In another fine example of the people addressing a problem the government doesn’t have the time or talent to tackle, election integrity activists have successfully identified a completed-ballot storage security issue and communicated it to the people who need to know.
Concerned citizens discovered a problem with the tamper-proof tape used on boxes of completed ballots. Long story short, as instructed, it would not prevent tampering. You can check out our previous reporting on this here and here. The Secretary of State’s Office did not believe there was time to test the failure, update the instructions, and notify all the election officials before tomorrow’s Nh Statewide Primary, so the activists did it for them.
Yesterday, an email was sent to every Town Clerk in the state, notifying them of the issue so they could take appropriate action to ensure completed ballots were properly secured.
The First email went to the powers that be – The Governor, Secretary of State, and NH AG.
SUBJECT: Follow Up September 6, 2024 letter and SoS subsequent direction to Town Clerks
Dear Secretary of State Scanlan,
We have been informed your office has instructed the town election officials and clerks to continue with the prescribed procedure in the election manual for sealing and securing ballot boxes at the of the primary election. The reason given was your office has not had time to assess the election security issue outlined in our September 6. 2024.
We are including a 3-minute video ( Exhibit A) that demonstrates the apparent failure of the tamper evident tape when applied to packing tape and its additional poor performance when removed from cardboard leaving little to no evidence tape had ever been applied to the cardboard. We are also including specifications from a packaging company that confirms tamper evident tape must not be applied to packing tape. ( Exhibit B)
We are aware many of our town clerks have already performed their own test locally and are aware of the tape’s failure to perform when applied as the election manual and clerk training has directed. There is a high degree of frustration that your office would not remedy such an important issue prior to this election.
We feel it is our Constitutional and civic duty (under Part 1 of the NH Constitution Art 8: Accountability of officers/ Right to Know, Art: 11 Elections and Elective Franchises, Art: 38 Social Virtues Inculcated) to urge you to take action on this significant election integrity issue. Your action to remedy the security issue will prevent challenges in future recounts and ensure our elections are secure for the voters and the candidates.
Thank you,
Al Brandano
Brenda Towne
This email included a link to a video we shared in a previous report and instructions on properly applying the tamper-identifying tape, which clearly states not to do what the SoS instructs in its election manual.
APPLICATION – Manual and Machine Application
- The surface must be clean & dry. If needed, clean the surface with 90% Isopropyl Alcohol.
- Tape dispensing speed is typically 12 inches / second. Faster speeds are possible, but may activate the hidden VOID OPENED pattern.
- When applying tape, observe the minimum surface temperature listed in “Choosing Your Security Tape” section on our website:
- EST-36 and EFT/PFT tapes with hot melt adhesive +40°F
- PST/EST tapes with acrylic adhesive – as low as +30°F
- PVT/EVT tapes with acrylic adhesive – as low as +20°F
- Apply the security tape directly to the intended surface. Do not apply on top of other packing tape.
- When sealing cartons, seal the opposing flaps on the top and extend the tape a minimum of 4 inches down each side of the box. Repeat this process for the bottom seam of the carton.
The second email went to every Town Clerk in New Hampshire.
On Friday September 5 we shared with you our notification to the Secretary of State, the AG and the Governor of the apparent failure of the tamper evident tape when applied as directed by the election manual.
We are aware the SoS has instructed you to continue with the failed procedure as his office did not have time to evaluate it. Most of you have already done a local experiment and have witnessed the failure first hand. In case you have not, we have included a 3-minute demonstration video. We know you all work very hard and spend a lot of hours on the elections in your town. As citizens it is our duty to make sure you have the best information and tools possible, to help you evaluate and perform this critical election security issue.
We can only recommend you consider adding an extra round of tamperproof tape when you secure the ballot boxes. If you wish you can follow the process using the official tamper evident tape from the SoS office and perhaps also add tamper proof tape directly on the box in places where a breach could occur so the intended purpose, which is to prove that the box of ballots has not been opened between being sealed on election night and being opened at a recount or a court hearing, can be achieved.
We brought this to your attention as a service for you, your voters and the candidates . We feel it is our Constitutional and civic duty (under Part 1 of the NH Constitution Art 8: Accountability of officers/ Right to Know, Art: 11 Elections and Elective Franchises, Art: 38 Social Virtues Inculcated) to prevent challenges in future recounts and ensure our elections are secure for all.
Thank you all very much for all you do. As always, as the Sec. of State Election Procedure Manual directs in the PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS section Page IV “ If disagreement exists as to proper procedure, consult with your jurisdiction’s local legal counsel before acting.”
Thank you all again!
Al Brandano
Brenda Towne
Clerks and election officials are free to ignore this warning, but you can’t say the people didn’t try to tell them there might be a problem and how they might address it.
As previously reported, the Secretary of State has indicated that they will review the matter before the November Election and make any necessary changes based on the results of their review.
As for Al and Brenda, if you run into them anywhere, buy them some coffee or a drink or whatever as a show of appreciation. This is the sort of tireless dedication that will be required to fix not just our election integrity issues but everything.
