Republican lawsuit over Sharpie-marked ballots in Arizona to be dropped

Republicans on Saturday dropped a lawsuit filed in Arizona over Sharpie-marked ballots, the Arizona Republic reported.

Some voters in the Grand Canyon State had sued Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes (D), the county Board of Supervisors and other county officials alleging that Sharpies were given to voters and that the ink bled through and damaged the ballots.

The Trump campaign, the Arizona Democratic Party and the Republican National Committee all got involved in the case, The Washington Post reported.

“My office has been putting out information for months about how election processes work in the state & all we do to ensure security & fairness,” Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) tweeted on Saturday. “If you haven’t been paying attention, that’s on you, but don’t show up when you don’t like the result & scream fraud w/no evidence.”

Allegations concerning the ballots began following a viral video on Facebook in which a person said: “What they’re doing is they’re telling people to use the Sharpies, that way, those votes aren’t counted. … They’re doing it because they’re trying to skew all of the votes in there. … So, people are coming here to vote for Donald Trump and those votes are all getting invalidated.”

In response to the claims, Maricopa County tweeted, “Sharpies are not a problem for our tabulation equipment, and the offset columns on ballots ensure that bleed through won’t impact your vote.”

State Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) called for an investigation on Wednesday and later said there was no merit to the Sharpie allegations.

“Based on correspondence and conversations with Maricopa County officials, we are now confident that the use of Sharpie markers did not result in disenfranchisement for Arizona voters,” he tweeted on Thursday. “We appreciate the county’s prompt insight and assurances to address public concerns.”

On its FAQ page, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office advised voters to use black or blue ink or a Sharpie, so that ballots can be accurately tabulated. The office advised against using “red or red-adjacent ink.”

The Associated Press and Fox News called the presidential race in Arizona for President-elect Joe Biden earlier this week, though other networks have not. Ballots continue being counted in the state, where Biden is still in the lead