I was approached by election security watchdog Linda Brown regarding Private Citizen Regina Barnes’s recent day in court, which Chau Kelley took a 51-minute video of and wrote a brief summary on. Though flattered to be thought of as worthy of such an assignment, I was reluctant to submit something that might appear as taking credit for the work of others.
Note the three people I just mentioned, and earthly glory be to them.
I was vaguely aware of Regina’s litigation against the Town of Hampton but hadn’t given it the deserved quality attention, which was another reason for my desire to shrug and say, “It’s above my pay grade,” as the Ballot Law Commission Chair said when someone tried to get some secessionist reps kicked off their ballots in 2022. However, Linda and I were on the phone for almost 90 minutes, and I learned that the case is more about RTK than just ballot handling and storage and chain of custody issues. In fact, it has a flavor of Paula Johnson vs. the City of Nashua and how it went, but it was also “Laurie Ortolano flavored,” hence this article’s title.
Before going any further, I should share the video, which is 52 minutes long, for those who care to watch. I could take you, the reader, down several rabbit holes warranting further digging, but I want this to be short enough to function as an elevator speech and a taster. If it interests you, please like and follow Regina on a variety of platforms addressing Hampton stuff as “NH Muckraker,” but let’s get into how Hampton resembles Nashua.
Regina’s RTK litigation is about public inspection of the Chain of Custody(CoC) logs, which the Town refused to show her, and Attorney Sullivan tried to get dismissed by citing RSA on the ballots themselves. Gaslighting, anyone? Strawman, anyone? I should point out that Regina represented herself and was given the “Attorney Bolton Treatment” as though she was Laurie Ortolano. Attorney Sullivan was ill-prepared, as you can recognize in a matter of minutes into the video, and I surmise that it’s just another example of pro se plaintiffs against government entities not being taken seriously.
Laurie has written about that not too long ago.
Attorney Sullivan also appeared to be unfamiliar with the difference between cast ballots, uncast ballots, and spoiled ballots. He also admitted that he never saw the ballot box security tape. Another example of his unpreparedness was his need to leave his post(seen in the video) and return, something I’ve never observed in a courtroom, on TV, or in person.
Attorney Sullivan tried a motion to dismiss, which was the attempt in progress when the video began. Some of the rabbit holes I mentioned included, but were not limited to, the following ballot storage and CoC shenanigans:
Defective, missing, or tampered with security tape.
Labels not properly populated, signed off, or displayed on the boxes.
Labels missing.
Boxes not sealed up at all.
Boxes not labeled “1 of 37,” “2 of 37,” etc., and 10 of such boxes missing.
Various other procedures not being followed.
Since I worked in a warehouse for many years, I am familiar with shipping practices and I spent several minutes on the phone with Linda talking about FedEx. She had all kinds of issues, some of which she even took pictures of. When your business ships via FedEx or most other carriers, there are just certain common sense things that the shipper is expected to do. A few examples are affixing the tracking label on the top side (of a 6-sided box), not obstructing said label with tape or stray marks, journaling them in a log, and noting the number of pieces (boxes) being shipped to the same destination at the same time (1,2,3… of 37) on the boxes legibly near the tracking label. These things were not done, and Attorney Sullivan insisted that because the Town “spent $600 on FedEx,” it was considered acceptable CoC practice. I told Linda that you can lock, bolt, and chain your front door to the hilt, but if your back door is unlocked, what good is locking the front door? The weakest link, you know.
One important question is whether or not Judge Kennedy is going to rule like Judge Temple does. We’ll eventually find out. Another question is if Hampton will follow Nashua’s example in the future by retaining the big legal guns at the public’s expense, of course. Attorney Bolton has spent upwards of half a million to contract out Attorney Hilliard to do his job while he just sits there at the desk and watches.
While this may appear to some readers as an essay on how I decided to write it, I fancy myself no greater than an amateur blogger, and I would prefer that all readers consider it an essay on why Linda Brown wanted it published. You can also skip to near the end of the 51-minute video when Chau Kelley asks Regina what message she has for the viewers, and she expresses the desire to raise awareness. Think about Private Citizen Regina’s activism and visit her Rumble account.
I will also point out that Laurie Ortolano’s signature quote is “lack of transparency is a symptom of dishonesty,” which is seemingly the modus operandi of the Town of Hampton.
Does YOUR town (or city) have the behavioral attributes of Nashua in its local government?
