Sharpies Bleeding Through Ballots Will Not Impact Your Vote
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Voters are concerned their votes will not be valid in the event of a Sharpie bleed through incident.
Here's the good news, your vote will count even if you use a Sharpie.
Chicago Board of Election officials confirmed Sharpies bleeding through a ballot will not impact the choices on the other side. The back side of the ballot does not directly line up with the choices on the front.
Voters who remain concerned can bring a ballpoint pen.
Election judges are now instructing voters to dab the sharpie vertically once to prevent bleed through. Regardless, there have been no issues reading ballots filled out with Sharpies. Even if a Sharpie did create a large ink blot that made the ballot difficult to read, there is a process in which a judge reviews the ballot to determine the voter's intent. The same process occurs if a voter circles or underlines the candidate.
Sharpies with the same ballot paper were used in the primaries too, but no issues were reported then, officials said.
This story was produced, in part, with the help of journalists at Electionland, a project from the non-profit news organization, ProPublica. If you are having trouble voting, Electionland wants to hear from you.
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