NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� An unfounded claim that election workers will invalidate ballots by writing on them is prompting election clerks in to correct the record ahead of next week鈥檚 state primary.
Clerks in Collier and Escambia counties, home to Naples and Pensacola, are reassuring voters that the warning that some have encountered on social media and in texting conversations is inaccurate and that ballot markings will not disqualify their votes.
Election officials say the claim, which has circulated online nationwide , is an example of the kind of that often spreads among well-meaning voters but threatens to erode trust in the voting process.
The false claim comes as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has , without evidence, to expect election workers and partisan actors to with the results. Polls also show that confidence in election results is
The false claim has circulated both as copied-and-pasted text and as a screenshot of a text message shared on social media. It purports to come from a 鈥減oll manager鈥� who recently completed a training.
鈥淚 want you all to know something 鈥� if you are checking in at the polls and they happen to write anything on your ballot before they give it to you to put in the voting machine 鈥� a letter, a checkmark, a star, an R or a D any writing of any kind 鈥� please request a new ballot,鈥� the misleading warning reads. 鈥淵our ballot could be disqualified if it is written on.鈥�
That verbatim claim has spread online and been debunked over the years in several states, including Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, 小蓝视频 Carolina and Texas.
Depending on the jurisdiction, there can be legitimate reasons why an election worker might mark a ballot.
A from the North Carolina State Board of Elections explains that election workers in some of that state鈥檚 counties write voter precincts on ballots during early voting so they can be properly sorted after the election.
Election workers in the state also write a number on mail or early in-person ballots, the fact-check explains. The number allows the ballot to be removed from the count if there is a successful voter challenge.
In Florida, election workers are trained not to mark ballots. But even if they did, it shouldn鈥檛 invalidate the vote, said Escambia County Clerk Robert Bender.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had people write paragraphs to us on their ballot,鈥� Bender said. 鈥淥ur scanners are looking for marks in certain areas. And so, if there鈥檚 a mark in a bubble, then that鈥檚 how the vote gets assigned to the voters.鈥�
He said when voters in his county get their ballot, they fill it out and take it directly to the tabulator that counts it. They can watch whether their vote gets counted and understand why 鈥� a process he hopes engenders trust.
Bender said he became aware of the false claim when his own poll workers started asking questions about it. He said he may not have been so proactive about combating the false claim if it were spreading in May or June, but with a state primary next week, 鈥渨e want to reassure the voters of the integrity of the system and that we strive to make sure their vote gets counted.鈥�
Collier County, home to Naples, also has issued guidance warning voters about the falsehood and urging them to contact their local election supervisor for accurate voting information.
鈥淵our local elections office should be your trusted information source,鈥� Bender said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e here to serve the voters. And they can let you know what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
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Ali Swenson, The Associated Press
