What Legislators And Bureaucrats Aren’t Telling The People Of Hamblen County-Or Tennessee… About Vote Centers

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Submitted by Frank Limpus [Tennessee Voters for Election Integrity] –

I’m betting that the citizens of Hamblen County don’t have a clue that legislators and bureaucrats in Nashville are about to dramatically change how citizens in that county vote.  Neither do the people of any other Tennessee county thinking of moving to vote center voting and away from precinct voting. 

That certainly was the case in 2020 when Williamson County, Tennessee was forced to begin voting in vote centers, yanking us away from well-known, safe and secure precinct voting.  

There are now seven Tennessee counties that use vote center voting and a bill (HB0620/SB0981) currently before the Tennessee General Assembly is about to sweep Hamblen County into the vote center sink hole.  So, citizens better become educated about the significant drawbacks of vote centers so they can voice their opposition before it’s too late.  

As an election integrity researcher for the past five years, founder of Tennessee Voters for Election Integrity and a citizen living in a vote center county, let me inform everyone of all that I’ve learned about this plague that is presented as “convenience” vote centers.

First, start with the basic fact that undergirds everything election integrity.  Voting machines can be hacked and elections affected.  Whistleblowers and computer experts say so.  Cyber experts say so.  Other computer experts say so.  Democrats say so.  Congressional testimony says so.  Georgia says so.  Even the SVP of Security for ES&S says so.    From its 2021 experience when voting machines stopped counting votes on tabulator tapes during an election, Williamson County, Tennessee already knows that voting machines can malfunction and throw an election into chaos.   

Second, mis-performing machines and the internet can turn elections on their head.  Here, here , here, here and here.  There are more examples, but these egregious examples simply say it all. 

Third, you might not be aware, but no one is allowed to ever internally inspect voting machines before, during or after an election to ensure there are no nefarious components in the machines.  Citizens and even election commissions are given no proof that certain wireless devices (modems, iDRAC chips, Telit chips, Qualcomm chips) are present in the machines before citizens vote on them.  But here’s how we know nefarious components are there.  
Fourth,vote centers will pipe the internet into every voting location in Hamblen County, placing the internet right next to those unsafe machines.  With vote centers, counties have to ensure that no voter can vote again in another vote center, so they tie all vote centers together by the internet so every voter can be crossed off the list once they vote.  Therefore, the internet will enter every vote center.  How do these election commissions PROVE to citizens that without a doubt voting machines can’t connect to the internet with the internet right there?  They may try to, but they can’t.

Fifth, the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections and Tennessee election commissions that have bought into the belief that everything in vote centers is safe, even with the internet nearby, claim that internet connections in vote centers are protected by a VPN.  But have you looked at the current research that indicates VPNs are not dependable?  I have.  That “protection” is weak at best.

Sixth, here are companies that have been hacked in the last couple of years and you can darn well bet they’re spending tons more money than either Williamson County or Hamblen County are spending to protect votes, voter rolls and voter data.  Do we really trust the votes of citizens to VPNs?   

Seventh, you probably haven’t been told that vote centers will force Hamblen County (or your county) to significantly reduce the number of voting locations when they enter the county.  That’s part of their implementation.  When vote centers entered Williamson County, we went from 43 precincts in 2019 to 25 vote centers in 2020, a reduction of 42% in voting locations.  Precincts used to be quick and easy for voters.  Now we understand why the lines to our voting centers are much, much longer, and that much more time is required to vote.  

Eighth, did legislators and bureaucrats tell you that vote centers will save Hamblen County money because you’ll need fewer poll workers and fewer poll locations?  Or did they say that vote centers will increase voter turnout?  If so, you need to consult this 2021 report to the General Assembly where the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections reveals that vote centers DO NOT save counties money.  Or check out this chart with Secretary of State election turnout statistics for some Middle Tennessee counties that use vote centers.  Because voter turnout appears to HAVE ACTUALLY GONE DOWN since vote centers were introduced.  And given all this, the idea that vote centers are “convenient” is now equally questionable.

Ninth, for that matter, no entity charged with protecting voting security is doing so.  Not the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) here and here, not the Tennessee State Election Commission (SEC) and for us, certainly not the Williamson County Election Commission (WCEC).  What has your election commission told you about election security?  Especially if they are considering vote centers?

Tenth, what I also can’t figure out is if the Secretary of State and his Elections Coordinator are Republican, why haven’t they embraced the national GOP resolution that the Republican National Committee produced in 2023 concerning “A Return to Excellence in America Voting and Elections?”  It is explicitly AGAINST vote centers.  

Eleventh, like true bureaucrats, counties that implement vote centers never give citizens the opportunity to vote on such a dramatic change in their voting process.  This change is forced on citizens as it was forced on us in Williamson County.  And before citizens became aware of its dire problems, the tentacles of vote centers were already deep in our government.  Where is the will of the people listened to?  Or even given a voice?

Finally, vote centers are not constitutional according to the Tennessee Constitution and Tennessee Code Annotated.  And there has been no law nor an Attorney General ruling that affirms that they are constitutional.   Election commissions claim that while in vote centers they report their election results by precincts, so the law is not shredded.  But REPORTING election results by precinct is not the same as people VOTING in precincts, as the Constitution and law assert should be the case.

So, if you believe in the rule of law and the Constitution, why are vote centers allowed when we should be voting in precincts?   And why are they pushing vote centers on citizens?

Here’s hoping the citizens of Hamblen County speak up about vote centers.  And the same of any Tennessee county considering a move to this horrible concept.  You will regret it as many of us in Williamson County, who understand what is happening to our voting process, do.

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