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Team leader of SC Safe Elections, Laura Scharr, steps through the need to re-engineer the election ecosystem and how to achieve the gold standard by optimizing the four pillars of accessibility, security, transparency, and verifiability for all four phases of the process- registration, validation, tabulation, and reporting.

For more information about this, see our whitepaper here: https://www.scsafeelections.org/the-gold-standard-for-elections/

This video is part of a series on election excellence.

On May 31, 2025, over 100 passionate grassroots activists, lawyers, and election officials gathered at Glenn Beck’s American Voyage Experience Museum in Dallas, Texas, to champion a return to trustworthy elections. Led by Colonel Allen West with the Pledge of Allegiance and inspired by Pastor Andy Thompson’s call for unity and humility, the event showcased practical, scalable solutions for hand-counting paper ballots—because your vote should always count.

Why This Matters

For over four years, dedicated election warriors have fought for transparency and trust in our voting systems. Yet, many still feel our elections are vulnerable. The good news? Proven methods exist to secure our votes using hand-marked, hand-counted paper ballots. At this event, experts demonstrated four effective systems: the A-count-able Dotting Method, the Gold Standard Tally Method, and the Echo and Texas Tally Team Methods. These methods aren’t just ideas—they’re accurate, efficient, and ready to restore confidence in our elections.

What Happened

In a vibrant, patriotic setting, attendees saw these methods in action. The Gold Standard Team—Laura Scharr, Hava Laudon, Beth Biesel, and Rick Weible—shared their whitepaper, outlining clear steps to achieve secure, transparent, verifiable, and accessible elections. Each method was demonstrated through engaging “TED-style” talks, followed by hands-on sessions where attendees split into four groups to test the systems. They counted votes in a two-person race and a “pick 3 out of 6” race, proving these methods work accurately and efficiently.

Dr. Rick from Eagle AI also shared a robust system for cleaning voter rolls, ensuring only eligible votes are counted. Afternoon panels tackled tough questions and discussed how to prepare for the 2026 midterm elections, lessons learned, and victories to date.

This is an Urgent Matter

The enthusiasm in Dallas showed one thing clearly: the people want paper. They want to trust that their vote matters. We need to unplug our elections to ensure that they cannot be tampered with.

Here are the core recommendations for attainment of the gold standard:

• All phases of the election process are open and transparent to the public, with bipartisan and or impartial participation and oversight
• Poll workers verify voters through proof of citizenship and photo ID
• Local election officials maintain up-to-date voter rolls
•  Poll workers log and validate voters through paper poll books
• States return to one-day voting in person at their precinct, except for UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) voters
•  Laws minimize absentee and mail-in voting
• Where possible, states should institute 100% hand-counting of hand-marked ballots in public, with bipartisan representation, and with recorded or live-stream video capabilities.
• Election results are publicly reported first to the precinct, then the county, then the state.
• The public may gain access to election records 48 hours prior to the canvassing certification.

But change won’t happen on its own. To make secure elections a reality by 2026, we must act now. Election officials, legislators, and citizens must unite to reform processes, update laws, and educate voters. Paper ballots offer the transparency, verifiability, and security we’ve been demanding, boosting voter turnout and restoring faith in our constitutional republic.

Take Action Today

You have the power to make a difference.

1. Contact your state legislators and election officials today. Tell them you want a voting system by the people, for the people—one that uses paper poll books and hand-counted paper ballots with one day of voting. Demand that citizens be able to observe election materials once ballots are cast. Below is a sample of a letter you can send them.
2. Visit goldstandardelections.com for more information. We can put you in touch with volunteers in your area or provide you with a toolkit to do the demonstration yourself.

Every call, email, or letter brings us closer. The time to act is now. Let’s secure our elections for 2026 and beyond—together.

Here is a sample letter to send to your state elected officials:

Dear [State Representative/Senator Name],

The trust of American voters in our electoral process is eroding. Over half of Americans believe elections are vulnerable to cheating, a crisis that threatens the foundation of our democracy. Many citizens, including my neighbors across [State], are so disillusioned with the opaque, machine-based voting system that they choose not to vote. Corporate-owned systems count ballots in secret, providing only total counts without transparent transaction details—akin to a bank statement showing only a balance, not individual transactions. Even public figures like Tulsi Gabbard have raised alarms about vulnerabilities in our electronic systems.

