New York officials say stray marks on ballots do not disqualify votes

A rumor spreading on Facebook and in text messages claimed that any mark made by a poll worker on a ballot will cause it to be disqualified. Elections commissioners from four New York counties told News10NBC that the claim is false. The commissioners said that poll workers are trained never to write on ballots and that a stray mark will not prevent a vote from being counted as long as it does not interfere with the ballot's selection areas or timing marks.¹

If a mark makes selections unreadable, the voter would be given a new ballot.¹