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Northern Virginia county reports 4,000-vote tallying error in 2020 presidential race

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Northern Virginia county reports 4,000-vote tallying error in 2020 presidential race
  • Prince William County, Virginia, has admitted to underreporting President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over predecessor Donald Trump.
  • Officials are believed to have underreported Biden’s vote total by 1,648 votes, and overreported Trump’s by 2,327.
  • The county, which primarily encompasses Washington, D.C.’s outer suburbs, is a Democratic stronghold.

A northern Virginia county is acknowledging that it underreported President Joe Biden’s margin of victory over Donald Trump there in the 2020 presidential election by about 4,000 votes, the first detailed accounting of errors that came to light in 2022 as part of a criminal case.

The admission Thursday from the Prince William County Office of Elections comes a week after prosecutors from the Virginia Attorney General’s office dropped charges against the county’s former registrar, Michele White.

Counts were also off in races for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, though by lesser margins.

VIRGINIA DROPS LAST REMAINING CHARGE AGAINST DC-AREA ELECTIONS OFFICIAL

In a statement, the county’s current registrar, Eric Olsen, emphasized that the mistakes did not come close to affecting the outcome of any race and “did not consistently favor one party or candidate but were likely due to a lack of proper planning, a difficult election environment, and human error.”

In the presidential race, the county mistakenly shorted Biden by 1,648 votes, and overreported Trump’s count by 2,327 votes. The 3,975-vote error in the margin of victory was immaterial in a contest that Biden won by 450,000 votes in Virginia and by more than 60,000 votes in Prince William County.

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In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Mark Warner was shorted by 1,589 votes and Republican Daniel Gade was shorted by 107 votes. Warner won statewide by more than 500,000 votes.

And in a U.S. House race, Republican Robert Wittman was shorted by 293 votes. He won by more than 80,000.

The details released Thursday were the first extensive response about the errors since White was initially charged in 2022 with corrupt conduct, making a false statement and neglect of duty. Prosecutors from the office of Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares dropped the charges against White with little explanation, and court records lacked details on the alleged misconduct.

Prince William County, Virginia, has admitted to tabulation errors in several 2020 elections.

Only on Thursday did it even become public which candidates benefitted from the mistakes. Olsen said Thursday that he was restricted from being more forthcoming about the errors while the criminal case was litigated.

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In a phone interview, Olsen said the majority of errors occurred in so-called “split precincts,” in which one precinct is home to two different congressional districts. The county’s voting system did not split the presidential vote by congressional district. The state system required them to be split that way. The errors occurred trying to conform the county data with the state requirements, he said.

Other mistakes highlighted faults in the county’s validation process. For example, Olsen said he first discovered the mistakes when he noticed that Precincts 607 and 608 displayed identical presidential votes. Someone had entered one precinct’s data into the other by mistake.

“It seemed like an obvious typo,” said Olsen, who replaced White as registrar and eventually reported the irregularities under his predecessor to state officials.

The case against White is the only criminal prosecution brought thus far by a special Election Integrity Unit that Miyares formed in 2022. Miyares’ office said the unit was created in part to fulfill a campaign promise “because Virginians expressed concerns to him about our elections as he traveled across the Commonwealth.” Critics, including the NAACP, said the unit was formed to pander to election deniers.

JUDGE DROPS FELONY CHARGES AGAINST VIRGINIA ELECTIONS OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF 2020 MISCONDUCT

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White’s attorney, Zachary Stafford, said the allegations that White was responsible for the incorrect numbers were disproven by pretrial statements from a government witness, and that prosecutors wisely dropped the charges. He said the county’s Electoral Board is the one that certified the election results, and White became a scapegoat.

“The board certified incorrect results and they, and the attorney general’s office, attempted to assign blame to Ms. White for their mistakes,” Stafford said in a written statement.

Virginia’s most recent redistricting has dramatically reduced the number of split precincts that caused Prince William County problems in 2020.

Olsen, the elections official, says new procedures and systems are in place to prevent errors.

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“Mistakes are unfortunate but require diligence and innovation to correct. They do not reflect a purposeful attempt to undermine the integrity of the electoral process and the investigation into this matter ended with that conclusion,” Olsen said in a statement.

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Southeast

Florida teens in custody after 14-year-old girl found shot to death, burnt: sheriff

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Florida teens in custody after 14-year-old girl found shot to death, burnt: sheriff

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Two teen boys in Florida are accused of fatally shooting a 14-year-old girl and setting her on fire along a wooded walking trail last week in what authorities are calling a “horrific” killing.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters Thursday that the body has been identified as Danika Troy. He said Danika’s mother reported her as a runaway on Monday.

“Unbeknownst to the mother, Danika was murdered the previous night,” Johnson said.

A passerby discovered Danika’s body along a wooded area off Kimberly Road in Pace, a town about 16 miles northeast of Pensacola, and called 911, Johnson said.

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MIGRANT TEENAGERS CHARGED IN FATAL STABBING OF HOMELESS MAN IN CHICAGO

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters that the suspects were supposedly friends with the victim from school. He said investigators were still working to determine a motive. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)

Investigators quickly identified the suspects as 14-year-old Kimahri Blevins and 16-year-old Gabriel Williams and took them into custody.

“This is where it gets really horrific,” Johnson said.

Kimahri Blevins, 14, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)

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Williams allegedly stole his mother’s handgun and shot Danika.

“It’s bad enough you kill a 14-year-old. You’re 14. You’re 16,” Johnson said. “Shoot her multiple times, and then they set her on fire.”

Gabriel Williams, 16, is facing premeditated first-degree murder charges. Authorities are seeking to charge him as an adult. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)

Johnson said investigators are still working to determine a motive.

