Let me preface this text by telling all of my readers: You need to use any blue or black ballpoint pen you carry to the voting sales space or ballot. Don’t let anybody there power you or strain you into utilizing their pen in opposition to your needs.
On Tuesday, The Gateway Pundit reported that SharpieGate 2.0 was maybe within the making when Maricopa Co Recorder Stephen Richer about confronted on his July seventh tweet saying “use any black or blue pen”. He tweeted on July twenty sixth that “we are going to give ALL voters a particular pen at voting areas. PLEASE PLEASE use this pen.” He then states that different pens don’t dry fast sufficient and might “gunk” the tabulators, requiring cleansing.
🧵Simply texted a buddy who despatched out a message that she’s going to ignore directions, not use the given pen, and can use a ballpoint blue pen.
Let’s name it what it’s. She’s attempting to disrupt the first.
Simply use the darn pen given to you on election day.
— Stephen Richer—Maricopa Cnty Recorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) July 27, 2022
Using all caps to emphasise “please please” and “all” in his tweet about utilizing the brand new “particular pen” has overtones of desperation. However final evening, Richer took his desperation a step additional, accusing a “buddy” of attempting to disrupt the first after which commanding you to “simply use the darn pen given to you on election”.
If the above dialogue truly passed off, Richer is accusing a “buddy” of attempting to disrupt a major as a result of they’re telling of us to carry their very own pen. Take into consideration that. I remind you that this is identical county that archived information, eliminated them off the system, after which failed handy them over in a subpoena requesting all election information. It’s the identical county that introduced in a non-public contractor to “audit” their machines earlier than Cyber Ninjas did. That contractor was additionally the identical firm that reportedly “licensed” the machines previous to the election. That is only a slight battle of curiosity. It’s the identical county that question bombed their system with over 30,000 login makes an attempt to clear the login historical past previous to the Professional V&V “audit” they carried out previous to the senate ordered audit. However a citizen tweeting they’re bringing their very own pen to vote? Disruption!
His subsequent tweet on this thread was additionally disturbing:
“It’s a major. What the heck do you assume we get out of giving folks a particular pen apart from a easy functioning election? Do you assume we’re simply asking you to make use of the Pentel pen to be humorous? Good lord folks.”
It is a major. What the heck do you assume we get out of giving folks a particular pen apart from a easy functioning election?
Do you assume we’re simply asking you to make use of the Pentel pen to be humorous?
Good lord folks.
— Stephen Richer—Maricopa Cnty Recorder (prsnl acct) (@stephen_richer) July 27, 2022
I’m unsure why the truth that this can be a major election makes it any much less necessary for every vote to rely correctly. It’s additionally weird to qualify the assertion “what the heck do you assume we get out of giving folks a particular pen…?” with “it’s a major.” As if to say in a basic election, positive, maybe then we’d strive some shenanigans, however that is only a major.
Maricopa voters and Arizonan’s nonetheless have a bitter style from the 2020 election when Election Day in-person voters have been prompted to make use of Sharpies to mark their ballots contrary to previous advice.
In 2020, Arizona residents heard that VoteSecure paper was going for use solely and could be immune to bleed via initially. It wasn’t and it wasn’t. Then we heard that the bleed via wouldn’t overlap with different races. It didn’t. Unless, of course, the timing marks were off.
Talking of paper, both BOS Chairman Invoice Gates or senate liaison Ken Bennett perjured themselves on this congressional listening to:
Andy Biggs questions Bill Gates and Ken Bennett about ballot paper
Are these machines so inherently flawed that they can not carry out the literal job they have been designed to do with out utilizing a particular kind of pen that was decided to trigger issues in 2012 in neighboring Pima Co? Why isn’t this a problem in every other counties throughout the nation? Are there information of the pen “gunk” inflicting malfunctions in 2018 or any earlier elections in Maricopa?
Sure, SharpieGate was actual. Sure, SharpieGate had an impression on the 2020 election in Maricopa.
Carry your personal pen, Maricopa.
