Claim: (U) (The Claim is related to U)
Kentucky election officials reported receiving reports that ballots marked for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris were marked with small, black dots inside her checkbox – intended to invalidate votes cast for GOP candidate Donald Trump or other candidates. [Rating: 4.96/5].
Context
On November 4th 2024, Kentucky State Board of Elections released a statement declaring “no pre-marked ballot has ever been presented to election administrators or law enforcement,” with “this “dot” rumor currently existing only within social media – further providing several safeguards which would assist with correcting potential ballot issue should any arise.
Rumors swirling online both prior to U.S. Election Day (Nov 5, 2024) and on Election Day itself claimed Kentucky government officials received reports of ballots bearing small black dots in one or both checkboxes assigned for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential run for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris or any other presidential candidate; according to some posts supporting this rumor, voters selecting former President Donald Trump or any other candidate might find their votes voided due to black dots being detected in two checkboxes; posts supporting this rumor suggested such ballots would invalidated due to black dots being found in two checkboxes; according to posts supporting this rumor, Kentuckians voting for former President Donald Trump — or any candidate — might find their ballot thrown out due to this detection; contrary posts supporting this rumor might also see their ballot being voided due to this detection; posts supporting it implied this possibility may occur with regard to black dot being detected within two checkboxes, due to being detected two identical black dots within two checkboxes may result in being voided due detecting black dot detection or detectable black dot detection being found within two checkboxes being voided due to multiple black dot detection being voided due this due void due to black dot detection or may find their vote voided due any such other candidates being disen due voting due having noticed black dot could even cause voters casting another candidate not voting out due to voided ballot boxes!.
One such instance occurred on Nov. 4 when a user on X posted (archived) what purported to be a photo of a ballot with black dots placed near Harris’ name and wrote in response, “BREAKING: Kentucky are trying to manipulate election results by placing small dots next to Kamala Harris. Voting for Trump will result in votes being invalidated but voting for her makes these dots irrelevant – please share so more people are informed!”
That post garnered over 260,000 views!
@LibsofTikTok (@libsoftiktok), an account known for spreading false claims in the past, reposted (archived) a screenshot from Facebook post copy-pasted by users and reading: “VOTERS! Look closely at your ballot! If it has small dots (‘dots’) inside Camilla [sic] Box take photo and submit request immediately otherwise any box filled in could void ballot”. Conservative commentator Tim Pool reposted this content as did actor-comedian Roseanne Barr (archived). Both reposted @libsoftiktok post (archived).
However, reports that officials from Kentucky received reports about ballots marked with small, black dots which might invalidate votes cast for Donald Trump or other candidates were entirely baseless.
As reported by The Kentucky Lantern, on Nov. 4 the Kentucky State Board of Elections released an official statement detailing all relevant facts; Snopes obtained this document directly from Taylor Brown, General Counsel for the board.
“For this election, County Clerks have distributed over 130,000 mail-in absentee ballots; as of today neither the State Board of Elections or Attorney General’s office have received reports regarding mail-in absentee ballots with preprinted marks in candidate selection fields from Kentucky voters.”
Statement also included safeguards to address potential balloting problems for Kentucky voters if and when any arise. These included provisions for when any issues with ballots arise:
Social media posts alleging pre-printed dots on Kentucky ballots feature images of mail-in absentee ballots with straight fold lines through their center crease, as evidence of mail-in absentee votes being sent directly to voters with instructions telling them that multiple candidates’ choices marked in ink will only counted when circled by voters themselves.
If a voter was to find themselves handed a paper ballot with pre-printed marks in any candidate selection field during any day of in-person voting – be it prior or on election day – they are entitled to reject it in favor of another “clean” one if reading their ballot revealed an “over vote.” They could do this before selecting candidates or after reading through by an optical scanner revealed more selections than allowed, known as an “over vote.”
As no evidence has been presented to either election administrators or law enforcement authorities regarding pre-marked ballots in Kentucky, claims of pre-printed marking exist only on social media at present.
Readers may access a full statement by the board online at its website.
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