A video showing an election judge in Montgomery County, Maryland, writing on a ballot is part of a process referred to as the “canvass.”
The Montgomery County Board of Elections issued a statement saying that after investigating a video circulating online, what was shown was “consistent with the normal canvass process.”
Election judges review ballots to make sure that the intent of the voter is captured by ballot-scanning equipment. Sometimes, voters do not use a dark pen; and when that happens, a canvass worker darkens the voter’s selections with a black pen.
“This has been a regular part of the canvassing process for many years and is necessary for the voter’s ballot to be scanned and thus counted,” the board of elections said.
Although no evidence of fraud or improper conduct was found, “for the purpose of transparency and to assure voters who may be watching via the livestream of the integrity of the process, in the future canvassers will only darken ovals while being observed by an Election Judge of another political party,” the board of elections said.
The public may observe the canvas process online or in person at the Plum Gar Recreation Center.
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