Elon Musk says New York’s ballot is a scam. It’s actually a 19th-century voting tradition.

Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, criticized the legitimacy of New York City’s election system as voters prepared to head to the polls.

Musk shared a photograph of New York City’s ballot on Nov. 4, Election Day. “The New York City ballot form is a scam! No ID is required. Other mayoral candidates appear twice. (Andrew) Cuomo’s name is last in bottom right,” wrote Musk, who supports Cuomo over Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. Other X users made similar points in other posts.

New York doesn’t require voters to present IDs at their polling place on Election Day, beyond first-time voters who did not present ID at the time they registered. For all other voters, poll workers confirm identity by matching their signature to official records. People are required to present ID when they register to vote.

As for Cuomo’s ballot placement, the former New York governor lost the Democratic primary and created his own independent party to allow him to run in the general election. According to election rules, that meant the placement for Cuomo and his new party was further down the ballot than longer-established parties.

What about candidates appearing twice? There’s nothing fishy about that: It’s part of New York’s long tradition of fusion voting, in which multiple parties can nominate the same candidate.

Having a candidate appear on the ballot twice is “not a scam at all,” said Jerry H. Goldfeder, senior counsel at the law firm Cozen O’Connor. “New York has had fusion voting for many, many years.”