Early voting in the U.S. midterm elections is underway. Voters are deciding which party will control Congress, as well as numerous state legislatures and governors' offices. Snopes' fact-checkers are flagging rumors surrounding the election, debunking false statements by candidates and suspicious voter fraud claims with nonpartisan research and expert sources. Join our effort to keep this election fact-focused by becoming a Snopes member.
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, some social media users are warning that any election ballot marked by a poll worker could be disqualified, whether it is "a letter, a checkmark, a star, an R or a D any writing of any kind."
The rumor has spread on numerous occasions. Snopes addressed the claim before both the 2020 and 2024 elections. Posts typically feature the same copypasta, shown below (emphasis ours):
A very reliable good friend of mine just finished the pollworker training, and she texted this to me ....."Just finished Poll Manager training! I passed all the classes. I want you all to know something...when you are checking in at the polls and they happen to write anything on your ballot before they give it to you to put in the voting machine...a letter, a checkmark, a letter star, an R or a D any writing of any kind...please request a new ballot. Your ballot will be disqualified if it is written on. Please be on the look out. Make sure poll workers do not write on your ballot. It will cause your ballot to be disqualified."...
Early voting in the U.S. midterm elections is underway. Voters are deciding which party will control Congress, as well as numerous state legislatures and governors' offices. Snopes' fact-checker...