New Hampshire resident Al Brandano is seeking emergency relief via a write-of-mandamus for the upcoming 2024 Elections. He says the state has violated federal law regarding the retention of election records after the 2020 and 2022 elections.
In previous elections, the state allegedly ordered memory cards from the (super reliable?) AccuVote machines returned to the vendor (LHS Associates) and their digital evidence erased. 47 USC §20701 requires states to retain all election records for 22 months, including digital ones. The writ asks the court to order the New Hampshire Secretary of State to follow the law.
The proprietary software on the memory cards provided by LHS is also tagged as violating Federal Law (by making the raw data on the cards unreadable by citizens or election officials).
A list of additional points affirms existing law, the state’s responsibility, and the need for election accountability. It also states that emergency judicial intervention is needed, or these requirements will be ignored for the upcoming (contentious) 2024 results.
New Hampshire’s history and tradition (more recently, at least) suggest that the courts will have the State’s back (they do all work for “the government”). The State is loath to change anything that simplifies and secures a process (The Sec of State agreed to use actual tamper-proof tape to secure ballots but may be ignoring the manufacturer’s use recommendations). And while “the government” for whom they all work is us, repeated attempts to get “them” to follow the Constitution or other laws created to define or constrain them have fallen on mostly deaf ears.
Shouting “election integrity” in a crowded polling place is a cultural crime. Still, concerned citizens continue to do just that, for which we are forever grateful and eager to aid and abet.
Securing these election records is critical to ensuring citizens can review results (recounts) or investigate anomalies to (borrow a phrase) protect democracy.
Here is the complete Writ provided to the court.
writ-of-mandamous-case-1-24-cv-00333-sm-aj-brandano-v-sec.-of-st