On Election Day, Google faced backlash over search discrepancies that appeared to favor Democratic candidate Kamala Harris over Republican nominee Donald Trump. Users who searched “Where can I vote for Trump” found no specific results, while those who searched “Where can I vote for Harris” were directed to a map feature to find voting locations.
The issue was first noted by Emma-Jo Morris, a former editor at Breitbart News, and quickly spread online, including on X, where a post from platform owner Elon Musk highlighted the discrepancy. Google clarified the difference, explaining that the map feature triggered for searches including “Harris” due to its association with Harris County in Texas, while similar triggers appeared for other locations like “Vance,” a county name. Google assured users that the discrepancy would soon be corrected, adding that only a few users search in this specific way.
BREAKING: Google shows a ‘Where to Vote’ section with a map for Kamala Harris, but not for Donald Trump.
Google is the biggest corporate donor to the Democratic Party. pic.twitter.com/ckCcd3ifza
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) November 5, 2024
The incident follows previous claims by Trump, who accused Google of manipulating search results to promote Harris positively while allegedly amplifying negative content about him. Trump warned that if re-elected, he would pursue legal action against the tech giant, which he claims engages in “illegal activity.”
Google Comms is lying. As the screenshots show, you get the location module without typing in Harris. It only goes away when you type in Trump. pic.twitter.com/4QHZRr55ML
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) November 5, 2024
In response to these issues, Google acknowledged the error and stated that it was working on a solution. The company reassured voters that they could search by using the full names of candidates to avoid the discrepancy.