Fourteen thousand votes in South Carolina might not be counted until FRIDAY after record numbers mailed in ballots across America
Counting of around 14,000 mail-in ballots in one South Carolina county has been delayed because of a printing error and might not be declared until Friday.
The Republican stronghold state has already been called for President Trump, but voting in Dorchester County, which broke for Hillary Clinton in 2016, has been disrupted.
This year's election, fought in the climate of a global pandemic and fraught political tension, has seen record numbers of voters avoid polling stations and cast their ballots by mail.
Democrats are disproportionately using main-in ballots, while Trump has repeatedly poured doubt on the process and claimed votes in his name were even found 'dumped in a river'.
Around 1.3million people - 36 per cent - had cast their ballots using absentee voting in South Carolina ahead of November 3.
Ballots are processed in Richland County Administration Building on Tuesday. Neighboring Dorchester County ballots have been delayed because of a printing error
The error will affect the tight-run contest between GOP Senator Lindsay Graham and his Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison
Dorchester County election commissioner Todd Billman said at a news conference the 14,000 ballots did not have the bars printed at the top and so could not be scanned electronically.
He stressed that nobody's vote would affected and election staff will count the ballots by hand and meet Friday's deadline to certify returns.
The error could have affected the contest between reelected GOP Senator Lindsay Graham and his Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison if it came down to the wire.
Graham, chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee and Trump loyalist, was fighting for his political life in the face of a strong campaign from Harrison.
But with 40 per cent of votes counted, Graham was projected to retain his seat.
The delay in Dorchester County will also affect the House race between Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham and Republican candidate Nancy Mace.
First-time voter Alex Jimenez uses a voting machine on November 3, 2020 in Columbia, South Carolina
Unlike neighboring North Carolina, South Carolina was unlikely to ever be in play in the race for the White House and has not flipped blue since voting Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Trump was awarded its nine electoral votes early Tuesday night. South Carolina Republicans didn't hold a primary, an early sign of their support for Trump's reelection.
However the state did help forge Joe Biden's path to being crowned the Democratic nominee, as his victory in the South Carolina primary in February started a wave of wins.
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