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Dispatch from Arizona: Reports of stolen pens at voting sites (updated)

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
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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.

 
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What a mastermind, how devious. Maybe someone could run out and buy new ones? That would show those waskely democrats........
 
An Arizona candidate received a cease-and-desist letter from the Maricopa County attorney requesting she stop telling her supporters to steal pens from official polling places in the county.
Gail Golec, a Republican candidate for Maricopa County supervisor who has spread baseless claims about election fraud, reportedly tweeted Tuesday morning that her supporters should steal the felt-tip pens provided at polling locations by the Maricopa County Elections Department.
In a cease-and-desist letter obtained by The Washington Post, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell asked Golec to tweet a retraction and stop encouraging people to steal pens.
“As you well know, theft of any sort is unlawful; moreover encouraging theft of the fast-drying ink pens specifically recommended for election day voting is a deliberate attempt to interfere with election administration and will have the harmful effect of delaying the vote tabulation of election day ballots, as the wet ink harms the vote center tabulation machines,” Mitchell wrote.
Mitchell, a Republican, added that her office reserved the right to take legal action.
As of Tuesday evening, Golec’s public Twitter feed included a post that said her “intention is to Protect Our Vote, not encourage you to steal pens,” as well as several other tweets suggesting — without evidence — that people’s ballots would not be counted if they were dropped off or filled with anything other than blue ink.

 
An Arizona candidate received a cease-and-desist letter from the Maricopa County attorney requesting she stop telling her supporters to steal pens from official polling places in the county.
Gail Golec, a Republican candidate for Maricopa County supervisor who has spread baseless claims about election fraud, reportedly tweeted Tuesday morning that her supporters should steal the felt-tip pens provided at polling locations by the Maricopa County Elections Department.
In a cease-and-desist letter obtained by The Washington Post, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell asked Golec to tweet a retraction and stop encouraging people to steal pens.
“As you well know, theft of any sort is unlawful; moreover encouraging theft of the fast-drying ink pens specifically recommended for election day voting is a deliberate attempt to interfere with election administration and will have the harmful effect of delaying the vote tabulation of election day ballots, as the wet ink harms the vote center tabulation machines,” Mitchell wrote.
Mitchell, a Republican, added that her office reserved the right to take legal action.
As of Tuesday evening, Golec’s public Twitter feed included a post that said her “intention is to Protect Our Vote, not encourage you to steal pens,” as well as several other tweets suggesting — without evidence — that people’s ballots would not be counted if they were dropped off or filled with anything other than blue ink.

I am only surprised that Golec didn't launch into a profanity laced tirade decrying the Maricopa County Attorney for trying to CANCEL ME, and then say, something, something, Soros.
 
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