My name is Laura Scharr, and I am the founder of SC Safe Elections. We are a nonpartisan group aiming to restore confidence in our elections. I am also the co-author of a whitepaper on how to re-engineer our election ecosystem, called Gold Standard Elections. I have grave concerns about Bills S36 and S37. These bills do not set the gold standard for elections. We must remember that the foundation of our Republic is the confidence of our voters and candidates in the electoral process. If passed, these bills will only serve to erode that confidence.

Bill S36

Bill S 36 increases the precinct size from 1500 to 3000 and allows the county board of registrations total flexibility in moving/changing polling locations or precincts. While this may be convenient for the election commission as it may reduce vote locations, it is far less convenient for voters as it reduces accessibility and increases confusion, travel times, and wait times.

The entire purpose of this bill is to make it extremely difficult to hand-count hand-marked ballots. We MUST NOT lose the flexibility and ability to do so. This is especially important given that the new presidential administration is eager to go to one day of voting with hand-counted hand-marked paper ballots and this bill hamstrings our ability to do so.

Instead, our state should be an innovator—one of the first to step up and prove this model viable. We have done pilot tests on this and are able to count 100 ballots with 11 races in 1 hour with a 4-person team. 1,000 ballots could be counted with 3 teams of 4 before midnight if we keep these precincts to a manageable size.

Now is not the time to be making significant changes in the wrong direction, given that:

1. The mandate of the new administration is for one day of voting with hand-counted, hand-marked paper ballots
2. As you may be aware, the SC election director is under active investigation by SLED for misconduct.  

Currently, precincts are granted waivers to maintain their size, with many already exceeding the recommended limit. Instead of moving in this direction, we should plan for precincts to be small and manageable and establish accountability measures to create new ones if they exceed the size limit.

Just as a company responds to growing demand by opening more stores, we should adapt to the needs of our constituents, not the administrative convenience of the agency serving them.

Bill S 37

Early and continuous vote uploading and reporting is counterproductive to the goal of safe and secure elections. Too many potential attack vectors and bad actors could obtain that information, and the risk-reward ratio doesn’t make sense.

The only reason for that is to cheat and potentially call-in last-minute voters. This undermines the trust of the voters and must be addressed. There must be no vote totaling until the polls close. County employees would know the local results and would be reporting these to the Election Commission via the ENR Election Night Reporting computer (which is connected to the internet). There is no reason why the election director or board of elections should have that information early. That is a severe risk and one that could be easily compromised.

Securing our vote must always trump convenience.  Early uploading of results is unnecessary as it doesn’t save much time. Computers at the county are programmed to speed the process. It is not the number of flash drives that determines time, it is the amount of data. The time it takes to upload data will be the same it will just be spread across different flash drives.

Our election data is heavily loaded toward early voting, which is roughly 50% of the vote total. This is why early voting data is problematic from a fraud perspective. Early uploading (and reporting) of data essentially gives a select few the election results early. It allows “bad actors” more data and time to act. Given the issues of the last several years regarding elections, we must show voters we are working to mitigate risk, not increase it.

While uploading results early and continuously is convenient for election workers, it only adds risk to the process. Given the lack of trust in election systems, our legislators should be looking for ways to mitigate risk and enhance transparency of the election process. We urge the committee to vote NO to these bills, as it is our collective responsibility to ensure the integrity of our elections.

ACTION NEEDED:

Contact the following subcommittee members today! Tell them to vote no on S36 and No to sections 9 and 10 of S37.

We need to ensure that elections are by the people for the people. Let’s reduce risk, not increase it by commingling precincts and uploading results early.

