Most Read

Politics

Conservatives' Claim That Sharpies Were Planted In Arizona To Invalidate Trump Votes Gets Debunked

Conservatives' Claim That Sharpies Were Planted In Arizona To Invalidate Trump Votes Gets Debunked
NurPhoto/Getty Images

With Joe Biden holding a narrow lead in the traditionally Republican state of Arizona a day after the elections concluded, conservatives all over the internet have been desperately searching for a conspiracy to explain why President Trump is losing.

They quickly found a pretty wild one: sharpies are to blame.

Republican pundit Matt Schlapp took to Twitter on the morning of Wednesday, November 4, to claim that Arizona ballots were being thrown out because their choices had been filled in using the provided sharpies.

Of course, Schlapp's claim was preemptively debunked last month, but that didn't stop online conservatives from spreading the rumor like wildfire.

Twitter added a disclaimer to Schlapp's tweet warning users that it contained misleading information.

Of course, all the usual suspects began to insist there was some sort of foul play at work.


Despite the conspiracy theorists' insistence on some sort of scheme, Arizona's Secretary of State took to the airwaves to insist every vote would be counted, including those cast with a sharpie.

Even if a sharpie ballot could not be read by the vote-counting machines, those ballots would then be hand examined by a poll worker.


Can I use a Sharpie on my Ballot? Maricopa County Voters can use a Sharpie to Mark their Ballotwww.youtube.com

But many of these Republican voters didn't seem particularly eager to hear reason.



Some irresponsible individuals even went so far as to draw the entire election into question.


Some voters were given a sharpie at the polls, which lead to some fearing their votes wouldn't be counted.


Fortunately, election officials were on hand to set the record straight for Arizona voters everywhere.


Online conservatives, usually lead by President Trump, are often passing around conspiracy theories.

But this time, as is almost always the case, there is no factual basis for their claims.