Maricopa County Attorney's Office demands candidate to stop urging voters to replace pens at polls

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office on Tuesday ordered a Republican candidate to stop urging voters to replace government-issued pens at polling stations.

In a cease and desist letter, the County Attorney's Office told Maricopa County Board of Supervisors candidate Gail Golec to immediately retract social media posts.

"As you well know, theft of any sort is unlawful," Deputy County Attorney Joseph La Rue said in the letter, which was emailed to Golec after 11 a.m.

"Moreover encouraging theft of the fast-drying ink pens specifically recommended for election day voting is a deliberate attempt to interfere with election administration," he wrote.

Golec, a Scottsdale real estate agent who has previously spread conspiracies about the 2020 election, denied telling voters to steal the pens. She said she told them to bring their own blue-ink pens to the polls.

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"It really was never about stealing," she said in an interview with The Arizona Republic. "The pens are being used against us. … I'm encouraging protecting our vote."

Golec posted the county attorney's letter on Twitter, saying it was ironic that the county was more concerned about the theft of pens than ensuring ballots can't be altered. She said the letter "doesn't matter to me. It doesn't affect me."

Voters reacting to conspiracy claims about the pens from at least two polling stations on Tuesday.

Poll workers at two stations reported the pilfered pens after Golec advised voters not to use the pens because, she said, the ink could be altered.

Golec told followers on Twitter to substitute the Pentel pens and use blue ink ones. The Pentel pens, she said, "can insert votes that appear like a felt tip pens."

Pen controversies are not new to Maricopa County. The thefts come two years after baseless allegations about government-issued Sharpies spread during the 2020 election. The false claim that ballots cast by voters using the pen would be disqualified has been repeatedly debunked by election officials.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said the thefts are "nothing insurmountable" and the "vast majority of people (are) behaving."

Polling stations have replacements available but Richer warned blue or black ballpoint pens can gum up the election machines used to process ballots. That could cause delays while the machines are cleaned and the non-sanctioned ink dries.

Elections staff provide felt-tip markers for voters to use at the polls because they dry quickly. Officials say that's important because ballots cast in person on election day do not have a lot of time to dry before they are placed into tabulation machines.

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Neither of the two polling stations reporting the thefts — Desert Hills Community Church of the Nazarene in Phoenix and Faith Baptist Church in Glendale — are in Board of Supervisors District 2, where Golec is running.

She is competing against three other Republicans, including incumbent Tom Galvin, who was appointed to replace former Supervisor Steve Chucri. Chucri resigned in 2021 after he was caught on tape expressing unfounded suspicions of voter fraud and slamming other supervisors in the aftermath of the November 2020 election.

Golec said votes marked with the Pentel pens could be changed in the vetting or adjudication process when officials certify votes.

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As proof of her claims, Golec pointed to a video of a ballot that she said was shown to be altered as it was traced through voting machines in Georgia. She said the "Trump only" ballot was changed into a vote for Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen.

Golec also pointed to claims by Jovan Pulitzer, an inventor and conspiracy theorist who has spread disinformation about the 2020 election.

"If I had to put my faith in somebody, it's going to be Pulitzer over the government," she said. "We know the (2020) election was stolen."

Golec could not say who would benefit from changing votes in Tuesday's primary. She said the country is engaged in an "information war" with the government and the media.

"I don't know the reason why," she said. "I don't have to know the reason why."

Golec said she would question the results of Tuesday's primary even if she wins.

"I still want an audit," she said. "I don't trust the results of this election."

In its letter, the County Attorney's Office said Golec could face legal consequences.

"We reserve the right to take any legal action necessary to protect the integrity of the election and the people's right to vote."

Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter for The Republic. Reach him at robert.anglen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8694. Follow him on Twitter @robertanglen

Reach Maricopa County reporter Sasha Hupka at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter @SashaHupka.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gail Golec told to stop encouraging Arizona voters to steal pens