What’s the ‘Sharpiegate’ conspiracy theory alleging voter fraud in US election?

Team Udayavani, Nov 5, 2020, 7:42 PM IST

Social media posts claimed that some votes cast for US President Donald Trump were not counted in Arizona because voters used Sharpie pen provided to them by election officials.

According to Reuters, Dubbed “Sharpiegate” by conservatives on social media, the allegations could be used to try to undermine election results in the historically Republican state of Arizona, which the Associated Press called for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden with 51% of the vote.

Similar rumors about Sharpies or other writing tools and ballots have circulated in Chicago, Michigan, Massachusetts and Connecticut in recent days.

Refuting the allegations, officials said, “Sharpies don’t impact tabulation, and we encourage them…because of how fast the ink dries.”