Unreal: ABC Affiliate Sparks Controversy After Test ‘Mistakenly’ Shows Election Results
A Pennsylvania TV station, WNEP, mistakenly reported Vice President Kamala Harris as the winner of the upcoming presidential election over a week before Election Day. During a broadcast, a scroll indicated Harris had defeated former President Donald Trump with 52% of the vote, which contradicted recent polling showing a near tie. The station later clarified that the results were part of a “test” and should not have aired, as they were randomly generated and not reflective of actual votes. The incident sparked confusion and led to skepticism regarding the reliability of election reporting. WNEP apologized for the error and reassured viewers that official results would only come after all votes were counted on Election Night. The broadcast coincided with heightened tensions between the Trump and Harris campaigns, particularly in contested states like Pennsylvania.
For a few minutes on Sunday, a Pennsylvania TV station proclaimed Vice President Kamala Harris the winner of the presidential election more than a week before Election Day.
As shown in a video posted to X, a scroll of election results appeared at the bottom of the screen.
The results showed Harris defeating former President Donald Trump 52 percent to 47 percent, which is a far cry from the latest in polling.
WNEP Scranton “mistakenly” showed the Pennsylvania results for the 2024 election.
The ABC News affiliate called it a “test” run.
You’ll never guess who they showed winning pic.twitter.com/VFL6ojIy7j
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) October 30, 2024
According to Real Clear Polling, Trump has a lead over Harris of less than one percentage point, which given the margin of error in polling means they are effectively tied.
The incident led to WNEP-TV saying it was only a test.
“Those numbers should not have appeared on the screen, and it was an error by WNEP that they did,” the station posted.
The station said its result was not a prediction.
“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,” it said.
“The numbers were not reflective of any actual vote count,” the station said.
Some were sour on the explanation.
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
The station reminded voters that nothing is official until the results are 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.
The incident comes as the Trump and Harris campaigns compete for the swing state, in which Trump has said that he suspects cheating is taking place.
“Pennsylvania is cheating, and getting caught, at large scale levels rarely seen before. REPORT CHEATING TO AUTHORITIES. Law Enforcement must act, NOW!” Trump posted on on Wednesday.
Because of concerns over how the state’s “on demand” voting was administered, Bucks County will be sued by the Trump campaign, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.
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