Florida election officials warn of false rumor about ballot markings days before the state’s primary

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — An unfounded claim that election workers will invalidate ballots by writing on them is prompting election clerks in Florida to correct the record ahead of next week’s state primary. Clerks in Collier and Escambia counties are reassuring voters that the warning spreading on social media and via text message is inaccurate and that ballot markings will not disqualify their votes. The claim has circulated online since at least 2020. Election officials say it’s an example of the kind of misinformation that often spreads among well-meaning voters but threatens to erode trust in the voting process.