West Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary candidates Booth Goodwin and Jeff Kessler want to raise taxes? (May 9, 2016)
Has Sen. John McCain voted for tax hikes, bailouts, "massive new spending," and increases to the debt ceiling? (May 7, 2016)
Did Colorado congressional candidate Gail Schwartz lead the "charge on the war on coal" as a state senator? (May 6, 2016)
Did U.S. Senate candidate Russ Feingold break “his promise to reject… massive out-of-state contributions”? (May 5, 2016)
Did Sen. Kelly Ayotte vote for cuts to Pell Grants and against refinancing student loans? (May 3, 2016)
Did a gay rights bill backed by Indiana State Senate leader David Long include religious freedom protections? (May 2, 2016)
Has U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers voted with "Obama ever since she's been" in Congress? (April 30, 2016)
Did Indiana Rep. Todd Young vote for "more debt and deficit spending"? (April 29, 2016)
Has Rep. Donald Norcross “voted with the Republicans more than any other” New Jersey Democrat in the House of Representatives? (April 29, 2016)
Do Massachusetts charter schools "drain" funding from traditional public schools? (April 27, 2016)
Can GOP convention rules be changed so that a candidate with only a plurality of delegates wins the nomination? (April 26, 2016)
Does Merrick Garland have the most federal judicial experience of any Supreme Court nominee in history? (April 22, 2016)
Does U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland have "a disastrous record on the second amendment"? (April 22, 2016)
Are thousands of families still displaced after Sandy, and are a majority from New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District? (April 20, 2016)
Have the rules governing the 2016 Republican National Convention been established? (April 19, 2016)
Do “most states” allow voters to register for presidential primaries “as late as the day of” the primary? (April 18, 2016)
Is the death penalty more expensive than life in prison? (April 15, 2016)
Is hard money a larger share of political spending than outside money? (April 14, 2016)
Is U.S. Senate candidate Patty Judge a "vocal supporter of CAFOs" whose political base is "big money industrial agriculture interests"? (April 13, 2016)
Is Hillary Clinton right about guns "that end up committing crimes in New York" coming from Vermont? (April 12, 2016)
Did companies run by West Virginia Governor Democratic primary candidate Jim Justice face financial and legal issues? (April 11, 2016)
Does violating House ethics rules constitute breaking the law? (April 8, 2016)
Is the American middle class at "the point of near non-existence?" (April 8, 2016)
Is Maryland Sen. Jamie Raskin the only MD-08 candidate who's leading on environmental issues? (April 7, 2016)
Does fracking negatively impact property values? (April 7, 2016)
Did Nevada Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson vote to raise taxes after promising not to? (April 4, 2016)
How rare are open seats in the U.S. House of Representatives? (March 25, 2016)
Did Florida Congressman Curbelo vote for drastic cuts to education? (March 24, 2016)
Did Iowa Congressman Rod Blum vote to cut Social Security benefits by 45 percent? (March 22, 2016)
Does Chicago have the highest tobacco taxes in the nation? (March 16, 2016)
Did former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland play a role in keeping paid sick leave off the ballot in 2008? (March 14, 2016)
Did U.S. Senator Mark Kirk vote against fixing military equipment? (March 14, 2016)
Did the Cook County state's attorney do nothing for 400 days after the Laquan McDonald shooting? (March 11, 2016)
Did Catherine Cortez Masto take 36 trips in five years while attorney general of Nevada? (March 7, 2016)
Is Congressional candidate Bryan Caforio a recent resident of California's 25th Congressional District? (March 3, 2016)
Has Texas adequately increased public school funding to keep pace with inflation? (February 29, 2016)
Has Texas Supreme Court Justice Lehrmann demonstrated hostility to tort reform? (February 29, 2016)
Does Texas House candidate Thomas McNutt want to centralize control of education? ( February 26, 2016)
Are Bernie Sanders' chances of winning the Democratic nomination slipping away? (February 26, 2016)
Did Maryland Sen. Jamie Raskin vote against banning juvenile life without parole? (February 25, 2016)

Launched in October 2015 and active through October 2018, Fact Check by Ballotpedia examined claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. We evaluated claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. As of 2025, Ballotpedia staff periodically review these articles to reevaluate and reaffirm our conclusions. Please email us with questions, comments, or concerns about these articles. To learn more about our fact-checking process, click here.

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