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Were Maricopa County ballots ‘so blotchy from the printer that the scanner could not read’ them?

By Austin Tannenbaum
NO

The cause of ballot processing issues in Maricopa County, Arizona during Election Day 2022 was not blotchy ballots but insufficiently dark ballot marks. A statement made by the county reads in part, "It appears some of the printers were not producing dark enough timing marks on ballots." As a result, voting machines were unable to properly scan the ballots.

In the same statement, the county reported, "County technicians have changed the printer settings, which seems to have resolved this issue," which affected about 60 voting locations.

Election officials permitted affected voters to either drop their ballot in a "secure slot" to be taken to a different facility for processing or spoil their ballot, sign out of their initial voting location and go vote elsewhere.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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