A Petition by The People of Montgomery County to the County Commissioners Court to Secure Our Elections.
Whereas Article 1 Sec. 2 of the Texas Constitution and Article IV Sec. 4 of the U.S. Constitution guarantee all Texans a Republican form of government. According to Black’s Law Dictionary 4th edition a Republican Government is “a government by representatives chosen by the people”.
Whereas ensuring the security and accuracy of our elections is critical and foundational to maintaining the representative form of government guaranteed to all Texans through the Texas and U.S. Constitutions. Whereas citizen investigators in Montgomery County and across Texas have discovered and made it abundantly clear that there are serious issues of illegality and inadequacy surrounding voter rolls, election procedures and electronic voting systems that over-complicate our election processes and make it difficult if not impossible for average voters to determine the accuracy of our elections.
Whereas we, the undersigned People of Montgomery County, no longer trust or maintain confidence in the accuracy of the election process we are being forced to utilize in choosing our government representatives.
Whereas it is the oath bound duty and responsibility of ALL Texas government officials including the Governor, Lt. Governor, the Legislature, the County Commissioners Courts and the State and County Election Officials to preserve our representative form of government through the purity and accuracy of our elections. Therefore, be it resolved that the undersigned People of Montgomery County hereby petition our County Commissioners Court to make public trust in Texas elections a number one priority by calling for a special meeting to make common sense reforms to restore confidence in our election process in Montgomery County. This meeting should be public noticed 1 week in advance and include open public comment where the People can openly address their concerns and offer common sense solutions for our county.
Therefore, be it resolved that the undersigned People of Montgomery County hereby petition our County Commissioners Court to ensure the thorough cleanup and accuracy of voter rolls in Montgomery County before the 2024 primaries by ensuring that only legitimate U.S., Texas, and Montgomery County residents and citizens are eligible to vote.
Therefore, be it resolved that the undersigned People of Montgomery County hereby petition our County Commissioners Court to ensure Montgomery County elections are following Texas law even if the Texas Secretary of State is not following the law or is instructing County Election Officials with procedures that do not follow Texas Law.
Therefore, be it resolved that the undersigned People of Montgomery County hereby petition our County Commissioners Court to return to the only legal and secure standard of conducting elections currently within the Texas Election Code by utilizing hand marked, counterfeit resistant, sequentially numbered, paper ballots; paper poll books printed 23 days before each election; in-precinct full hand counts of all races and measures on ballots; and rigorous county wide audit procedures to ensure the accuracy of all elections conducted in Montgomery County.
Therefore, be it resolved that, if this Commissioners Court refuses to adopt the only truly legal standard of election procedures, the undersigned People of Montgomery County hereby petition our County Commissioners Court to adopt at a minimum the following election security measures to secure Montgomery County’s elections:
i) Direct Hart Intercivic, Inc. to remove all non-human-readable text or codes from printed ballots in a way that does not destroy the ability of the systems to read past ballots that contain such codes or text.
ii) Direct the Montgomery County Election Department to remove all barcodes or QR codes from the sticker printed from the ePollbook and then scanned into the Hart Intercivic, Inc. voting system as this creates the potential for voters to be associated with their individual votes, thereby destroying the legal requirement of a secret ballot. Replace the barcode/QR code with human readable text for the precinct number and ballot style.
iii) Discontinue the use of all electronic voting system equipment that does not meet ALL voting system standards outlined in Texas Election Code 122.001 and Texas Administrative Code 81.60 and 81.61 that is required for legal use in Texas elections, until such system meets each one of these legal standards. Approval or certification of an electronic voting system by the Texas Secretary of State or the Election Assistance Commission should not be used to determine that the voting system meets the legal requirements as outlined above. The County Commissioners Court must conduct their own investigation and certify to the people of Montgomery County that they have determined that the system meets these safety and legal standards.
iv) Conduct their own investigation and certify by showing proof to the people of Montgomery County that they have determined that no component of the electronic voting systems used for elections in Montgomery County can be used knowingly or unknowingly to connect either by wire or wirelessly to any network (internet, intranet, cellular or otherwise) or any other means of manipulation, monitoring, tracing, or tracking. (e.g. no NFC, Bluetooth, USB redirection device, cellular network or communication devices, etc. or the like).
v) Provide easier audits and more security in early voting by requiring each precincts’ voted ballots to be cast and stored separately. This could be accomplished by assigning home precincts to each early voting branch location geographically and requiring that visiting voter’s ballots be cast and stored with separate voting equipment in a visitors' voting line.
vi) Direct the Montgomery County Election Department to provide a precinct-by-precinct static voter roll registry, captured on the 23rd day before each election, to each early voting or election day (and absentee/central) voting location and instruct poll workers to verify that each voter is contained in the static list. If a voter is not found in the static list, record the voters "unlisted" status, and publish a list of unlisted voters categorized by absentee, early, and election day, within 30 days of election day.
vii) Establish with the Secretary of State, an “original list of registered voters" (TEC Sec. 18.001) for a date at least 23 days prior to the first date of early voting by personal appearance; and for all changes to the registered voter list provided to the County by the Secretary of State, direct the Secretary of State to provide and then release to the public:
a) “Supplemental list of registered voters” (TEC Sec. 18.002) for all voters added to the list between the “original list of registered voters” and the final registered voter list.
b) “Registration Correction list” of registered voters (TEC Sec. 18.003) for all registrations changed between the “original list of registered voters” and the final registered voter list.
viii) Confirm the accuracy of all Montgomery County elections by conducting rigorous, transparent hand count audits that include the ability of concerned voters to participate in or meaningfully observe the hand counts and audit processes. These audits must be done before the certification of any election and must outline remedies when meaningful discrepancies are found.
ix) Provide upon request the ballot images from Hart Intercivic, Inc precinct or central scan devices 7 days after election day including Absentee, Early Voting, and Election Day images and by Scan device and location.
Whereas it will necessarily require additional staff and resources to implement these changes before the 2024 primary election.
Therefore, be it resolved that the undersigned People of Montgomery County hereby petition our County Commissioners Court to provide sufficient emergency funds to the county election office to ensure the implementation of these provisions before the 2024 primary election.