News

Dear Speaker Lucas:

Thank you for your service to our state. You’ve served as our SC House Speaker since 2014…and now you are leaving. Before you go…

We, the citizens of SC need you. We have never needed your leadership more than right now. Now is the time…Now is your moment…Now is the time for you to cement your LEGACY…how do you want to be remembered?

Will you be remembered as the man who enabled our state legislators to fulfill their Constitutional duty to determine the election laws in our state? OR…Will you be remembered as the man who single-handedly killed an election reform bill that was passed by your colleagues 114 – 0 and in the Senate 43 – 0? You have a DUTY to bring 4919 to a vote. Let your statehouse colleagues decide.

The most sacred right of a citizen is the right to vote

Protect this right to vote. You will be a HERO.

Cave to political pressures. You’ll be remembered as a ZERO.

Your decision will be the lasting signature of your service.

All those years. Culminating in this one moment. How do you want to be remembered? CHOOSE WISELY.

THIS IS NOT A POWER GAME…it’s the FUTURE OF OUR REPUBLIC.

We, the citizens of South Carolina, are watching.

Here’s to being the HERO,

Leslie Thorne, Legislative liaison SC Safe Elections

Last week the senate surprised everyone in South Carolina by adding amendments to the election integrity bills that the GOP “guaranteed” would be signed and passed.

The Senate combined bills 4919 and 3444 which was a good thing. They also added some surprises that were not welcome by the GOP leadership and the House.  The main issue in their opinion was a so-called “poison pill.”  The language that was objectionable was the ability of the Senate to provide advice and consent to the state election commission members, currently now solely appointed by the governor:

“State Election Commission composed of five members, to be appointed by the Governor, upon the advice and consent of the Senate”

 In our opinion, this is a good thing as it provides more scrutiny of the nominees for a group that currently has very little accountability.  We think that Senator Massey did a great job of debating this in the session during deliberation and encourage everyone to listen to the link.  It starts about 4 hours and 46 minutes in. This is a safeguard against partisan control of this entity. 

Overall, some of the changes were good, some bad, and we don’t think the bill goes far enough to provide true election reform—a good method to clean and maintain the voter rolls, removing electronic poll books and machines, and transparency in the reporting of results.

The Good

• The bill reduces some of the reasons for applying for an absentee ballot however this is mainly due to the fact that they institute a 2-week early voting period and some categories would be permanently out of the county i.e., absent from residence.   Ideally some additional restrictions would be put on early voting whether “in person” at an early voting center or absentee by mail.
• 2 categories of electors who can vote early via absentee mail in balloting:
  • Unable to vote during duration of entire early voting period and election day
    • Due to work obligations
    • Taking care of sick or disabled
    • Confined to jail
    • Will be absent from residence
  • Regardless of ability to vote during those times
    • Disabled
    • 65 or older—(we would have liked to see this eliminated)
    • Armed forces
    • In hospital within 4 days of election

• Additional requirements were made for those requesting ballots for themselves as well as on behalf of others:
  • If request for self and/or another person must now include name, DOB, last 4 of SS#, requester name, DOB and address and relation and this information Must be verified by county board.  
  • Completed application must be returned in person (elector or member of immediate family or authorized rep) or by mail to county BOE no later than 5PM the 11^th day before the day of election—used to be day preceding the election
  • Witness must be 18 years or older. This age requirement was not present previously, and must include the address, name and signature of the witness.
• Someone can only request up to 5 absentee applications—this reduces the potential for ballot harvesting.
• The ballot needs to incorporate features to authenticate the ballot as official but do not make the ballot identifiable to a particular elector.   
• Authorization for the requested ballots is enhanced—authorization form must record specific form of government-issued photo for those who are acting on an elector’s behalf.  This deters the issue of “mules” trying to just hand in ballots for anyone.  It is a further safeguard against nursing home issues and other people who claim that they are the elector’s representative.
• The county can start checking the oath and witness signatures now at 7 AM two days prior to election day. Tabulation of the absentee ballots starts at 7 AM on election day.  The process of examining the return addressed enveloped, opening the Ballot Herein envelopes and tabulation of absentee ballots can be viewed by poll watchers and candidates at reasonable distance in order to maintain both the right to observe and the secrecy of the ballots.  Note that the witness signatures and other information must be verified for the ballot to count.
• Another positive is that registration applications should now affirm citizenship and that they are NOT registered in another state or county and that all applications should be date stamped.
• There must be an annual general registration list mainenance to maintain accurate voter rolls. A county board of elections shall send a notice my mail at the address on file with the board to verify the accuracy of the information and determine discrepancies. The name of the qualified elector that has not responded to a notice (notice is undeliverable) shall be placed in inactive status in the master file within 7 days of receipt of said returned notice assuming they moved or if deceased, noncitizen, or mentally incompetent.   This compels the state to do this list maintenance and it would be preferable if this info was provided via voter roll requests at a nominal fee.
• Language was added to maintain the image of ballots in the voting system that protects the anonymity of the voter and the retention period for ballots and election data was extended to 24 months (from 22).
• Increased fines and prison terms were added for early reporting of results and election interference or fraud and these were changed from misdemeanors to felonies.
• Does prevent auto adjudication which is also good as machine adjudication (checking that ballots voted as person intended) can be easily manipulated and or error prone.
• They are allowing a public input period prior to the purchase of statewide voting systems.
• The bureau of vital statistics must report in state as well as OUT OF STATE deaths of SC citizens
• The DMV must give a monthly report to the SEC of all non US citizens who have been issued a drivers license or identification card at no charge.
• Prohibits the use of emergency declarations to change practices by the election commission
• Finally, the SEC and county BOE must not accept any funds, grants or gifts from any source other than the state or federal government for preparation or to conduct elections. (Thus, if any of these donations go through the state procurement, it needs to be transparent)
• The SEC shall provide a report of voters removed and reason for removal, active, archived, new voter registrations and voters placed on inactive status to the general assembly annually on January 15th.

