Pen or pencil? Elections Canada says it doesn't matter when casting a ballot

Craig Lord · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 21, 2025 7:26 PM EDT | Last Updated: 13 minutes ago

Elections Canada wants you to cognize your ballot volition number whether you people it with a pen oregon with a pencil.

The autarkic bureau says it's seeing posts connected societal media claiming voters person to usage a pencil to people their ballot.

Some posts connected X, the societal media level erstwhile known arsenic Twitter, person encouraged voters to bring a pen to their polling presumption to debar the anticipation of ballot tampering.

On its website, Elections Canada dismisses arsenic mendacious the assertion that a ballot marked successful pencil could beryllium smudged oregon erased and would not number arsenic a result.

The bureau says canvass workers are required by instrumentality to supply voters with black-lead pencils, but a pen oregon immoderate different penning instrumentality would enactment conscionable arsenic well.

Elections Canada says it uses pencils due to the fact that pens tin adust up oregon leak, which could spoil a ballot.

Ballots are lone unsealed erstwhile it's clip to number the ballot connected predetermination day, Elections Canada says.

"All ballots are counted by pairs of paid predetermination workers and, by law, the counting is done successful beforehand of witnesses who bash not enactment for Elections Canada (usually candidates' representatives)," says the Elections Canada website.