SPARKS FLY IN STAND OFF WITH ES&S

If you read our prior article below, you’ll remember we mentioned the auditor training (CISA and ES&S indoctrination session) held in Pierre.

This is where the “training” session started off re-iterating the 2024 pre-election rhetoric that the PEOPLE are the biggest THREAT to the elections.

You’ll also remember the reference to the previously unnamed auditor (Susan Keipke, Davison County Auditor) discussing with ES&S reps how South Dakota Canvassing Group has been around the state spreading “disinformation.” The other previously unnamed auditor Sheri Lund, who is caught on video tape ballot harvesting in the USF Football Stadium parking lot while violating chain of custody statutes, was hugging ES&S reps in celebration after a discussion with another election official that got rather heated.

You may also remember from the ES&S Task Force Meeting, ES&S agreed to comprehensive election software and equipment training for Minnehaha County Election Officials and staff as Auditor Anderson would not agree to use machines during the election that no one has been trained on. ES&S then scheduled the promised training for November.

The Minnehaha County Election Coordinator had a discussion with several ES&S reps as to why the people (and the counties for that matter) can’t have the audit trail, why the machines aren’t tested for internet connectivity and accuracy on election day, what about those flash drives, modems, why no transparency? Well, the ES&S reps didn’t like being questioned and one called and end to the discussion by physically putting his hand on the Minnehaha Co Election Coordinator, saying “We are done here.” The Minnehaha County Election Coordinator replied, “That’s fine, we will discuss this when you come to do our training.” Those ES&S employees then reported to Chris Wlaschin, VP of Security, that they felt THREATENED by the Minnehaha Election Coordinator.

Yes, you heard that right. They’ve got this Marxist agenda down pat, don’t they?

Shortly after that, ES&S CANCELLED the agreed to training and unilaterally mandated a meeting with the SOS and staff, the Minnehaha County Commissioners, States Attorneys, multiple ES&S executives, and Auditor Anderson and her election coordinator. ES&S stated the training would be put off until the questions they have had been addressed.

In other words, ES&S doesn’t like being questioned and intend on holding off the promised training until Minnehaha falls back in line.

Auditor Anderson replied that they weren’t interested and would not be attending said meeting, and instead wanted the scheduled training to be held as previously planned.

ES&S has since pushed off the promised training until January or later, and instead re-scheduled the strong-arming session to answer questions.

HERE COMES THE GOOD PART:

The ES&S re-education meeting was held via zoom Monday, December 4th, 2023. The meeting consisted of Sec of State Monae Johnson, Deputy SOS Tom Diedrick, Elections Director Rachel Soulek, Heather Irwin who manages Total Vote, Christine Lehrkamp, former BPro employee, and Bailey Tibbs, former SOS employeee, nine ES&S executives, and Leah Anderson, Minnehaha Co Auditor and Mike Mathis, Election Coordinator. No Minnehaha County Commissioner attended and no one from the State’s Attorney Office.

Anderson and Mathis asked the questions that they had regarding modems, audit logs and CVR’s, but also addressed the lack of access to the information needed to properly run and audit an election. They addressed the broken chain of custody for the equipment in Minnehaha County prior to her term. (Express Vote Systems kept in the mail room) The issue of the IT department holding the Election Management System computer hostage; which is needed to access all the information they have questions on. Since when does the IT department have authority of the Auditor’s election equipment?

Auditor Anderson pointed out the fact that there is no leadership from Monae Johnson’s office. Leah and her team are being targeted for asking questions that every auditor should be asking.

62 counties can not properly run their computerized elections because they don’t have the tools needed to produce the reports necessary for auditing measures clearly laid out by EAC Election Management Guidelines. They don’t know or have access to the codes to interpret the reports. The FOUR counties that do have the necessary software to audit the elections, have not been comprehensively trained on how to use it. ES&S and the SD SOS must want it that way, b/c there is NO EXCUSE for flying blind in our election process. All the auditing tools hidden from the auditors are exactly what is necessary to find anomalies and fraud, along with internet connectivity and possible hacking and programming errors.

Auditor Anderson opened the meeting to the residents of Minnehaha County, the taxpayers, those that elected her, and those that she works for. Those citizens got a front row seat to the tactics that this arrogant machine vendor uses to bully and intimidate those who dare to question their machines.

Upon the revelation that the citizens of Minnehaha County were there listening to the entire meeting, ES&S execs promptly wrapped it up. However - comprehensive training on CVR’s and audit logs was promised (again) and a work order is to be written up. We imagine all the citizens of Minnehaha County will be interested in ensuring that ES&S keeps up their end of the bargain this time.

Find the full video here:

Back to the encounter at the auditor conference. We can’t really call it “training” because there is little to no training of actual substance that goes on there. One of the ES&S reps actually laid his hand on the Minnehaha Co Election Coordinator, Mike Mathis, and physically pulled him back. And then, ES&S reported Mike to Chris Wlaschin, ES&S VP of Security, for threatening them. If anyone could have felt threatened, it would have been Mike.

In today’s meeting, Leah Anderson asked everyone on the call if they felt threatened by their questions today, because that is exactly what ES&S claimed was threatening before. ES&S Senior Gov’t Advisor Kathy Rogers then dives into the threats elections workers face and how they need to protect their employees. Sound familiar? Monae Johnson and all of her staff were noticeably absent from participating in the conversation.

This is a shot across the bow to election machine vendors that think they have some kind of authority over county officials. ES&S is a VENDOR. A vendor should be doing everything possible to keep their clients business. Not bully and intimidate them into submission. ES&S has a stranglehold on our state as they are the only election machine vendor certified to do business in the State of South Dakota. And the citizens of Minnehaha are paying attention.

If you don’t want power hungry tyrants in control of your elections, it’s time to take them back and hand count, in the precinct.

Hand Counting is Easy, Less Expensive, Accurate, Transparent, Auditable, Secure and fully LEGAL in the State of South Dakota. Anything less is a risk that We the People are not ok with taking.

Our votes are a sacred right paid for with American blood. Our civic duty to protect that right requires sacrifice. We are calling all South Dakotan’s to take back your precinct, and don’t let those ballots out of your sight before hand counting them.

More to come soon.