{{Short description|Conspiracy theory that pencil votes are changed}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=May 2026}}
The '''voting pencil conspiracy theory''' is a conspiracy theory that using the pencils provided in polling stations allows the result to be changed by some other organisation. In 2016 in Britain, it was suggested votes would be changed by the security agency MI5.<ref name=Etehad>{{cite news |last=Etehad |first=Melissa |date=23 June 2016 |title=Pencil or pen? An unusual conspiracy theory grips Brexit vote |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/23/pencil-or-pen-an-unusual-conspiracy-theory-grips-brexit-vote/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=12 December 2019 |archive-date=8 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108094820/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/23/pencil-or-pen-an-unusual-conspiracy-theory-grips-brexit-vote/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
== UK conspiracy theory ==
In 2016, promoters of the theory urged people to use pens on the basis that it made it harder for MI5 to change the vote.<ref name=Etehad /> The theory originated with "Yes" voters in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and was widespread among "Leave" voters during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.<ref name=Etehad /> On Twitter, the hashtags #Usepens and #Pencilgate were used to promote the conspiracy theory.<ref name=Dobreva>{{open access}} {{cite journal |last1=Dobreva |first1=Diyana |last2=Grinnell |first2=Daniel|last3=Innes |first3=Martin |date=6 May 2019 |title=Prophets and Loss: How "Soft Facts" on Social Media Influenced the Brexit Campaign and Social Reactions to the Murder of Jo Cox MP |journal=Policy & Internet |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=144–164 |doi=10.1002/poi3.203 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Keith's mum, pencil plots and other EU referendum day trends |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-36612378 |access-date=12 July 2021 |work=BBC News |date=23 June 2016 |archive-date=12 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712175033/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-36612378 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== UK reality ==
Legally, voters are free to use the pencil or bring their own pen.<ref name=Addley>{{cite news |last=Addley |first=Esther |date=23 June 2016 |title=EU ballot papers: pencils draw conspiracy fears |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/23/eu-ballot-papers-pencils-conspiracy-fears-social-media-voters |work=The Guardian |access-date=12 December 2019}}</ref> The Electoral Commission states pencils are offered due to greater reliability and reduced risk of ink being transferred across a folded ballot paper.<ref name=TEC>{{cite book|date=2024|title=Handbook for polling station staff – Supporting a UK Parliamentary election in Great Britain|url=https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-05/Polling%20Station%20Handbook%20UKPGE%202024_0.pdf#page=69|publisher=The Electoral Commission|page=65|archive-date=4 July 2024|access-date=4 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704174950/https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-05/Polling%20Station%20Handbook%20UKPGE%202024_0.pdf#page=69|url-status=live}}</ref>
The conspiracy theory later spread beyond the UK and featured in the 2022 Australian federal election.<ref name=Graham>{{cite news |last=Graham |first=Ben |date=20 April 2022 |title=Pauline Hanson addresses pencil conspiracy for the 2022 federal election |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/federal-election/pauline-hanson-addresses-pencil-conspiracy-for-the-2022-federal-election/news-story/dc527585c40a3233a5c2bcd576259686 |work=news.com.au |access-date=17 January 2023 |archive-date=20 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420040330/https://www.news.com.au/national/federal-election/pauline-hanson-addresses-pencil-conspiracy-for-the-2022-federal-election/news-story/dc527585c40a3233a5c2bcd576259686 |url-status=live }}</ref> The conspiracy theory also spread to Canada in the 2025 federal election.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lord |first=Craig |date=Apr 21, 2025 |title=Pen or pencil? Elections Canada says it doesn't matter when casting a ballot |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/elections-canada-pen-or-pencil-1.7515032 |access-date=Apr 23, 2025 |work=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |archive-date=23 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250423212634/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/elections-canada-pen-or-pencil-1.7515032 |url-status=live }}</ref> Canadian election law requires a pencil be offered but voters are free to bring their own pen.<ref name=Goldhamer>{{cite news |last=Goldhamer |first=Marisha |date=17 April 2025 |title=Misleading claims about voting in pencil resurface in Canada |url=https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.42FU9KD |work=AFP Fact Check |publisher=AFP |access-date=2 May 2025 |archive-date=3 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250503104548/https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.42FU9KD |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Associated history ==
In many countries the right to vote was limited to persons with property and wealth;<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Cartwright |first1=Mark |title=Athenian Democracy |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Athenian_Democracy/ |access-date=21 May 2020 |website=World History Encyclopedia |date=3 April 2018 }}</ref> who would have carried a personal fountain pen. Later on voting was extended to most men. Women were allowed to vote in Australia from 1902,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Australia and New Zealand|last=Christine |first=Lindop |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-423390-3 |location=Oxford |page=27|oclc=361237847}}</ref> and in Great Britain in 1918 (if over 30) and in 1930 (all women over 21).<ref>Stearns, Peter N. (2008), ''The Oxford encyclopedia of the modern world'', Volume 7. Oxford University Press, p. 160.</ref> Pencils were therefore a simple device to enable participation in the democratic process. (In one instance in 1934 demonstrating the unreliability of ink, the voter's personal fountain pen reservoir was empty when attending a polling place.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article24964640 |title=In the north |newspaper=The Mercury |volume=CXLI |issue=20,938 |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=17 September 1934 |access-date=8 May 2026 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>)
