Early Tuesday, someone stole about 15 pens — one from each voting booth — at one polling location, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer told The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, stolen pens were reported at another location, as well, a county elections spokesperson said.
In both instances, election officials had extra pens in their supply boxes to restock the voting booths.
“We’ve had one or two instances with people taking the pens we provide at all the different voting locations — not just someone who accidentally walked away with their own pen,” he said. “A voting location will have like 15 booths.” The theft of the pens was “not accidental,” he said.
The county-supplied Pentel brand felt-tip pens have a fast-drying ink that doesn’t gum up the voting machines like that from standard ballpoint pens.
Richer said election officials have subbed out two tabulators so far due to the ink issue: But “everyone’s been able to vote,” he said.
Meanwhile, county officials are watching for any sort of concerted effort to try to gum up the tabulation machines.
One GOP candidate who is running for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Gail Golec, seemed to urge voters to switch out the Pentel pens. She has promulgated many election-related conspiracies since former president Donald Trump’s narrow 2020 loss in the battleground state.
“I just had someone give me an idea,” she wrote on Telegram. “When voting take the Pentel pen with you and leave a blue pen behind. Eventually they will run out!”
At a rally Monday night featuring Trump-endorsed candidates, Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward told a crowd of hundreds of fired-up voters they could use whatever pen they want.
“You can wear whatever you want when you go to vote,” she said. “And, you can use whatever pen you want to use when you vote.”
Pens aside, Richer had been to 10 voting locations around the county Tuesday morning and said things were going smoothly.
Meanwhile, stolen pens were reported at another location, as well, a county elections spokesperson said.
In both instances, election officials had extra pens in their supply boxes to restock the voting booths.
“We’ve had one or two instances with people taking the pens we provide at all the different voting locations — not just someone who accidentally walked away with their own pen,” he said. “A voting location will have like 15 booths.” The theft of the pens was “not accidental,” he said.
The county-supplied Pentel brand felt-tip pens have a fast-drying ink that doesn’t gum up the voting machines like that from standard ballpoint pens.
Richer said election officials have subbed out two tabulators so far due to the ink issue: But “everyone’s been able to vote,” he said.
Meanwhile, county officials are watching for any sort of concerted effort to try to gum up the tabulation machines.
One GOP candidate who is running for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Gail Golec, seemed to urge voters to switch out the Pentel pens. She has promulgated many election-related conspiracies since former president Donald Trump’s narrow 2020 loss in the battleground state.
“I just had someone give me an idea,” she wrote on Telegram. “When voting take the Pentel pen with you and leave a blue pen behind. Eventually they will run out!”
At a rally Monday night featuring Trump-endorsed candidates, Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward told a crowd of hundreds of fired-up voters they could use whatever pen they want.
“You can wear whatever you want when you go to vote,” she said. “And, you can use whatever pen you want to use when you vote.”
Pens aside, Richer had been to 10 voting locations around the county Tuesday morning and said things were going smoothly.