Hoosiers Have Serious Concerns About HB1173
This good information is from our friends at Indiana First Audit. They have been working hard for months to understand the state of Indiana’s electoral system and to attempt to fix its deficiencies. They have important information to share about Indiana HB1173 and Indiana’s electoral system.
First, ask ALL of the Indiana House members to Vote No – Bill 1173. It was authored by State Representative Timothy Wesco (HD21) who is the Chairman of the House Elections and Apportionment Committee. HB1173 just passed out of Committee. After a stop in Ways and Means, it is headed to Second Reading. Second Reading is when ALL Representatives have the opportunity to amend and vote on HB1173. Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan applauds it passing out of the House Elections Committee under the guise of ‘Absentee Ballot Security Measures’.
Here’s what Holli Sullivan is not telling you about HB1173:
Risk Limiting Audit vs. Post-election Audit
Changing the verbiage Risk Limiting Audit (RLA) to Post-election Audit is an optic ploy. Indiana voters do not appreciate the simple change in language regarding audits without an overhaul of the auditing process. We expect a clear definition around what the audit consists of, how it is done and who it is conducted by, preferably by a third party as we have a vote of no confidence in the lack of transparency.
Hoosiers don’t want Risk-Limiting Audits (RLAs) here in the State. Hoosiers want to be ground breaking. Why the quick rename? Because RLAs are a con….that’s why and we are sharing it with the state. In fact, RLAs count random ballots and compare them to the voting system tally. Thats it! Think of counterfeit money. You run it through a counter…NO PROBLEM. Numbers matchy-match. You only find the problems when you are handling the money, putting it under UV light, looking at currency grade printing, then AH HA! Found it. Same principle.
RLAs will not find:
*PHANTOM voters
*Voters who have MOVED OUT OF STATE but cast vote in Indiana
*Voters who VOTE BY MAIL AND IN PERSON
*Voters who are DEAD
*Voters who are NOT CITIZENS
*Voters who VOTE IN TWO STATES
*VOTERS WHO VOTED but the State does not have record of their vote
*CITIZENS WHO DIDN’T VOTE but the State has record of having voted
*Voters who are INELIGIBLE TO VOTE.
Risk Limiting Audits (RLA) are not thorough audits, so we don’t want them. We don’t want UNSPECIFIED Post-election Audits either. We only want FULL FORENSIC AUDITS because they are thorough.
An RLA is problematic because in many cases like Indiana, clerks decided not to print the ballots on paper. In many states the paper ballots were not stored securely, which is a requirement that many states have already ignored. Secondly, in an RLA, a committee manually examines a statistical sample of paper ballots. Because the system itself is flawed, and there is already suspicion, it’s like a Magician showing you where to look. A “sample” that already has a known outcome can be selected to show the public that it was cast and counted correctly while the real fraud, fake ballots, or illegally cast ballots are existing outside the chosen “sample” OR the “other ballots” that would reflect the truth have already been destroyed. In a situation of an RLA, it’s like the Wizard of Oz. The truth is behind the curtain, and we want to look!
Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail
Additionally, State Representative Timothy Wesco (HD21) is now asking in his bill for the State to require 10% Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) by 2024 (10 out of 100 votes.…c’mon man). Why not 100%? 57% of Indiana has no verifiable voter paper audit trail. To top it off, an RLA cannot be done without a VVPAT. See how this works? No accountability and around and around we go. Testimony further revealed that clerks had the printers and decided not to use them as they were too cumbersome. Paper audit trails and printer rolls were too cumbersome? Good grief.
How do we know our vote counted as we cast it? Show me my ballot! Ohio lists its voter information on their Secretary of State’s website with links to each county. It’s accessible for all Ohioans. Why can’t Indiana do this?
Arizona Ballot Integrity Project is a Blueprint for All 50 States
Check this out about the Arizona Ballot Integrity Project. Indiana First Audits calls for Indiana to use the same standard as the Arizona Ballot Integrity Project. Full-spectrum ballot transparency and security.
Use the millions in surplus to get this done at 25 cents a ballot. Our Secretary of State says NO since it’s not a budget year. She believes 25 cent per ballot is too expensive yet spends millions on hackable voting machines. This is a problem!
Finally, as a reminder, call your Representatives today and VOTE NO on HB1173!
Find your legislator here.
(317) 232-9600
(800) 382-9842 – House Democrats
(800) 382-9841 – House Republicans
Indiana First Audits
