At SC Safe Elections we value transparent and accurate elections where there is accountability. This is why we felt compelled to sue 8 counties as well as the SC State Elections Commission (SEC) to gain access to a valuable audit tool called a Cast Vote Record also known as a CVR. These records are unique is that they look at the progression of votes over time as opposed to the total count which is one snapshot in time. The sequence of the vote count would enable us to see how the vote changes over time to look for anomalies.
Note also that our votes are currently being counted in secret which is against our SC Constitution Article II Section 1 which states that our votes shall be cast in secret but not counted in secret. How can we know how our votes are being counted if we don’t have access to a report that 28 states and the District of Columbia have access to and that has been around since the mid-2000s. And why are our election officials claiming they have no knowledge of this tool which is used in several election offices across the country. In fact, CVRs (Cast Vote Records) were meant to be for the public as well as election officials per the NIST manual on CVRs. Furthermore, our state spent $51M on these new machines expressly for the benefit of a “paper audit trail.” Why have the trail if you don’t use it or make it available to the public. How does that inspire confidence in our elections?
Unfortunately, the defendants are playing coy and using lawfare to not answer discovery questions that should be straightforward. For example, see Aiken’s responses here.
This is pretty typical of what we received from the Election Commission as well as the other counties:
The county claims they don’t know what SEC stands for and if it does mean State Election Commission they don’t know what information communication or materials may have been shared between the SEC and Clear Ballot; nor do they know what the term define means….
They don’t know all the entities, consultants, contractors, that provide their election related itesm or service nor the tasks that they provide?
They don’t seem to want to answer the question of what PII or Personally identifiable information is.
They don’t know what a voted ballot, ballot image, or cast vote record are?
They don’t know what reports they are capable of printing nor the software on their system.
Literally, every answer starts with the words, “defendant does not know.”
It goes on and on……but this certainly don’t seem to want to answer these questions in good faith. They appear to be refusing to answer any questions thoroughly or at all. Does this enhance your trust in our election system or the people who are running it?
Are you disgusted yet? Will you tolerate this from your government agencies? Unfortunately we are seeing this trend of disrespect for people obtaining facts and information via information requests across the state as well as the nation.
This can’t be allowed to stand. Transparency is the cornerstone of a strong republic.
Please help support this lawsuit and our effort for enhanced transparency by spreading the word and contributing to our givesendgo campaign.
givesendgo.com/SCFOIA