Unreal: ABC Affiliate Sparks Controversy After Test 'Mistakenly' Shows Election Results
On Sunday, a Pennsylvania TV station mistakenly declared Vice President Kamala Harris the victor in the presidential election, over a week before Election Day.
A video posted to X shows the surprising moment when a scroll of “election results” briefly appeared on the screen, displaying Harris as winning against former President Donald Trump with 52 percent of the vote to his 47 percent—a result far removed from the current polling numbers.
In reality, Real Clear Polling data shows a near tie, with Trump holding a slight edge over Harris, though still within the margin of error.
WNEP Scranton "mistakenly" showed the Pennsylvania results for the 2024 election.
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) October 30, 2024
The ABC News affiliate called it a "test" run.
You'll never guess who they showed winning pic.twitter.com/VFL6ojIy7j
Following the incident, WNEP-TV quickly clarified that the display was merely a test run.
“Those numbers should not have appeared on the screen, and it was an error by WNEP,” the station posted. The station emphasized that these results weren’t predictions.
The network explained, “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.”
“Those numbers do not reflect any actual vote count,” they stated.
Despite this explanation, some viewers expressed doubts.
Wasn't it like Venezuela that did this, too, where they accidentally released some vote totals a few days before the election?
— TheShadowbanned (@ShadowbanSlam) October 30, 2024
To reassure voters, WNEP reminded everyone that election outcomes aren’t official until ballots are fully counted on Election Night.
“WNEP regrets the error and apologizes for any confusion. We have taken steps to ensure that it does not happen again,” the station said in its apology.
This incident comes amid heightened competition between the Trump and Harris campaigns for Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state. Trump has been vocal about his suspicions of election misconduct there.
“Pennsylvania is cheating, and getting caught, at large scale levels rarely seen before. REPORT CHEATING TO AUTHORITIES. Law Enforcement must act, NOW!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
With concerns over “on demand” voting procedures, Trump’s campaign has filed a lawsuit against Bucks County, as reported by the Bucks County Courier Times.