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The results of the Pennsylvania election in the F1 broadcast are not real

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The claim: Presidential election results broadcast during Formula 1 race are evidence of 'fraud'

An Instagram post from November 1 (direct link, archive link) includes an image of a Formula 1 broadcast with alleged vote totals for Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump at the bottom of the screen.

“How does ABC 'accidentally' show the presidential election results for Pennsylvania when 100% of the votes are counted and Kamala Harris won with 5%?” reads text on the image, which is a screenshot of a post on X, formerly Twitter .

The caption of the Instagram post reads: “Fraud already. Here we go again! Do you think this will be an honest election?”

The Instagram post was liked 100 times in one day.

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Our rating: False

This is not evidence of voter fraud or “fraud.” An ABC affiliate in Pennsylvania said it mistakenly aired mock results for the 2024 presidential election while preparing for Election Day coverage. A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Secretary of State also said the results were not real because mail-in ballots had not yet been counted in the state.

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The image depicting the purported presidential election results comes from an Oct. 27 broadcast of the Mexico City Formula One Grand Prix on ABC affiliate WNEP-TV, which serves northeastern and central Pennsylvania.

But while the vote totals for Harris and Trump were displayed on a ticker during the race's broadcast, WNEP said in a statement that the counts were not real and were “erroneously” broadcast as the station prepared for Election Day.

“The numbers shown on the screen were randomly generated test results sent out to help news organizations ensure their equipment was working properly before Election Night,” WNEP’s statement said. “The numbers did not reflect the actual number of votes.”

Matt Heckel, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State, also said it was “not possible” for the television station to have broadcast authentic election results from the state because mail-in ballots had not yet been tabulated.

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“Current state law does not allow counties to begin opening mail-in ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day,” Heckel said in an email. “That means county election officials can’t even remove the ballots from the envelopes and prepare them for scanning until that point.”

Counties also are not allowed to record and release results before polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, Heckel said, citing Pennsylvania election law.

This is also consistent with the Department of State's guidance for pre-selection and acquisition of absentee and absentee ballots.

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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