Jason Redmond – AFP / Getty ImagesElection workers load ballots into a sorting machine on Election Day at the King County Elections office in Renton, Washington. (Jason Redmond – AFP / Getty Images)
An apparent issue with the election infrastructure in one Michigan county resulted in a Republican candidate having a tally of only two votes Wednesday.
Now, it’s been revealed that the program at fault could be in use in dozens of other counties across the state.
The discrepancy was discovered Wednesday morning in Antrim County, according to Michigan’s Interlochen Public Radio.
Triston Cole, a Republican state legislator, cited the fact that Representative Jack Bergman received only two votes, according to county tabulations.
“I can guarantee that there were 6 [Bergman votes] in my immediate family alone,” Cole told IPR.
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Election results posted to the county website have been taken down since the discrepancy was found.
“Early this morning, the Antrim County Clerk, Sheryl Guy, became aware of apparently skewed results in the Unofficial Election Result tabulations,” county officials said on their Facebook page.
“Since then, the Clerk’s Office has been reviewing the results and the multiple redundancies to search out any possible discrepancies. Staff is currently working with township officials and with Election Source, the company that provides the voting software programs and hardware.”
According to WPBN-TV, Guy said the vote totals on printed tabulator tapes and totals counted by the election software did not match. The printed tabulated tapes from each precinct will be counted manually as a result.
According to KXXV-TV anchor Joe Gumm, the Antrim County Clerk’s Office is now in the process of reviewing over 16,000 ballots cast in the county.
Even worse for the integrity of elections in Michigan, the program used to conduct voting in Antrim County is reportedly being used in 33 other counties across the state.
UPDATE: The Antrim County Clerk’s Office in Michigan told me the election program it used (Election Source) had issues and the office is now reviewing 16,047 total votes. The source I spoke with said she believes 33 other counties used the program. #postelection2020
— Joe Gumm, MSc (@JoeGummKXXV) November 4, 2020
“The irregularities reported this morning are incredibly troubling, especially given how close the election results are in Michigan,” Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox told WPBN-TV.
“At this point, it is unclear whether or not these issues were caused by incompetence or corruption, but the fact that they exist is of great concern, and the Michigan Republican Party will spare no expense to expose the truth of what happened in yesterday’s election.”
Are there widespread election issues in Michigan?
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden currently leads the state by some 60,000 votes.
Michigan, and its 16 Electoral College votes, sits as a critical step towards the presidency. Some have called the race for Biden, but the Associated Press and others have not yet called the race as votes continue to be tallied.
The campaign of President Donald Trump filed suit in Michigan Wednesday afternoon to halt vote counting after his team was allegedly denied access to observe counting.
Trump campaign statement on #Michigan lawsuit pic.twitter.com/T7FSfp3MVA
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) November 4, 2020
It’s unclear how far-reaching the seemingly faulty election program’s impact is.
As Election Day turns into election week, there’s no sign of this political contest ending anytime soon.
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