Here are the emails and contact numbers for the judiciary subcommittee:

georgecampsen@scsenate.gov, michaeljohnson@scsenate.gov, joshkimbrell@scsenate.gov, tameikadevine@scsenate.gov, allenblackmon@scsenate.gov, edsutton@scsenate.gov, jeffzell@scsenate.gov

Campsen, George E. “Chip”, III

District 43 – Beaufort, Charleston & Colleton Counties 

Business phone: (803) 212-6340

Johnson, Michael

District 16 – Lancaster & York Counties – Map

Columbia Address

510 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia 29201

Business Phone 803-212-6172

Kimbrell, Josh

District 11 – Spartanburg County – Map

Columbia Address

502 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia 29201

Business Phone 803-212-6108

Devine, Tameika Isaac

District 19 – Richland County – Map

Columbia Address

612 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia, 29201

Business Phone (803) 212-6172

Blackmon, Allen

District 27 – Chesterfield, Kershaw & Lancaster Counties – Map

Columbia Address

510 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia 29201

Business Phone 803-212-6048

Sutton, Ed

District 20 – Charleston County – Map

Columbia Address

613 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia 29201

Business Phone (803) 212-6056

Zell, Jeff

District 36 – Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg & Sumter Counties – Map

Columbia Address

610 Gressette Bldg.
Columbia 29201

Business Phone (803) 212-6040

Americans don’t trust our election system. This distrust has been growing since the HAVA Act was instituted in 2002. The HAVA Act subsidized the purchase of computerized electronic voting systems, with many components manufactured overseas. Today’s system is highly complex and vulnerable, making it hard for election workers and voters to understand. We must simplify by returning to a system of people, paper, and pens with some modern twists. The best way forward is to remove electronics from all four phases of the system—Voter Registration, Voter Validation, Marking and Counting of the ballots, and Reporting of the Results. While technology such as video recording of the counting is preferred, it is not necessary. The Gold Standard achieves this by enhancing accessibility to qualified voters, security of the physical ballots, vote transparency, and results verifiability. The Gold Standard is a system “for the people by the people.”

We provide recommendations to improve all four areas of the election system in our whitepaper.

Each state must try to incorporate these into its election laws. We recommend that Congress abolish all federal election laws like HAVA (the Help Amerca Vote Act), NVRA (National Voter Registration Act), and UOCAVA (Uniformed Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act)

Here is the QR code for more details.

Here is a summary of the recommendations

Phase 1: Voter Registration: controls who and how many ballots are issued

• In-person registration with valid ID and proof of citizenship at least every 4 years (affidavit and confirmation of legitimate domicile)
• Paper “library card” system of voter rolls sorted by precinct at the county with redundant read-only computer copy
• Separate database for active and inactive/archived
• Voter rolls free of charge, downloadable online-Active, inactive, archived

Phase 2: Voter Validation: controls the legitimacy of ballots eligible for tabulation

• Ongoing validation of rolls; if the voter is activated after inactive status, they must re-register.
• Paper Poll Books- confirm accuracy against paper card system and freeze 30 days before an election-no new registrations beyond this point
• Voter must have a valid current ID at the time of voting
• Periodic checks of voter qualifications and status to ensure accuracy

Phase 3: Marking and Counting of Ballots: controls when/where/how the votes are counted

• One day of voting, a state/federal holiday (early voting is discouraged)
• Hand-marked, Hand-counted Paper Ballots
• Ballots must employ security features and procedures
• Secure transfer of ballots by LEO with detailed logs
• Increase poll workers to ensure timely counting (before midnight)
• Count where cast at the precincts which should be small, <1,500 electors; penalties for violations
• Sequentially numbered but random (pick a card)
• Observable by the public and live-streamed and/or recorded if possible
• Strong chain of custody measures
• Public access to chain of custody docs
• Procedures for COC must be published and election workers trained
• Absentee balloting-minimal and also sorted and counted at their precinct (secure transfer from county)
  • Do not open absentee ballots until counting commences
  • Sequential numbering used to track and reconcile prior to count
• Disability provisions – ADA and curbside

Phase 4: Election Night Results Reporting: controls what results are  ultimately reported and certified in a timely manner

• Tally results are provided on summary totals sheets, which are then sealed and reported to the county and state and posted on the precinct door.
• Ballot counting is open to the public and can be recorded with a cellphone camera mounted over the tally sheets, ballots, and total sheets
• Vote results shall be provided to all citizens within 24 hours of the count, preferably posted on county websites.
• All election records should be free of charge to citizens

Here is a video that discusses the above.

