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Officials respond to video alleging ballot fraud
Montgomery County elections officials say a video circulating that purports to show a poll worker manipulating a ballot was misleading.
GERMANTOWN, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Montgomery County elections officials say a video circulating that purports to show a poll worker manipulating a ballot was misleading.
The video shows a man look around and then pick up a pen before marking up a ballot.
The video was shared more than 100,000 on 4chan - a controverial site often associated with conspiracy theories and fringe content.
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The Board of Elections says it investigated and determined that the contents of the video were consistent with a process they use for counting called “canvassing.”
Officials say that in that process, “Election Judges review voted ballots to ensure that the intent of the voter will be accurately captured by our ballot scanning equipment. In order for the voter’s ballot to be read by our scanning equipment, the ovals on the ballot must be filled with a dark pen.”
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They say if a voter fails to use a dark pen, their markings need to be filled in for them.
According to the board, the practice has been used for “many years.”
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The Board attorney found no evidence of fraud or improper conduct.
In order to insure transparency, however, future canvassers will only darken ovals while being observed by an Election Judge of another political party.
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