The Bad

• As we already stated, the bill extends election day to two weeks prior to “election day” and institutes early voting centers –up to 7 per county.  This early voting can be a potential vehicle for fraud and election irregularities.
• Certification of the election management system: If federal guidelines have been amended less than 36 months prior to election, the SEC may approve the election system based on prior standards.  This is a long time period and could be a way to avoid the new VVSG 2.0 protocol (federal voting guidelines) and avoid any recertification process.  Although it may streamline certification and reduce cost, it will likely result in greater vulnerabilities than already exist. 
• The bill doesn’t address cost of the voter rolls which is currently $2,500. They should be no more than $500 in line with most other states. This allows for citizens to analyze the quality control of the voter maintenance.
• The bill doesn’t address the machines or the ability for some counties to opt out so that they could try paper ballots.  Although it asks for: “anytime voter is eligible to cast a ballot the voting machine and counting device must be disabled from internet/network/wireless connection/other mechanism… and automatic resolution functionality for ballots flagged for further review; it does still state that there will be connection when counties report to the State Election Commission.  However, these systems don’t have to be connected to the internet to be vulnerable. There are hundreds of ways they can be manipulated per our cyber experts—and not just the tabulators but the poll books, reporting system and registration database.  This is why it is essential that we go to PAPER BALLOTS—and no, not the ballots that are spit out after you vote on the touch screen. These are NOT paper ballots; they are coded ballots (a bar code is programmed and printed on the card that comes out of the ballot marking device to be reflective of your vote.)  Paper ballots are when a human fills out the circles and chooses their candidates. These are then hand counted! See this related article.
• The bill doesn’t address ERIC the clearing house that is supposed to be helping our state clean the voter rolls.  This organization is concerning given the recent Gateway Pundit articles.

As it stands, given the overall good enhancements and amendments the last senate version is a huge improvement over the house version.  While this is a far cry from substantive reform it has many things to celebrate.  Unfortunately, a big issue is the 2-week early voting period.

This is a great start and we would like to see this bill pass.  Ideally, in the next session we can build on this momentum to get it “totally right” in South Carolina and adopt measures that really make a difference by enhancing accountability, eliminating the cost and complexity and potential for fraud with the current election management system (ideally move to paper poll books and ballots), totally revamping the voter registration and maintenance program and making the entire process more transparent.

Citizens would be shocked to know that our entire system is controlled by out of state entities for the most part. We don’t have any ability to see how our vote is being counted and reporting is done by a foreign entity.  Our own state doesn’t have access to the source codes for the machines. Is this even constitutional? According to our state constitution our votes should be cast in secret but NOT COUNTED IN SECRET. This is currently not the case. We have outsourced this responsibility to corporations and machine manufacturers.

Let’s bring the vote back to the people and instill more confidence in our elections. Great job, Senate!

Bill 3444 prohibits drop boxes which is a good thing.  However, there is no procedure for drop boxes in the current Code of Laws for SC. They are already illegal, which is why counties that contested the boxes in 2020 were successful and were limited to locations at the county board of election offices. 

Section 7-5-50 of the bill states that “no county board of voter registration and elections may accept or expend any funds other than public funds to prepare for or to conduct elections.” No outside involvement by for profit or nonprofit corporations should be involved in our state elections.  The county board of elections as well as the State Election Commission should not be allowed access to any outside funding.

Bill 3444 is problematic in that it centralizes more control at the state level.  which leaves our state elections more vulnerable to partisan control.  (NOTE: the Governor appoints ALL members of the SEC…with the caveat that one appointee needs to be a member of the majority party in the General Assembly and the other from the minority party…otherwise the Governor picks whoever he wants – and he also appoints the Chairman of the SEC. These officials who run our elections are NOT elected.)  Decentralization is important here because it mitigates the dangers of centralized control, allowing counties to make decision that best reflect their constituencies. In other words, with this bill’s passage, counties would no longer be able to make the decision to dump the machines! In the same vein, this bill ABOLISHES the municipal election commissions, a further effort to centralize control upwards.