But we must participate in the process

“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right… and a desire to know.” John Adams

Trump may have won the election, but the battle for election reform continues. States are in charge of their elections and must make the necessary changes, but will they have the integrity and fortitude to do the right thing and support election laws that give control of elections back to the people? Now is not the time to be complacent. We shall take a break for the holidays. However, we cannot give up the fight for transparent, accessible, secure, and verifiable elections.

The people have lost faith in our elections. We must urgently overhaul the entire election process to restore public confidence. Our fellow team member and House Representative Rob Harris pre-filed bill H3628. This bill would redesign the state’s current electronic voting process. Electronic voting systems have failed the American public. Computer “glitches,” weak logic and accuracy testing, counting that goes on for a month, ballots with no chain of custody, and ballot harvesting are just a few of the concerns. The only way to ensure every vote is counted accurately and transparently is to implement an actual paper ballot system with secure, hand-marked ballots that are publicly counted.

The solution is the “Gold Standard” – a comprehensive, nationwide blueprint for revamping elections with one day of voting, hand-marked paper ballots, and public observation of the counting process. This solution, outlined in this policy paper, Gold Standard Elections, was constructed with feedback from multiple states and rigorous testing. Watch this video here for a summary of our recommendations.

To make South Carolina a trailblazer, we ask all South Carolinians to CALL or meet with their representatives and ask them to support and sponsor bill H 3628, which codifies these reforms. This bill would mandate a paper ballot system with secure, auditable vote counting. It would also make Election Day a national holiday and keep precincts small to ensure local control.

Here is a sample letter/script to encourage your Representative to sponsor and support H 3628, the Gold Standard Election bill. Note that you can find your Representative by searching on scstatehouse.gov.

Dear Representative ________:

For many years, voters have not had confidence that their votes count. I do not trust the current electronic voting system. I am not alone, as people in the new administration, such as Elon Musk and President Trump, believe Americans should vote one day with paper, people, and pens.

Please support this bill H 3628 as it will increase trust in our election outcomes, save us money, and simplify the process.

Thanks for your consideration

CALL TO ACTION

To preserve our constitutional republic, we must all participate on an ongoing basis to make our local city, county, and state great again. We can only do that through the strength of many voices calling out for improved institutions, rules, laws, and governing bodies that reflect our will. We purportedly have a conservative legislature. They must act like one by passing laws that respect individual rights regarding families, health, finances, and freedom of speech. The bitter fighting in the State House needs to be mitigated to ensure meaningful reforms that benefit the people of SC, not corporations or special interest groups. All of these issues flow from elections. If our elected officials are not doing the job we want, they must be replaced by someone who will. They must be elected, not “selected.” We must believe that our vote counts and that the entire process is trustworthy. Bad actors nationwide must be brought to justice, and all illegal or malicious actions must be disclosed with consequences. Hopefully, the year 2025 will be the year of disclosure and justice. Improvement requires commitment. The more actively involved citizens are, the more impactful reforms we can make. There is strength in numbers, so let your voice be heard. Add these action steps to your New Year’s resolution:

• Call your Representative and senator and ask them to support policies and bills important to you- especially Bill H3628. Use the script provided above.
• Sign up to participate in your precinct reorganization. Next year, we have the opportunity to re-elect all party officers in your precinct, county, and state. Start attending meetings for your local county political party. For more information on whom to contact, you can email us at scsafeelections@zohomail.com
• Stay abreast of the proposed bills by downloading the SC Legislature app.
• Invite our group to speak at one of your meetings or churches about election integrity and how to get involved.
• Stay connected to breaking news about elections by joining our Telegram channel. Here is the link- https://t.me/+sRfrsM-iuvoxODAx

We continue to serve the citizens of South Carolina faithfully by advocating for elections you can trust.

Wishing you a prosperous New Year.

“One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” Plato