Fox News host Tucker Carlson issued an apology to viewers after a local Georgia news outlet pointed out his inaccurate claims about a dead individual illegally voting in the state.
During a segment on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Carlson said that someone cast a ballot on behalf of James Blalock of Covington, Ga., who died in 2006. The news of a World War II veteran casting a vote was ultimately used by the Trump campaign to argue about Georgia’s illegal voting.
“No one quite embodies that story like James Blalock of Covington, Ga. Mr. Blalock was a mailman for 33 years until he passed away in 2006,” Carlson said. “Fourteen years later, according to state records, he was still mailing things. James Blalock cast a ballot in last week’s election.”
However, once the news of a dead man voting went viral, Newton County officials released a statement to clear up the miscommunication that Blalock didn’t vote. Furthermore, the report went on to say that there was a vote cast by a Blalock, but it was his widow registered under his name as “Mrs. James E. Blalock, Jr.”
11Alive, NBC’s Atlanta affiliate station, called out Carlson for his inaccurate claim. Also, the network confirmed the news with Blalock’s widow herself, Agnes Blalock. After realizing the inaccuracy, Carlson retracted his statement and apologized.
“We’ve got some good news tonight and an apology,” he said. “One of the people who voted in last week’s election isn’t dead,” Carlson said. “James Blalock is still dead. We told you about him, but it was his wife who voted. She voted as Mrs. James Blalock. It’s old-fashioned, and we missed it.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
