Voting Machines Can Read Votes Marked With a Sharpie

Drew Fossen

Politics

4th November 2020

Voting Machines Can Read Votes Marked With a Sharpie

Ballots marked with sharpie will not be discounted (Getty Images).

The Claim

Arizona voters were forced to vote using sharpies, which can’t be read by voting machines.

News posted on

Marko Trickovic

DoWhatLightsYouUp

Arizona Red Conservatives

Mindy

Mindy Robinson 🇺🇸

Emerging story

In a video originally posted on Facebook, a woman voting from Maricopa County, Arizona explains that two people in front of her were forced to use a sharpie to fill out their ballots on Election Day. After filling out the ballots with a sharpie, she says, the machine was unable to read their ballots.

This video has been shared 90K times and was reposted across other social media platforms.

People are questioning whether or not this is a plot by the Democrats, handing out sharpies in typically Republican counties, in order to invalidate their votes. People are discussing this issue using #SharpieGate causing it to become a trending topic on Twitter.

Misbar’s Analysis

Misbar’s investigation has found that using a sharpie to fill in a ballot works and the ballot will still be read by a voting machine. According to the Election FAQs on the Maricopa County website, “Voters at home may use ballpoint pen in black or blue ink or a sharpie. Vote Centers use fine tip sharpies as they have the fastest drying ink, therefore preventing smudges when put through the Vote Center tabulation equipment.”

In response to this controversy, Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s Secretary of State appeared in an interview on Fox 10 Phoenix and was asked if using a sharpie to fill out a ballot was okay. She explained that the ballots in question in Maricopa, AZ were “deliberately offset in columns so that if the marks on one side bleed through to the other side, they are not interfering with the bubbles on the other side.”

On Twitter, Maricopa County released a video before the election started, explaining why sharpies were being used.