A post being shared on Facebook claims that if your absentee ballot had folds or creases on it, it might be rendered void in the state of Wisconsin.

Verdict: False

Creases in ballot have no effect on vote counting in that particular jurisdiction, according to local officials.

Fact Check:

Former President Donald Trump defeated incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris Nov. 5 to become the 47th president of the U.S. Trump’s victory marks the first time since Grover Cleveland that a president has served non-consecutive terms.

A post going viral on Facebook claims that ballots are “not supposed to” have folds or creases in them. It seems to imply that if you hand in a folded ballot, it could be voided or not read by a machine. “Ballots are not supposed to have fold lines or creases in the candidates name area,” the post’s caption reads in part. “My clerk also told me that even in person paper ballots are susceptible to this rule where the fold lines would appear. My absentee came with fold lines in three candidates names my clerk is driving to my house to hand deliver a new ballot. If you have an absentee check it!”

The claim is false, however. A folded or creased ballot would not be rendered invalid, and would be counted just as any. Furthermore, in Muscoda, the town where the ballot would be counted, does not count via machine. They perform ballot counts by hand, and machines would be able to count a folded ballot either way. (RELATED: Are Voters in Kentucky Receiving Ballots Pre-Marked For Kamala Harris?)

According to the Wisconsin Election day manual, the only time a ballot is to be “remade” are where there are overvotes or when a ballot has a crossover vote during a primary. A “damaged” ballot, according to the manual, are “ballots in which the voter circled names on the ballot rather than marking the arrows or ovals and ballots mutilated by postal equipment.” The manual does not issue any guidance on ballots with creases.

In an email to Lead Stories, local officials confirmed that a crease through a name will not affect the vote counting. Should a voter spoil their ballot, they can receive a new one by returning the defective one to a local official.