The Secretary of State’s office is pushing back against a newspaper article in the Santa Fe New Mexican that says Sharpies have been recalled from polling offices. The article said, “All 33 county clerks were to remove Sharpie pens from voting sites Thursday at the direction of Secretary of State Dianna Duran.” The article says that Sharpies were replaced by Papermate Flair pens. The Secretary of State’s office referred to it as a “sensational report.” Scott Krahling, the supervisor of the Doña Ana County Bureau of Elections, told NM Telegram that there was no order for county clerks to remove Sharpie pens from voting sites.
“There wasn’t a ban,” Krahling said. “They didn’t call us and tell us, ‘Hey, you stop using those Sharpies.’” Instead, county clerks were told that because of concerns from voters over the marks from Sharpies bleeding through, a different type of marker would be ordered for counties.
Doña Ana County had already made a switch from Sharpies, and Krahling told NM Telegram that a few other counties had as well. Krahling said the move was not made because of potential problems with the ballots, but that it is “a perception issue.”
Full Article: Sharpies still OK for ballots, but counties received new markers | New Mexico Telegram.