Ohio officials refute claims that printing error will void vote

"ALERT: Double-check your ballot to ensure Donald Trump’s name is spelled correctly; otherwise, it might be flagged as an error by the voting machines," says an October 30, 2024 X post from an account called "Shadow of Ezra," which AFP has previously fact-checked.

"The Democrats seem to be using every trick in the book to influence this election, with mainstream media working to cover for them."

The post includes a photograph of a paper ballot -- which includes Ohio state Senate and Supreme Court races -- with part of the "m" in Trump's surname cut off.

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Screenshot from X taken October 31, 2024

The post accumulated tens of thousands of interactions. The same image has circulated elsewhere on X, Facebook, Instagram and Gettr.

Claims about ballots being invalidated have spread widely in the days leading up to the November 5 US presidential election between former president Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Ohio ballot instructions recommend filling in the box instead of making a mark or circle on the paper (archived here). However, state law instructs election authorities to tally ballots where the voter filled in or marked the box next to the candidate or circled their name (archived here).

A reverse image search revealed one of the earliest iterations of the ballot image was a comment on an X post from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (archived here). The poster claims she is a voter from the city of Norwood in Hamilton County and asks Larose if her ballot will still be counted with the error in Trump's name.

The Hamilton County Board of Elections responded that the blemish "appears to be damage after printing" and would still be counted. The board added that Hamilton County officials had not seen any other ballots with similar errors, but that they would supply a replacement if needed (archived here).

Dan Lusheck, a spokesperson for the Ohio secretary of state, told AFP the office has also not received any other ballots with the same damage -- and that the state has protocols to process those with printing errors or erroneous marks.

"Damage to a candidate's name on the ballot would not prevent the vote from counting," Lusheck said in an October 31 email.

"If a voter does receive a damaged or smudged ballot, they should call their local county board of elections who will happily answer any questions and assist the voter with obtaining a replacement."

A spokesperson for the Hamilton County Board of Elections said they have not received any direct complaints about ballots with that type of printing error.

"The only reports we have seen of this type of damaged ballot are those circulating online," the spokesperson said in an October 31 email to AFP.

"Based on those posts, we cannot determine whether the author is a registered voter in Hamilton County or whether the ballot is even a genuine Hamilton County ballot."

A spokesperson for Hart InterCivic, the company that supplies voting machines to Hamilton County (archived here and here), confirmed the firm's devices would have "no issue" processing a ballot with a printing error like the one shown in the posts.

"The scanner is programmed to look for a voter mark inside the rectangular box next to each candidate's name. As long as the box is properly marked by the voter, the vote will be recorded correctly," said Steven Sockwell, vice president of corporate development and communications at Hart InterCivic, in an October 31 email.

A sample ballot for Norwood from the Hamilton County Board of Elections also shows Trump's name spelled correctly (archived here).

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Screenshot of the first page of a Norwood, Ohio sample ballot taken October 31, 2024, with elements highlighted by AFP

AFP has debunked other claims about the 2024 US presidential election here.