A county in Michigan corrected its tally to show that President Donald Trump had won there in the 2020 United State presidential election after a software glitch incorrectly gave some of his votes to rival Joe Biden, news reports suggest.
Failure to update the software was the reason for the glitch, the Detroit Free Press quoted the Michigan Department of State as saying on November 6. The glitch caused errors in the unofficial election results reported from Antrim county.
Trump defeated Biden in Antrim County, getting 56 percent of the votes there, according to revised totals.
The glitch was spotted by local officials after results showed that the Democratic Party’s candidate had won the historically Republican-leaning county. Officials acknowledged the results seemed “skewed” and promised a second look. More than 16,000 votes were cast there.
“It certainly makes a lot more sense with people who are familiar with Antrim County,” The Associated Press quoted deputy county administrator Jeremy Scott as saying.
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However, this change did not impact the overall result in the state where Trump is currently trailing by 1.47 lakh votes with less than 2 percent counting remaining.
Trump was leading in Michigan on election night. But Biden took the lead when counting of early mail ballots started.
Republican Party’s Michigan Chairwoman Laura Cox claimed in a press conference that 47 other counties in the state also use the software and urged them to 'closely examine' the results for possible discrepancies.
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This came at a time when President Trump is seeking to discredit the election result, claiming without evidence that there has been a fraud. Trump is also challenging the ballot counting procedures in various state courts, as Biden leads the Electoral College vote tally.
As of 8.30 am Indian Standard Time (IST) on November 7, Biden had clinched 253 electoral votes against Trump’s 214. Five battleground states where the margins are narrow are yet to be called. A candidate needs 270 such electoral votes to win the presidency.
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