EU referendum: 'Use pens' plea of voting fraud 'conspiracy theorists'

22 June 2016

Picture of pencil written word "democracy" being erased — Image caption,
Advocates of #usepens believe voting marks made in pencil could be erased and changed

BBC Trending

What's popular and why

The debates have been held. The arguments have been aired and on Thursday millions of voters will get to decide if Britain leaves or remains in the European Union.

But some people on social media, seemingly mostly Brexit supporters, suspect that the vote will be anything but fair. They believe that the establishment is not above fixing the vote to thwart the democratic will of the electorate.

The run up to the referendum has seen the rise of the hashtag #usepens which urges people to reject the traditional pencils supplied at polling stations and instead use a pen to mark their cross on the voting paper. The thinking behind this is that it will then be impossible for some unknown hand to use an eraser to rub out your cross and make another mark in the other box.

Tweet asking, 'would you use a pencil on these?' then showing photos of a credit card, a loan agreement and a a last will and testament on top. Below it asks to 'keep your vote safe take a pen with you and shows photos of a ballot box with a vote going into it and a red pencil cross on a ballot paper.

Tweet reads: Don't forget take your own pens on Thursday so they can't change the vote.

Tweet reads 'most of our pencils are made in the EU. No thanks. I'm taking my own pen to the ballot box. #usepens

Tweet reads tomorrow, make sure you use a pen. Hashtag Brexit, hashtag vote leave, hashtag EURef, hashtag useapen

Tweet reads, Don't forget your black pens tomorrow people. Hashtag use pens, hashtag vote leave.

The hashtag seems to reflect the sentiment captured in a YouGov poll, external which suggested 46% of Leave voters thought it likely that the EU referendum would be rigged.

However, some on the other side of the argument in the Remain camp, clearly regard the thinking behind #usepens as an absurd conspiracy theory and that those who advocate it are members of the tin hat brigade.

Tweet shows a photo of an online supermarket shopping basket with the purchase of kitchen foil and party hats.

Tweet shows photo of Edmund Blackadder from Blackadder Goes Forth with a towel on his head and pencils in his nostrils. Tweet reads: The hashtag use pens crowd are a special lot,

Tweet reads New hashtag Brexit hashtag use pens poster unveiled. Hashtag Vote Leave and use a hashtag green pen. Hashtag MI5 and the hashtag illuminati can't rub it out. Photos of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Nigel Farage all wearing tin foil hats.

Tweet reads, this shocking graph that the MSM refuse to publish - provides a stark warning for Thursday. Below a photo of a graph that shows eraser sales in W1 in the weeks approaching referendums. The red line for 2016 is higher than the blue line for 2014.

Photo of Gareth Southgate and a football to his left. Tweet reads 'not sure why you would. England are rubbish at them. #usepens

Why are you given a pencil to vote?

The theory of pencils marks being erased in any vote is an old concern. BBC Trending spoke to the Electoral Commission to ask why pencils and not pens are issued in the voting booth. In an email it explained that: "the use of a pen or pencil when completing the ballot paper is not specified in legislation. In the UK, pencils are traditionally used for the purposes of marking ballot papers and are made available inside polling stations for voters to use. Having said this, there is nothing to stop a voter from using a pen to mark their vote - there is no legal requirement for ballot papers to be marked with a pencil. Pencils have been used partly for historic and partly for practical reasons."

More information on how to vote on polling day can be found here.

Blog by Anisa Subedar

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