Maricopa County Election Security: Proactive Steps to Protect Democracy Detailed by Sheriff
Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzon and County Clerk Stephen Richer detailed “a high-level review of steps taken to ensure public safety and protect the election process during Maricopa County’s primary and general elections.”
PHOENIX (AP) — Election officials in Arizona’s largest county won’t soon forget #SharpieGate — the social media uproar that erupted after the 2020 election over the false claim that Sharpie pens provided to polling stations will destroy the ballots before they are counted.
Now, as Maricopa County prepares for Tuesday’s Arizona primary, it faces a repeat of the same bogus theories in response to election officials’ announcement that they are switching to Pentel-brand markers on Election Day.
“Do NOT use the felt tip pen they will try to give you,” one Twitter user wrote on Thursday.
“#SharpieGate back in Arizona. Bring your pens,” another tweeted, calling election officials “traitors” and accusing them of trying to “rigg the primaries.”
The county provides felt-tip pens to voters at the polls on Election Day because the pens have quick-drying ink that won’t smudge ballots or leave wet spots that jam tabs in place. This may require machines to be cleaned, causing long queues at polling stations.
Maricopa County Recorder Steven Richter urged voters in Tuesday’s primary on Twitter to “PLEASE PLEASE” use the pens provided to prevent problems with the machines and keep voting running smoothly.
Still, some social media users and prominent Republicans in the state this week encouraged voters to oppose those guidelines. Republican state Rep. Shawna Bolick, who is running for secretary of state in Tuesday’s election, tweeted that she planned to bring her pen for in-person voting, while Kelly Ward, chairwoman of the state Republican Party, encouraged her Twitter followers to “use whatever chemical you want’ but make sure their ballot is dry.
Richer said voters who bring their own blue or black pens to Tuesday’s election will not be turned away, but encouraged them to use the ones provided.
MORE: Arizona’s 2022 primary: What you need to know
“Just like we tell voters they shouldn’t use red pens, they shouldn’t use pencil, they shouldn’t use crayons, we’re telling voters that — to help us ensure an accurate and smooth election — you should use the Pentel pen , if they vote in person on Election Day,” Richter told The Associated Press in an email.
Richer said the district switched from Sharpies to Pentel pens “after a lot of testing” because while both have quick-drying ink, Pentel pens cause less cracking of the ballot. Although offset columns on county ballots prevent bleeding ink from affecting the vote-counting process, even on double-sided ballots, spillage from Sharpies has many vote watchers and online critics raising alarm in 2020.
Some social media users this week expressed confusion as to why early voters in Maricopa County are allowed to use any blue or black pens while Election Day voters are instructed to use only markers. The answer: All early ballots, whether submitted in person, by mail or through a box, are sealed in envelopes and sent to the central board after processing so they have enough time to dry before being counted, Richer said.
A Sharpie marker sits on a table in Phoenix, Arizona, Nov. 5, 2020. – Allegations of fraud and foul play in the 2020 election hit the Internet Nov. 4 as officials counted ballots in battleground states that will determine
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