CDA voter raises local 'SharpieGate' concern

James Lillygren was concerned when he used a Sharpie to fill out his mail-in ballot at home and it bled through to the other side.

So, he went to the Kootenai County Elections Office, showed them the ballot and asked if it was OK. Assured it was and there was no problem, Lillygren was told to go ahead and submit his ballot, which he did, and he headed home.

But his worries remained, and even grew when he heard rumors about other states, like Arizona, having trouble with Sharpies being used and the ballot not counting in the presidential election.

The Coeur d’Alene man returned to the election office Friday and spoke to staff members to “make it a matter of record” that there might be a local connection to a national issue. He also contacted the Republican National Committee.

He said he felt it was necessary “in light of everything that’s going on.”

Lillygren referred to what was called “SharpieGate.” In some states, particularly Arizona, some said poll workers were allegedly handing out Sharpies for voters to use, and those ballots were then invalidated. Others said the Sharpie ink was leaking through to the other side of the ballot.

According to USA Today, “Elections departments across Arizona have confirmed that the claim is unfounded and that processes are in place to ensure ballots are counted, regardless of what kind of writing implement is used to fill them out.”

Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon said the same.

“That is a false claim. If a ballot goes through, and it doesn’t read properly, it goes to the top bin,” he said. “It goes to what we call the duplication ward. It goes to three people who will then examine the ballot to see if they can determine the voter's intent. We can't have two, because they could end in a tie, so we have three."

Lillygren, who used a regular ink pen to fill out the other side of the ballot, isn’t so certain.

He said it seemed elections staff were dismissive of his concerns. He said he tried to be clear he wasn’t questioning their integrity, but just wanted what he believed could be ballot irregularity on the record.

“I found it to be unusual,” said Lillygren, a veteran journalist who served in the military.

He said he took an oath to defend the country and that is what he was doing.

“My vote was just a little drip on the pond. I had to go down there and state my case,” he said.