Rapper, artist and presidential candidate Kayne West checked in Tuesday night about how he’s doing in the presidential race, and after taking a look at the website of Lexington, Ky., station LEX18, he thought he had more than 40,000 votes in the state.
But the numbers West referred to on Twitter, which put him in third place behind libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen and independent candidate Brock Pierce (and ahead of both Democratic candidate Joe Biden and President Donald Trump), were incorrect.
According to local ABC affiliate WHAS:
The website West found was an old link used during the June primary election to show election results from the Associated Press (AP). While the link was still active on the site, the results it showed were part of a routine test the AP completes before each election.
WLEX anchor Nancy Cox responded to West’s tweet by clarifying the situation.
“Despite what @kanyewest is tweeting, he is not leading the race for President in KY,” she tweeted. “The Associated Press always sends out test numbers to make sure systems are working. It’s an automated thing that is posting election results on our website. Sorry viewers. Sorry Kanye.”
Despite what @kanyewest is tweeting, he is not leading the race for President in KY. The Associated Press always sends out test numbers to make sure systems are working. It's an automated thing that is posting election results on our website. Sorry viewers. Sorry Kanye.
— Nancy Cox (@NancyCoxLex18) October 14, 2020