Local officials nationwide, concerned about the potential for election fraud, have been stepping in through their own initiatives, inquiries, and demonstrations of protest. There has been a noticeable uptick in such activity since the erroneous assertions by former President Donald Trump that fraud played a role in his 2020 defeat. In states like Nevada and Arizona, for instance, key figures have flagged information they believe needs further exploration. A number of county officials have even delayed the verification of election results, a move they see as a symbol of unity against potential errors in election results.
Up in Michigan, a pair of county board of canvassers expressed skepticism about the similar margins in three recall elections. And in Ohio, an official came under investigation for a potential breach attempt. Moreover, some counties have begun to think outside the box, replacing machine counting with manual ballot counting. Although studies suggest this method is less effective and efficient, the demand for it keeps growing, particularly in the swing states and Democrat-led states where Vice President Kamala Harris needs electoral votes.
A quick overview of the setup: in most states, counties are the custodians of the electoral process. County commissions or boards of elections play crucial roles in choosing the top election official, deciding basic administrative matters, and giving final approval to the results. When these bodies refuse to certify results, they may face legal action from the state or even indictments from grand juries. Usually, they comply with court orders swiftly or reverse their previous decisions, but the friction suggests the potential for further discord and distrust in the already polarized atmosphere around elections.
It was an outright victory for Trump in this rural county south of Atlanta, where he scooped about 60% of the votes in 2020. In a bid to ensure total transparency, three Republican representatives on the county’s Board of Elections decided to perform a hand-count audit of the ballots in a local and a federal race. This decision aligns with a nationwide trend among conservative activists who base their mistrust of machine-counted results on unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Despite its potential drawbacks, some people favor hand-counting ballots because of issues related to cost and practicality. Nonetheless, an analysis from the Brennan Center for Justice refutes this stance, arguing that manual counting is prone to errors and only suitable for small elections with fewer than 1,000 voters. With the introduction of advanced technologies, many are asking: why revert to an old, less reliable system – especially with a critical election on the horizon?
During the 2020 elections, the Spalding County Election Board was in favor of the Democrats. However, then-Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, along with other Republican deputies, criticized the county’s election supervisor, stating that there were issues with the implementation of ‘voting systems’. As a consequence, provisional ballots were used, which are processed differently compared to other ballots.
In response, the state’s Republican majority passed a law in 2021 which changed the appointment process of certain board members in Spalding County. As a result, Republicans gained the majority, and a new election supervisor was appointed. These changes have refueled the debate around the integrity of the election process, a topic that has been consistently under scrutiny in recent years.
The newly appointed board faced an early challenge in 2022 with the discovery of a fraudulent ballot. This incident raised many eyebrows, with some arguing that this deceitful act was either to tilt the scale towards certain candidates or to spark doubt about the integrity of the state’s election systems. However, the board chairman, Johnson — a vocal critic of the 2020 presidential election, remains firm on his stance.
Attempts to reach board members Johnson and McClain proved futile. A quick call to Newland was met with an abrupt hang-up, further intensifying the air of intrigue. Dexter Wimbish, the Democratic representative on the board, expressed concern about the county being at the center of controversies.
Worriedly, Wimbish voiced concerns about discrepancies that might appear between manual and machine counts. He fears that the board’s investigations could inadvertently lead to an election certification delay if these discrepancies lead to further investigation. He raised the possibility that this situation is designed to sow doubt if their preferred candidate doesn’t win.
Another area of interest is the rural county of Fulton in south-central Pennsylvania, dubbed ‘Trump Country’ due to its unwavering support for the former president. The county Board of Elections has for long been tangled in a legal dispute with the secretary of state’s office, due to allegations of using a technology firm to illegally access their Dominion voting machines to audit the results.
Determined to investigate these machines further, the county attempted to enlist a second company for this purpose. An injunction from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court prevented any further assessments. The county, determined to fight back, took the standoff to court, challenging the power of the secretary’s office to decertify the machines.
Arizona’s Cochise County with its Republican majority has had numerous run-ins with Democratic state officials over election administration. Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd, GOP members of the Board of Supervisors, face legal action for alleged conspiracy and interference with an election officer due to their refusal to certify the November 2022 elections on time.
Despite the legal challenges, Crosby and Judd both backed a hand count of more votes, instead of just reviewing a sample under state regulations, before finalizing the election results. In reaction, the court later ordered the board to provide certification. Crosby was conspicuously absent during the vote.
Cochise County Recorder David Stevens, a Republican and keeper of voter registration records, said he was ready to carry out the hand count. He avoided addressing the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s election, stating instead his commitment to moving forward. However, the county’s only Democratic supervisor, Ann English, doubts her colleagues would favor a return to manual counting.
English remains hopeful that the presidential results will be certified without controversy. In her words, ‘In life, we make mistakes and that’s where lessons are learned.’ It remains to be seen whether these ‘lessons’ will lead to smooth elections and a renewed confidence in the system’s integrity.