by HMM Fry
Across mainstream media, Utahns are being propagandized with the message that our elections are the “gold standard”. At best, it is a standard that is gold-plated – having the appearance of high quality and then when it is scrutinized, the plated material is revealed and the value is worthless. At worst, the standard is the equivalent of “fool’s gold” – the material that was used to defraud and fool buyers into believing that it was gold. Yet again, under scrutiny, it is proved false and worthless.
Below is a dissection of claims made about the quality of Utah’s elections, aspects of its security, processes, etc. Read with the following questions in mind: How do I trust the postal service to deliver my completed ballot undamaged? What happens to ballots damaged by the postal service? What security measures are in place due to multiple breaks in the chain of custody of ballots?
Nic Dunn (Sutherland Institute):
“You are in control of your ballot.”
–How is a citizen in control of their ballot when they drop it in a mailbox or drop box?
“[C]ounty clerks carefully track each ballot – from when it arrives in their custody to when it’s counted.” (emphasis added)
–What about ballots that are fraudulent: whether printed, filled out by someone other than the named recipient, etc.? What if a ballot never arrives??
“[E]lection administration is dispersed among different offices and individuals, which actually makes it harder to fraudulently alter an election.”
–Elections that were conducted at the precinct level have proven to be more secure than anything the administrative state comes up with.
Deidre Henderson, Lieutenant Governor (currently Utah’s Chief Elections Officer):
“You can get notifications that go straight to your phone to let you know when your clerk has mailed your ballot, when your clerk has received your ballot back, and when your clerk has counted your ballot.”
–How many people actually use the “services” that our tax-dollars are funding?
–What if your ballot is damaged in the mail & subsequently tossed? Or if it is sent to an out-of-state postal office and you had no idea that it was ruled invalid?
Lannie Chapman, SL County Clerk:
“From the minute that we pick up the ballots from the drop boxes, from the mail, we use…uniformed sheriff’s…officers to pick up.”
–What security ensures what ballots are even in the drop boxes or at the postal office?
–How many drop boxes in the state are under 24/7 surveillance? How much does that cost??
Brian McKenzie, Davis County Clerk:
“I’m asked whether or not our voting machines can be hacked. That would require knowledge, time, and access. As an election official, my job is to prevent that access.”
–So someone with knowledge and time could find ways to hack them by figuring out how to access them??
“None of our voting machines are ever connected to the internet…If, at any time, a machine is suspected of being tampered with, it’s removed from the election process and not used.”
–So what happens to any of the votes that were processed by the machine that is deemed that it’s been tampered with?
Tracy Shaw, Tooele County Clerk:
“You can track your ballot every step of the way by signing up at vote.utah.gov.
-Yet again, the focus is on tracking ballots, not ensuring that your vote is recorded accurately and isn’t tampered with by error or ill-intent. A computer, a machine, only does what it is programmed to do, and when did technology become an incorruptible endeavor?
Election machines are believed to be incorruptible, unhackable, and secured according to the government standards but are exactly what need to be questioned and investigated. I’m sure those in power over elections have NO INTEREST in securing their power and authority at taxpayers’ expense.
Who pays for all this stuff?? Taxpayers. Who benefits from all of this stuff?? NOT taxpayers.
And according to our LG, who is also our Chief Elections Officer, when it comes to Utah’s election integrity, we are expected to “doubt the doubters” and not heed our own ability to discern the false material that we are being sold. We are being told not to believe our own eyes. We are being asked to be fools in their court. Are elections free and fair or are they what they seem – a corrupt imitation of gold that has cost Utahns far too much?
