The office of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has requested that election officials from the Phoenix area provide information about the distribution of Sharpie brand felt tip pens to complete ballots. Some have claimed that using the felt tip pens invalidated their votes.
In a letter to the Maricopa County Elections Department, Brnovich’s office asked which polling locations provided Sharpies, how often were they used and if other markers and pens were available, Phoenix NBC affiliate KPNX reported.
It also asked how many ballots were rejected at each voting center, how many ballots were rejected because ink bled through the paper and was machine programmed to reject "over-vote" ballots, how many ballots were spoiled on-site, how many voters were offered a new ballot and what is the process of canceling a ballot.
They were to respond by noon Thursday Pacific Time or explain why they could not.
The issue exploded Wednesday on social media with accusations of ballots being rejected, including a video of a woman who made the claim, and Twitter blocking users from distributing the accusation saying it could contain misinformation.
Brnovich’s office said it received ''hundred'' of complaints from voters.
Although several media news organizations have declared Democratic nominee Joe Biden the winner in the state, results show 12% of the vote remained uncounted at 5 p.m. Eastern Time and Trump trailing by less than 70,000 votes, according to The Associated Press. Maricopa County is the largest county in Arizona, comprising half of the state’s population.
State Elections Director Sambo Dul responded to Brnovich’s letter, calling the issue, which she said has been dubbed ''Sharpiegate,'' a ''conspiracy theory.''
However, one voter, Laurie Aguilera, filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court on Wednesday claiming her ballot was rejected and she was not given a new one.
Maricopa County election officials tried to dispel the claim on Wednesday, posting to Twitter that Sharpies are recommended by the manufacturer of the vote counting machines used because the ink dries quickly.
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