“They have been interviewed, but the motive that they’re giving doesn’t fit the forensics or any facts of the case, so we don’t have a legit motive,” he told reporters.

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Blevins and Williams supposedly knew the victim from school, according to Johnson. He believed the two teens have had previous “run-ins” with law enforcement, though he could not immediately say if they had earlier arrests.

Blevins and Williams are being held at the Department of Juvenile Justice on premeditated first-degree murder charges. 

“You don’t want to go out and see a burnt child with bullet holes,” Johnson said. “That’s not something you sign up for.”

Johnson said no parents have been charged at this time, though investigators are “looking into it.”

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The sheriff’s office is working with the State Attorney to charge both teens as adults.

“If you do an adult crime, you gotta do adult time,” Johnson said.

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Florida college student who allegedly shipped 1,500 rounds of ammo to dorm had AR-15 under bed

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Florida college student who allegedly shipped 1,500 rounds of ammo to dorm had AR-15 under bed

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A Florida college student who allegedly ordered 1,500 rounds of ammunition to his dorm room also had a semi-automatic rifle under his bed, according to authorities.

Constantine Demetriades, a 21-year-old senior at Rollins College, was arrested by Winter Park police on Wednesday and charged with possession of a weapon on school property after the ammunition order was reported to police by the school’s assistant campus safety director, according to an arrest affidavit, WKMG reported.

After the purchase was flagged, the assistant safety director searched Demetriades’ dorm and allegedly discovered an unloaded AR-15 under his bed inside an unsecured black carrying case with one loaded magazine and five empty magazines, as well as a tactical vest, knives, a black security vest and ear protection.

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Constantine Demetriades, 21, was charged with possession of a weapon on school property. (Winter Park Police Department)

Demetriades, who said he likes to shoot as a hobby, told police he had the rifle on school property because he had recently returned from a Thanksgiving trip to New Jersey, where he said the guns were purchased and registered legally, according to the affidavit.

He said he did not have ill intentions and that he usually stores the firearm at a friend’s home off school property, the affidavit stated. He also said he only brought the gun to campus on one other occasion.

Constantine Demetriades said he did not have ill intentions. (Getty Images)

While Florida allows open carry, Rollins College bans all weapons on campus. Demetriades allegedly said he is aware that weapons are not allowed on campus and that his New Jersey concealed carry permit does not apply in Florida.

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The college said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital that he is banned from campus until the situation is resolved, adding that an internal investigation has been opened.

FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED IN WEALTHY BEACH TOWN OVER ALLEGED TIKTOK SCHOOL-SHOOTING THREAT

While Florida allows open carry, Rollins College bans all weapons on campus. (Getty Images)

“On Wednesday, the College received a report indicating a violation of our weapons policy,” Rollins College said in a statement. “After receiving this information, we immediately initiated an investigation.”

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“We quickly identified and contacted the student, who cooperated fully with College officials and local law enforcement as we investigated the matter further,” the statement continued. “The student was arrested and is not permitted to be on campus while the College proceeds with the student conduct process.”

The school said Demetriades was additionally charged with a violation of the college’s weapons policy, and will go through the on-campus conduct process.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene spars with ’60 Minutes’ host over ‘accusatory’ questions

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Marjorie Taylor Greene spars with ’60 Minutes’ host over ‘accusatory’ questions

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., briefly sparred with “60 Minutes” host Lesley Stahl over what she claimed was “accusatory” behavior from the journalist.

Greene gave her first sit-down interview with Stahl since announcing her resignation from Congress last month. During the segment, Stahl and Greene spoke about the Georgia lawmaker’s apology for taking part in “toxic politics.”

“I would like to say humbly, I‘m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics,” Greene told CNN in November. “It’s very bad for our country, and it’s been something I’ve thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, is that we, I’m only responsible for myself and my own words and actions, and I am committed, and I’ve been working on this a lot lately to put down the knives in politics.”

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE TO APPEAR ON ’60 MINUTES’ AHEAD OF EXIT FROM CONGRESS

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., gave her first sit-down interview with “60 Minutes” since announcing her resignation. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“But you contributed to that,” Stahl asked Greene Sunday. “You. You, you were out there pounding, insulting people.”

Greene pushed back, claiming that Stahl had contributed to toxic politics herself.

“You’re accusatory, just like you did just then,” Greene said.

“I know you’re accusing me, but I’m smiling,” Stahl responded.

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“You’re accusing me,” Greene said. “But we don’t have to accuse one another.”

The two continued to go back and forth, with Greene repeatedly insisting that Stahl should also acknowledge her own contribution to toxic politics.

“I don’t insult people,” Stahl said.

TRUMP SAYS HE’D ‘LOVE TO SEE’ GREENE RETURN TO POLITICS DESPITE RECENT ATTACKS

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., previously apologized for her role in “toxic” politics. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

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“You just, you do in the way you question,” Greene said. “And you are, you’re accusing me right now.”

Fox News Digital reached out to CBS News for comment. 

Greene previously sat down with Stahl in April 2023, when the two had a fiery exchange over the congresswoman’s claim that Democrats are the “party of pedophiles.”

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE SAYS SHE HOPES TO ‘MAKE UP’ WITH TRUMP AMID ONGOING FEUD

“They are not pedophiles. Why would you say that?” Stahl exclaimed.

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“Democrats support — even Joe Biden, the president himself — supports children being sexualized and having transgender surgeries. Sexualizing children is what pedophiles do to children,” Greene said.

“Wow,” Stahl reacted.

“60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl had a tense exchange with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., over her claim that Democrats were the “party of pedophiles” during an April 2023 interview. (Screenshots/CBS News)

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Greene shocked the political landscape last month when she revealed she would leave Congress Jan. 5. Many believe her abrupt exit was the result of her soured relationship with President Donald Trump.

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Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

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