A fundamental conservative tenet is that decentralization is more optimal in that it tends to foster innovation. Centralization of the functions of government only allows for more concentrated control and power which gives the people less confidence in their election system.  This is the main tenet of why the democrats are pushing H.R. 1. They want total control of elections under the guise of enhanced quality control.  To that point, our own election commission should not be responsible for auditing themselves. Perhaps this role should be relegated to the Secretary of State.  

There are some hidden aspects of this bill which are also problematic. Why should the Speaker of the House and Senate President be able to intervene in any federal or state legal case involving an election law…or the way an election is carried out?

Bill 4919 says that it limits reasons for absentee voting but it extends in person voting to 2 weeks (in person voting to be one day and was only expanded last year due to COVID). It also doesn’t substantially limit the categories of who can request mail-in absentee ballots. As of this writing, they include: members of the American Red Cross, armed forces, government workers, students (as well as their spouses and dependents) and people age 65 and older, among others. Does this seem like a restriction in absentee ballots?  The only limit appears to be people who are on vacation and absent on election day. Absentee ballots are a huge source of potential malfeasance and should be limited only to people or active military out of the country or the severely ill or disabled. 

This bill also requires witness signatures and the last digits of the voter’s SS# but most likely due to time constraints these ballots are checked very quickly or not at all.

Overall, the election reform bills (4919 and 3444) (are moving in the wrong direction. I hope that the senate can bring themselves to amend them substantially or stick with our current system and enforce the laws on the books. We need to move forward, not backward.  If our governor and legislature was serious about election reform these bills would reinstate ONE day of voting, severely limit reasons for absentee balloting, get rid of the machines and go to paper ballots as well as have enhanced voter roll maintenance procedures,  including the elimination of our reliance on ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center).   .  

Here are some videos from our event that have been clipped from our main presentation. Enjoy. Here is also a link to our Rumble channel.

Below are some videos from our reveal.

The Cast Vote Record is a great way to determine how the ratio of votes between candidates trends in real time.  Draza Smith has done some compelling analysis on these records to show some irregularities that are concerning.  Our state of SC has blocked citizens from acquiring these records due to an opinion letter from the AG’s office prior to the 2020 election.  The opinion states a concern that “individual voters’ cast ballots could be identified in violation of Article II, § 1, if cast ballots are subject to public inspection.” They also state that it would “fail to protect the secrecy of every vote cast.”

This argument is spurious however and suggests that they don’t understand the format of this common report. The request seems to assume that the public would be privy to the actual scanned image of the ballot which is not what the standard Cast Vote Record provides. We have samples of the report headers and in no way does it provide any Personally Identifiable Information.

In order for our elections to be transparent and honest it is essential that we the people have access to key data points. The Cast Vote Record is a way for us to see trends in tabulation that may look awry as Draza Smith has demonstrated. It does not in any way encroach on the secrecy of any voter.

It is essential that we have more information not less if we are going to trust our election process and our election commission should be willing to work with us to ensure that confidence is instilled in the process.

We the People would like to monitor our elections to ensure that they are safe, transparent and honest. In order to do so, it is important to get the voter roll data pre and post election. The South Carolina Election Commission charges $2500 a pop for the rolls but if you compare that number to what other states are paying it seems exorbitant.

In fact, 41 states charge less than $2500. Eleven states charge no fee for access and 20 charge a fee of $500 or less.

Our state needs to reconsider the cost of election transparency.

Here is a video of Jeff O’ Donnell’s presentation of his analysis of the South Carolina voter rolls. There were many issues he uncovered. For example, dates of registration prior to birth, unusual spikes in registrations and inconsistent numbering of registration numbers. This is a must watch!

Now more than ever it is important to educate everyone about the election process. Our group is going to be conducting voter outreach sessions across the state for precincts, home owners’ associations, clubs etc. If you are interested in one of our team members coming to your area and talking about action steps you can take as well as perhaps even checking if your vote was accurate in our database contact us at scsafeelections@zohomail.com

Some of our group members spoke at the SC Election Excellence forum and were joined by election experts to discuss how we can keep our elections safe, honest, transparent and ACCURATE.

Below is the full video.  Phil Waldron spoke about how we can use paper ballots in lieu of machines to add verifiability to the process. Steve Hertzenberg provided a history of voting issues and his recommendations for fixing the problems.  Guest Speaker Lara Logan discussed the state of our nation and the grim implications.  It was a very information and enlightening day. (Speakers start at about the 50 minute mark).

Team members Laura and Cryste presented at the Charleston GOP on 3-14-22 do discuss our analysis of the SC ES&S system issues and canvass results.