This is a national emergency. We cannot allow confidence in our elections to collapse. As our elected representative, I urge you to take immediate action to restore trust by prioritizing election integrity in the 2026 legislative session. Specifically, I call on you to:

1. Eliminate electronic voting machines and implement hand-counted paper ballots to ensure transparency and security.
2. Transition to a single day of voting to reduce opportunities for potential malfeasance associated with early voting.
3. Require detailed, public reporting of vote counts to provide voters with clear, verifiable data.

These reforms are urgent and non-negotiable—failure to act risks further eroding public trust and the legitimacy of our elections. If you cannot commit to these priorities, I, alongside other concerned citizens, will actively support candidates who will.

I look forward to your response and your commitment to safeguarding our democracy. Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[City, State]
[Contact Information]

This is proposed Election reform for the people by the people developed by an elite cadre of grassroots election experts to forge a bold plan for securing the people’s vote and shielding our Constitutional Republic from the threat of election tampering.

Members of our group spent months preparing this. Please spread this far and wide.

South Carolina has long been viewed as a reliably “red state,” a bastion of conservative values rooted in our constitutional republic. But that foundation is cracking. Today, the “R” might stand for “Ready to Undermine the Republic” or “Resistant to Transparent Voting.” The recent county GOP reorganizations across the state expose a troubling reality: election interference isn’t just a national threat—it’s festering here, subverting the democratic processes that sustain our constitutional system and exposing dangerous vulnerabilities that threaten the security of our Republic.

In Georgetown County, interference took the form of exclusion. The County Chair issued a memo barring members from participating in the reorganization if they were “associated” with MySCGOP, a grassroots group within the party. What constitutes “associated”? An email subscription? A YouTube view? A single meeting? This vague decree isn’t a rule—it’s a calculated move to rig the process by silencing dissent. Electoral interference strikes at the heart of free speech, thought, and association—rights enshrined in our Constitution. Leaders who are secure in their vision don’t need to meddle; they prevail through fair debate within the republican framework.

Beaufort County’s interference came as manipulation. The current leadership forced their chosen slate of delegates forward, curtailing opportunities for other candidates to compete. This wasn’t a democratic process within a republic—it was a power play to control the outcome, denying members their rightful voice in party governance. Interference here didn’t just tilt the scales; it broke them.

Charleston County pushed interference into subversion. Voters were forced to vote by holding up green and red cards instead of hand-marked ballots, with the result decided by a subjective call from the meeting’s temporary president—an establishment ally. When the vote seemed close, and attendees demanded a division of the house to verify it, they were shut down. No paper trail, no accountability—just a predetermined result. This isn’t how a constitutional republic conducts its business; interference mocks the transparency and verifiability our system demands.

These acts of interference erode the four pillars of Gold Standard Elections—accessibility, security, transparency, and verifiability—that uphold our constitutional republic.

• Accessibility is undermined when voters endure endless speeches just to cast a vote, driving many to leave before participating.
• Security is compromised when voting methods are subjective and unrecorded, opening the door for manipulation.
• Transparency vanishes when ballots are counted behind closed doors—or, worse, destroyed.
• Verifiability is eliminated when no paper trail or documented results exist.

When voting methods are opaque—like waving cards with no record—trust in the process collapses. And when ballots are reportedly counted in secret or, as in Charleston two years ago, destroyed, the interference becomes blatant. Disillusioned party members disengage, withhold support, and warn others to steer clear. Can we fault them?

South Carolina is emerging as the epicenter of election interference, not from external forces but from within. If the Republican Party can’t conduct internal elections without tampering, what hope is there for preserving our constitutional republic at higher levels? President Trump, in his inauguration speeches, vowed to protect this republic and return power to the people. Yet these reorganization tactics—rigged slates, suppressed votes, destroyed evidence—reek of entrenched power defying that promise. His endorsement of Senator Lindsey Graham, broadly unpopular among South Carolinians across party lines, only widens the gap between rhetoric and reality.

The stakes are monumental. Election interference at the local level threatens the integrity of our entire constitutional system. South Carolina’s GOP must lead by example, ensuring every vote within its ranks is accessible, secure, transparent, and verifiable—principles that reflect the republic we’re meant to be. Voters deserve a process free of meddling, one that honors their role in this system—not one that leaves them doubting whether their voice counts. The party must act decisively, or South Carolina risks becoming a symbol of interference over republican ideals.

Here is the breakdown of the fact sheet on the EO. This EO is likely priming the pump for further Executive Orders. Stay tuned.