Of the 48 percent of Republican candidates who have promoted false or misleading information about the 2024 election …

about two out of three referenced noncitizen voting in connection with 2024 election fraud,

about half referenced Trump’s legal troubles,

and almost a quarter discussed Harris’s nomination as a coup, undemocratic or disrespectful to the will of primary voters.

Noncitizen voting

Republicans have long argued that Trump’s criminal and civil cases are a form of election interference orchestrated by Democrats, but as his court proceedings moved to the back burner this year, many turned to noncitizen voting as a way to sow distrust in the election.

Nearly a third of Republican candidates — at least 153 — have explicitly linked noncitizen voting to election fraud, making it the largest category examined, according to The Post’s analysis. Their posts generally revolve around the unfounded notion that Democrats are allowing undocumented immigrants into the country and registering them to vote. Trump has made similar baseless accusations in dozens of speeches. Noncitizen voting is illegal in state and federal elections, and research shows it happens rarely.

Posting on the issue spiked over the summer as the House considered the Save Act, a bill that would mandate proof of citizenship when registering to vote (the Biden administration and many Democrats opposed the bill, saying it risked disenfranchising eligible voters without adding meaningful protections against noncitizen voting). It also coincided with a flurry of posting about noncitizen voting by billionaire Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. His posts were mentioned or retweeted by dozens of candidates.

Notes marked with fact-check provide additional context for the candidates’ social media posts.

Trump’s court cases and ‘election interference’

Trump is running for president while under indictment in two jurisdictions and awaiting sentencing on 34 felony convictions in another.

It’s unprecedented, and about 1 in 4 Republican candidates have baselessly argued in social media posts that his court cases amount to a political sabotage designed to keep him out of office. At least 120 candidates have explicitly likened his prosecutions to “election interference,” a term generally used to describe an attempt to alter an election by force, corruption or foreign intervention.

Trump’s federal indictments — one of which has since been thrown out — were secured by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed to avoid conflicts of interest in investigating the former president and handle the case with more independence from the Department of Justice than other federal prosecutors receive. State prosecutors filed Trump’s other cases.

A Harris ‘coup’

Over the summer, when Democrats tapped Harris to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee, Trump and a chorus of Republicans began falsely labeling the move a “coup.” Trump, who until that point boasted that he would coast to victory against Biden, described Harris’s ascent, falsely, as an “overthrow” and evidence of a “rigged” contest.

At least 53 Republican candidates have used similar language about Harris’s nomination, according to The Post’s analysis, alleging that Democrats subverted the will of millions of Americans who voted for Biden in the primaries and, as a result, have unfairly put their thumb on the presidential contest.

A misinformation grab bag

At least 112 Republican candidates made other false or unsubstantiated claims about election integrity.

Some promoted specific unfounded conspiracy theories popular on the right related to mail ballots or voter roll maintenance. Others called back to the 2020 or 2022 elections, alleging a pattern of voter fraud they believe will continue in 2024. And many of these candidates used “election interference” as a catchall accusation against the media, technology companies and Democrats.

Casting doubt on election integrity is more than just a campaign tactic. If Trump loses in November, he and his allies may use the election misinformation they have spent years promoting to stir protests, fuel litigation, and pressure lawmakers and election certifiers to deliver a result in his favor.

“It will be false, but it is very dangerous,” said Jeff Greenburg, a former county elections director in Pennsylvania, “because it could incite people to harass or threaten election officials, or even worse commit acts of violence — all as a result of believing a totally secure election was stolen.”