False claims about pens in Arizona primary prompts warning

PHOENIX (AP) — The attorney for Arizona’s most populous county has sent a letter warning a local candidate to stop encouraging voters to take the pens given to them at polling places to mark their ballots. Tuesday is the final day of voting in Arizona’s primary election, and the conspiracy theories surrounding the ballot-marking pens echo the infamous #SharpieGate controversy that erupted after the 2020 election. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell sent the letter to Gail Golec, a candidate for county supervisor. Golec made various social media posts on Tuesday urging supporters not to use the pens provided by election workers at polling places and to take them with them when they leave.