László Bíró (1899–1985) patented the first commercially-successful ink-writable instrument, the ball-point fountain pen, in 1938. As early as 1902, the Australian ''Electoral Act'' required the ''provision'' of pencils in voting booths;{{efn|Crayons had also been ''provided'' at one time in early Australian federal election, but users could ''use'' a pen or pencil as long as the marks were clear and legible.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article56288693 |title=Protest over pencils used at election |newspaper=The Morning Bulletin |issue=24,939 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=31 August 1943 |access-date=8 May 2026 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>}} but eligible voters were not required to ''use'' them to mark ballot papers.<ref name=SBS2016>{{cite web |title=Why do we have pencils and not pens at polling booths? |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/arabic/en/article/why-do-we-have-pencils-and-not-pens-at-polling-booths/f8d36aj3e |website=SBS Arabic |publisher=SBS Australia |access-date=8 May 2026 |date=3 June 2016}}</ref><ref name=AEC-2024>{{cite web |title=At the polling place – frequently asked questions |url=https://www.aec.gov.au/faqs/polling-place.htm |website=Australian Electoral Commission |access-date=8 May 2026 |date=7 February 2024 |quote=While the provision of pencils used to be a legal requirement, since 2020 under section 206 of the ''Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918'' the AEC is required to provide an 'implement or method for voters to mark their ballot papers'. The AEC has found from experience that pencils are the most reliable implements for marking ballot papers. Pencils are practical because they don't run out and the polling staff check and sharpen pencils as necessary throughout election day. Pencils can be stored between elections and they work better in tropical areas. There is, however nothing to prevent an elector from marking their ballot paper with a pen if they so wish.}}</ref> Canadian legislation has similar provisions for federal elections.<ref name=CBC-2025>{{cite news |last1=LORD |first1=Craig |title=Pen or pencil? Elections Canada says it doesn't matter when casting a ballot |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/elections-canada-pen-or-pencil-1.7515032 |access-date=8 May 2026 |work=CBC News |date=21 April 2025}}</ref>
Voter concern over the use of lead pencil compared to indelible ink or pencil was raised as early as 1940 in Australia, with a response that "ordinary pencils... are provided, as thicker lead blurs and becomes indecipherable", separate to the usual scrutineering process ensuring no subsequent alteration of ballots.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231189299 |title=Pencil voting is quite safe |newspaper=The Sun |issue=1956 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=22 September 1940 |access-date=8 May 2026 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
Other than easy to use by and reliable for users, pencils was suitable for the task (unlike ink pens):<ref name=SBS2016 /><ref name=AEC-2024 /><ref name=CBC-2025 /> * cheap to purchase, and cheap to replace;{{efn|There were reports of the then blue-lead pencils being "{{Not a typo|souvenired}}" by voters at Australian elections.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188516838 |title=A retrospect |newspaper=South Coast Bulletin |issue=1122 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=21 December 1949 |access-date=8 May 2026 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> At this time, the pencils were quite long.}} * can be used in successive elections; * easy to store between elections; * do not dry out when left or stored; * easily made workable with a pencil sharpener with little skill required; and * do not readily smudge when ballot papers are folded, which may lead to rejection of those votes (such as more candidates selected than permitted<ref>{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions. Can you bring your own pen/pencil to the polling station? |url=https://www.newham.gov.uk/council/frequently-asked-questions/10 |publisher=Newham Council |access-date=8 May 2026 |location=London, England}}</ref>).
While marks made by a pencil can be removed, a 2013 Australian Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters committee found no evidence of tampering.<ref name=SBS2016 /><ref>{{cite web |title=Inquiry into and report on all aspects of the conduct of the 2013 Federal Election and matters related thereto |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Electoral_Matters/2013_General_Election |website=Parliament of Australia |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |access-date=8 May 2026}}</ref> Pen marks may also be crossed out.<ref>{{cite news |last1=JONES |first1=Indigo |title=The reason pencils are used in Senedd Election polling stations and not pens |url=https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/reason-pencils-used-senedd-election-33902718 |access-date=8 May 2026 |work=North Wales Live |date=7 May 2026}}</ref> None of this precludes a voter from supplying one's own writing instrument.<ref name=SBS2016 /><ref name=AEC-2024 /> The vote counting process with scrutineers, and other security processes remain in place.<ref name=CA-QC>{{cite web |title=Using a pencil to vote |url=https://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/en/understand/understanding-voting/using-a-pencil-to-vote/ |publisher=Élections Québec |access-date=8 May 2026}}</ref> Where there is a spoiled ballot, the voter will just request a new ballot.
In Canada, the Québec provincial elections require the use of pencil only, given to "ensure the secrecy of the vote" given voters use the same quality of pencil so their voting preferences cannot be identified on the paper, or which person voted.<ref name=CA-QC />
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== See also == * ''Donald J. Trump for President v. Hobbs'' (2020)
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Brexit referendum}} {{Conspiracy theories}}
Category:Elections Category:Conspiracy theories in the United Kingdom Category:Electoral fraud in the United Kingdom Category:Pencils Category:Voting