Ballot scanning issues in Pennsylvania county trigger baseless fraud allegations

Published on November 6, 2024 at 04:59
3 min read
By Roxana ROMERO, AFP USA
Translation and adaptation Natalie WADE

Electronic voting machines in Cambria County, Pennsylvania had issues scanning ballots as voters went to the polls in the US, leading some social media users to falsely claim it was an intentional attempt to sabotage Republican candidate Donald Trump. Authorities confirmed that citizens continued to submit paper ballots, the issue was corrected and a court extended voting hours in the county.

"BREAKING: VOTING MACHINES ARE DOWN IN DEEP RED CAMBRIA COUNTY, PA. STOP THE STEAL!" read a November 5, 2024 Instagram post.

"Here we go. Dems cheating again. Nothing to see here," one user commented.

Screenshot of an Instagram post taken November 5, 2024

The claim circulated on X and Facebook, including in Spanish. It was also amplified by far-right personality Matt Wallace, who has previously spread disinformation.

As Americans voted in the election between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Trump, misinformation on social media continued to sow doubt in the integrity of the voting process in several battleground states. Pennsylvania — one of the seven swing states expected to decide the presidential election — was at the center of several fraud claims debunked by AFP.

Officials confirmed on Election Day morning that a ballot printing error caused technical issues with voting machines in Cambria County, a county that favored Trump in 2020. The ballots could not be processed by tabulators, reported WJAC, a local NBC News affiliate.

The county-wide issues led several social media users to claim the delays were evidence of election fraud, but these claims are baseless.

Matt Heckel, press secretary for the Pennsylvania State Department, told AFP that citizens could continue to vote by paper ballot "in accordance with normal operations" while the county resolved the issue with in-precinct scanning. He added that the department was "committed to ensuring free, fair and secure elections," in a November 5 email.

The Pennsylvania State Department shared the same statement in an X post (archived here).

The Department of State is in contact with county officials in Cambria County. Voters are continuing to vote by paper ballot, in accordance with normal operations, while the county resolves the issue with in-precinct scanning. We are working with the County to resolve this…
— PA Department of State (@PAStateDept) November 5, 2024

By the afternoon, the polling places were supplied with new ballots that could be processed by the machines.

Amy Gulli, director of the Pennsylvania State Department's Office of Communications and Press, said "every Election Day has its isolated problems, even as county officials diligently plan ahead, as they did this year."

She emphasized that the department took all necessary steps to ensure that voters who wanted to vote in person could do so.

A Pennsylvania judge approved a request from the Cambria County Board of Elections to extend voting hours from 8pm to 10pm local time, in response to the software glitch (archived links here and here).

According to the petition, "The malfunction caused voter confusion, long lines of voters, and many individuals left the polling locations without casting a ballot."

The resolution also states that any vote cast after 8pm on November 5, 2024, "SHALL BE CAST BY PROVISIONAL BALLOT."

Cambria County Solicitor Ron Repak confirmed to WJAC that ballots cast at the time of the issue were "accepted, secured and counted by the Board of Elections."