“So the cheating has begun” — Internet reacts as ABC station mistakenly declares Kamala Harris winner in Pennsylvania
An ABC station accidentally declared US Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris as the winner in Pennsylvania during a Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix telecast on October 27, 2024. WNEP-TV, an ABC affiliate, mistakenly broadcast a result announcing that Harris won by amassing 52% of the votes compared to Republican candidate Donald Trump's 47%, with 100% precincts reporting.
The incident created a furore among conservatives, who claimed the election was rigged as the result was announced a week before the presidential election on November 5. One person tweeted:
"So the cheating has begun."
Several Trump supporters agreed with the sentiment, claiming ABC should have its license revoked for the mistake.
"@ABC is cheating for the Democrat machine. Their license should be revoked," one person tweeted.
"They know the election results before the election. That’s not at all worrying or indicative of fraud," another person added.
"If it wasn't for this "mistake". We might have actually bought the lie when it was supposed to air. Now it cannot be under ANY circumstance THAT outcome," someone else commented.
"Steal is already in. Get ready for it," another user wrote.
Others accused ABC of election interference, alleging that the network proclaiming Kamala Harris as the winner was not a mistake.
"Mistake? lol. Election interference," one person commented.
"Abc accidentally showed the results. These can of course be a test to see if it’s working but if these are really the exact results come Election Day we’re doomed and will never have a safe election again unless we do something about it," another person added.
"ABC affiliate WNEP aired election results of Harris winning PA by 5% with 100%. Another attempt of election interference. It is getting to the point that they are not hiding it. Let’s see if this is the number they put out next week," someone else wrote.
ABC claimed the result was an "error"
The ABC-owned WNEP-TV released a statement following the backlash after it displayed an election result showing Kamala Harris's alleged win in the swing state of Pennsylvania ahead of election day. The network said that the result was an "error," as it was part of a test run to ensure their equipment was working smoothly.
In a statement to The Daily Mail, the network mentioned:
“Those numbers should not have appeared on the screen, and it was an error by WNEP that they did. 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.”
The network also said the numbers were "not reflective" of the actual votes, adding the state did not permit mail-in ballots to be opened before 7 am on election day. Additionally, the in-person vote counting will start only after the polls close that day. The network apologized for the misunderstanding and ensured that the mistake would never be repeated.
According to CBS News, Pennsylvania is one of the most crucial swing states in the election, holding 19 electoral votes. During the 2020 election, Biden's razor-thin win by a 1.17% margin earned him the election after a four-day count. Both Trump and Harris have extensively campaigned in the state ahead of the 2024 election.
The polls in Pennsylvania will be open from 7 am to 8 pm local time, and the deadline for mail-in ballots is at 8 pm that same day.
In other news, ABC Network recently received the ire of MAGA supporters after the presidential debate in September 10. Conservatives accused the network moderators of being biased and fact-checking Donald Trump but not Kamala Harris.
During the debate, moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-checked Trump twice. The first time was when Trump claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people's pets. Muir said that their channel contacted the city manager and there were "no credible reports" of the same in the city.
“I just want to clarify here. You bring up Springfield, Ohio. ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community," Muir said.
The other time was when Trump claimed people were "executing" babies after birth, to which Davis responded that it was illegal to kill a baby after it was born in all US states.