ABC affiliate WNEP-TV accidentally aired election results showing Vice President Kamala Harris winning Pennsylvania—just a week before Election Day. The graphic, which showed VP Harris’ win with 52% of the vote over Republican challenger Donald Trump’s 47%, popped up during the station’s Sunday coverage of the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix, sparking a wave of online conspiracy theories and criticism for the network.
WNEP-TV has since clarified that the numbers were “randomly generated” for equipment testing purposes and were not based on any actual vote count.
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ABC ‘mistakenly airs Pennsylvania election results
“Those numbers should not have appeared on the screen, and it was an error by WNEP that they did,” the broadcast station reportedly told Daily Mail about the ‘glitch.’ The broadcaster clarified the slip-up that caused a stir on social media, explaining that the numbers aired were purely “randomly generated test results” with no connection to actual vote counts.
“The numbers seen on the screen were randomly generated test results sent out to help news organizations make sure their equipment is working properly in advance of election night,” they added.
They emphasised that Pennsylvania law prohibits mail-in ballots from being opened until Election Day morning, with no votes counted until polls close at 8:00 p.m. Adding to their statement, WNEP expressed regret over the incident, apologising for the confusion and assuring viewers that measures are in place to prevent a recurrence.
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Pennsylvania poll: Harris and Trump tied in arazor-thin election
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are locked in a tight race in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, with Real Clear Politics data showing Trump holding a slim 0.7% lead—48.2% to Harris’s 47.5%. Nationally, however, the Vice President has a slight edge in polling averages. On November 5, Americans will decide who will succeed President Joe Biden. Back in 2020, Biden narrowly won Pennsylvania, edging out Trump by just 80,555 votes, a margin of 1.17% according to the Post.
“The cheating game is on,” one user posted, accusing ABC of bias. Another chimed in, “ABC is rigging it for the Democrats—revoke their license.” A third wrote, “I’m screenshotting this, and if the same thing shows up on November 5, we’ll talk.” ABC has faced major backlash this election season, with critics accusing the network of leaning toward Democratic perspectives, especially during the recent Harris-Trump debate, where some viewers felt the moderators showed Harris undue favor.
Pennsylvania’s 19 voting spots are really important in the fight to hit the 270 mark needed to win the Electoral College. The 538 presidential prediction says Pennsylvania is going to be super close, with Trump tipped to win about half the time.
