Trump claims election fraud as Pennsylvania vote delayed by software malfunction
Voting in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, was extended due to technical issues yesterday (November 5), which prevented voters from scanning their ballots.
By court decision, the closing time for voting was extended from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. due to technical difficulties. Reports also suggest that votes were cast on paper ballots, with the issue unresolved at the time of the court order.
“The Cambria County Board of Elections learned early this morning that a software malfunction in the county’s electronic voting system prevented voters from scanning their ballots,” said Cambria County Attorney Ron Repak .
“This should not discourage voters from voting at their polling stations. The board filed a court order extending the voting deadline in Cambria County.
Repak added that “the malfunction caused confusion among voters, long lines of voters and many people left polling places without voting.”
Despite the problem, Repak assured that all votes would still be counted and that IT specialists were investigating the problem.
Problems were also found in Bedford County, while reports suggested Blair, Somerset and Luzerne counties also had problems, although this has not been confirmed.
Along with the technical glitch, Republican leader Donald Trump said there was cheating and election fraud in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Trump took to his social media network, Truth Social, and claimed that law enforcement was coming after those who cheated in the election.
“There is a lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia. The police are arriving!!!” he said.
Pennsylvania supported Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, but it is a key state for the election.
Trump’s cheating allegations were quickly dismissed by the country’s federal cybersecurity agency.
A senior adviser to the director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said she had not observed any “data or reports to support” [Trump’s] complaints”.
Additionally, prosecutor Larry Krasner said in an article on X that there was “no factual basis for these allegations.”
“We have received complaints and allegations of irregularities all day long. If Donald J. Trump has facts to support his wild claims, we want them now. Right away. We’re not holding our breath,” Krasner said.
