Citizen activists interested in improving voter confidence in New Hampshire have requested they be part of any formal effort to test and verify the efficacy of the current process for taping up and securing completed ballots.
The problem: ballots are to be secured but the tape recommended by the state does not consistently (or at all) leave evidence of tampering. When asked about this the SoS office responded,
The security of sealed boxes of ballots from an election relies on the local election officials who box and seal the ballots, the seal that documents the contents of a box with the signatures of the election officials who boxed and sealed the contents, the packaging tape used to secure the box, the tamper evident tape, the chain of custody record on the seal when transferred from the selectmen/moderator to the clerk, and the clerks “Sealed Ballot Boxes – Chain of Custody & Storage Log.”
The SoS and AG only get involved if a problem is reported after it is too late. That’s not a promising response, so the same citizens who discovered and reported the tamper-tape issue are pressing to address it. And someone should. It is not a good look to have the Governor bragging about how secure our elections are while this systemic issue is unaddressed.
I’m not the only one who thinks that, and clerks whose towns are exposed to litigation over it are likely looking to do better as well.
Here is the email (lightly edited).
We are writing you per our civic duty, and constitutional authority under Part 1, Article 8 and 38 of the New Hampshire Constitution and direction under RSA 91A.
We believe in secure, accurate, and transparent elections where every legal vote is counted.
We were all active and supportive members in your call for Voter Confidence Committee June 2022 hearings to help restore the public trust in voting. As well as extensive experienced in recounts and identifying failures of best practices procedures as outlined in The Election Procedures Manual ( see Senate District #24)
We have learned through the 91A. Process ( see below) as well as our civic investigation that there appears to be a significant security concern around the Tamper-Evident taping of election Ballot boxes. We alerted you and town clerks on Sept.6, 2024. ( video, analysis and explanations)
Sadly, that security/ liability alert was responded to by Elections Director Piecuch to all Clerks as, unable to review and verify claims, proceed as directed, and we will evaluate if changes need to be made before Nov. Election. It also appears by the 91A request [that] the Sec. of State’s office does not possess “specification for tamper-resistant tape supplied by your office . . .“ nor records detailing “testing” of the models of tape considered.
We request: based on the above evidence, that we would be remiss and negligent in our civic and public duty if we did not request to be part of your evaluation team. So we can partner with you to:
A.) consider more secure taping alternative options like Tamper Proof Tape.
B.) updating positioning of the application of taping.
This will help rebuild critical voter confidence before the NOV. election, as well as provide for a safe, secure and transparent election process, all of us in NH can be proud of.
Please advise us of your decision, per our request.
Respectfully
Al Brandano
Brenda Towne
Linda Brown
Deb Roux
Mike Bean
James Goodwin
Tom Murray
Emailed to:
NH Sec. Of State – Scanlan
Patrica Piecuch – Elections Dir.
Ballot Law Commission – (Please forward to Chairman Cook)
Nh Attorney General ~ Formella
House Election Law Committee
Senate Election Law Committee
