{"id":15538,"date":"2024-10-29T02:11:10","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T03:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=15538"},"modified":"2024-10-29T03:24:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T03:24:54","slug":"no-poll-workers-arent-handing-out-sharpies-to-invalidate-ballots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=15538","title":{"rendered":"No, poll workers aren\u2019t handing out Sharpies to invalidate ballots."},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h3 class=\"css-15h6bi9 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-55fe7e4a\"><span>The false claim<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some people have falsely claimed that election workers have provided Sharpies, markers or other writing utensils to certain voters in an attempt to somehow invalidate their ballots.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-15h6bi9 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-522fa8bd\"><span>Why it is false<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Poll workers provide writing utensils that have been tested with ballots and ballot-reading machines long before Election Day. These can include pens, pencils and markers like Sharpies \u2014 which are often appropriate to use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Election administrators sometimes rely on recommendations from voting machine companies and then supply those writing tools to election workers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some companies behind ballot-tabulating machines, including Dominion Voting Systems, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dominionvoting.com\/2020-11-05-statement-on-viral-claims-rumors-about-ballots-marked-with-sharpie-pens\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">recommend felt-tip markers<\/a> like Sharpies because their fast-drying ink prevents smears. Other election offices, like Maricopa County\u2019s in Arizona, redesigned ballots so that any bleed-through from markers would not impair the ballot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-cfo9c3\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If any writing utensil causes a problem with reading a paper ballot \u2014 for instance, if a mark smeared or bled through to the other side \u2014 voters are offered an opportunity to vote again, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.csg.org\/glossary\/adjudicated-ballot\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">according<\/a> to the Council of State Governments. If there are additional problems, ballots can be adjudicated by hand using a team of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.csg.org\/glossary\/adjudicated-ballot\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">reviewers<\/a> that includes a Democratic and a Republican representative.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-15h6bi9 e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-10ec47b\"><span>How the falsehoods are being used<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The claims often circulate in the form of anecdotes and personal stories that spread rapidly online.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">These false claims have been featured prominently in election misinformation since at least 2020, when \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/11\/04\/technology\/sharpies-ballots-arizona.html\" title>Sharpiegate<\/a>\u201d became a viral story that bolstered false claims of widespread voter fraud.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That year, the claims were catapulted to larger audiences by right-wing influencers and Trump supporters, including Charlie Kirk, the founder of a pro-Trump youth organization, and Eric Trump, the former president\u2019s son.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-5\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The false claimSome people have falsely claimed that election workers have provided Sharpies, markers or other writing utensils to certain voters in an attempt to somehow invalidate their ballots.Why it is falsePoll workers provide writing utensils that have been tested with ballots and ballot-reading machines long before Election Day. These can include pens, pencils and markers like Sharpies \u2014 which are often appropriate to use.Election administrators sometimes rely on recommendations from voting machine companies and then supply those writing tools to election workers.Some companies behind ballot-tabulating machines, including Dominion Voting Systems, recommend felt-tip markers like Sharpies because their fast-drying ink prevents smears. Other election offices, like Maricopa County\u2019s in Arizona, redesigned ballots so that any bleed-through from markers would not impair the ballot.If any writing utensil causes a problem with reading a paper ballot \u2014 for instance, if a mark smeared or bled through to the other side \u2014 voters are offered an opportunity to vote again, according to the Council of State Governments. If there are additional problems, ballots can be adjudicated by hand using a team of reviewers that includes a Democratic and a Republican representative.How the falsehoods are being usedThe claims often circulate in the form of anecdotes and personal stories that spread rapidly online.These false claims have been featured prominently in election misinformation since at least 2020, when \u201cSharpiegate\u201d became a viral story that bolstered false claims of widespread voter fraud.That year, the claims were catapulted to larger audiences by right-wing influencers and Trump supporters, including Charlie Kirk, the founder of a pro-Trump youth organization, and Eric Trump, the former president\u2019s son.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15540,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15538"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15541,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15538\/revisions\/15541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}