MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A widely shared story that claimed 5,000 Wisconsin votes for Republican President-elect Donald Trump were disqualified is false. The votes in question were originally miscounted, but not disqualified.
The story posted by realtimepolitics.com last month is headlined: “Ahead Of Wisconsin Recount, 5,000 Donald Trump Votes Already DISQUALIFIED!!!” It received more than 58,000 shares, comments and reactions on Facebook after being posted on the page called Proud Liberals.
The 5,000-vote claim originates from a discrepancy between unofficial and official vote totals cited by another website, palmerreport.com.
Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesman Reid Magney tells The Associated Press that “addition errors” on election night are the reason for the difference.
Both Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton added to their vote totals when Wisconsin recounted ballots. Trump maintained a statewide lead of about 22,000 votes.
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