Dynamic dropdowns - Getting message "This field is required"

I have 2 duplicate form elements one is required and one that is not required, when a staff member tries to complete the form it will not accept their submission with the element that is NOT required incomplete. Also, sometimes it will not accept the submission even when the element that is required is filled in. I'm not sure what to do about this.

I cloned the form and I was able to replicate the issue. Here's a screenshot:

Upon checking, this widget is not set as a "required" field in the properties. However, in the widget settings, the dropdown options are set as "required".

If there's a ( * ) asterisk in the option, it means that is required.

You can remove the ( * ) on the options that are not required.

Hope that helps. Thank you.