HOUGHTON — Yes, your vote counts if you used a Sharpie.

It’s actually the preferred method, the Michigan Secretary of State office said Thursday. The statement came in response to viral misinformation circulating on social media claiming ballots were being invalidated after the permanent markers bled through to the other side.

That isn’t true, the SOS office said as part of a series of election factchecks on Twitter Thursday. The use of a Sharpie does not invalidate or cancel a ballot. Even if the marker bleeds through, the way ballots are designed means it will not come near a voting area on the other side, the SOS said.

“The Sharpie is the recommended marking instrument by the tabulator manufacturer and is preferable to an ink pen because it dries quickly and will not leave residue on the ballot scanner,” the SOS said.

Houghton County has used Sharpies since 2017, said Clerk Jennifer Kelly. The county uses ImageCast machines from Dominion. Clerks will either buy pens directly from the vendor or buy them commercially if cheaper, Kelly said.

“As long as they’re using the specific thing that Dominion and (election services vendor) ElectionSource tell us to use, we’re doing the right thing,” she said.

Kelly said to her knowledge, there have been no ballots in the county invalidated because of a Sharpie.

“The programming is done so perfectly, and it’s lined up so right that even if it did bleed through, it doesn’t go into any other circles where it’s going to interfere with anything,” she said. “It’s fantastic. They know what they’re doing.”

Black and blue pens work for mail voting, which gives the ballots time to dry, Kelly said. For in-person voting, ink-pen marks might still be blotchy and could damage the machine, Kelly said.

Michigan is one of several states where Sharpie-related online rumors have spread Wednesday. One of the most prevalent spots was Maricopa County, the biggest population center in Arizona.

Maricopa County did extensive testing on its tabulators with multiple kinds of ink, two Maricopa County Board of Supervisors members — Clint Hickman, a Republican, and Steve Gallardo, a Democrat — said in a letter Wednesday.

“Sharpies are recommended by the manufacturer because they provide the fastest-drying ink,” they said. “The offset columns on ballots ensure that any bleed-through will not impact your vote. For this reason, sharpies were provided to in-person voters on Election Day. People who voted by mail could use Sharpies, or blue and black pens.”

One resident is suing the county, claiming her Sharpie had invalidated the ballot and the election worker refused to give her a new one.

Anyone who voted in person will have their ballot counted regardless of what pen they used, Arizona’s Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said.