July 7, 2022 Election Integrity Update - SCRP Chairman Bill Bruch letter to SOS
Hi Fina, my name is Bill Bruch, I am a concerned citizen and the Chairman of the Skagit County Republican Party. I was on the public hearing call Tuesday regarding the proposed amendment to WAC 434-335-260 (attached).
Please accept this email as my formal written protest against the proposed amendment to WAC 434-335-260. There is a reason that everyone in the public hearing was against this proposed amendment. It is bad public policy and would set a terrible precedent.
The WAC amendment is unconstitutional and would take away government transparency and the people's constitutional right to free elections, Art I, Sec 19.
We the people have the right to independent public oversight of our government that gives us full faith and confidence in open, free and fair elections; per RCW 29A.04.205 - To protect the integrity of the integrity of the electoral process by providing equal access to the process while guarding against discrimination and fraud. And RCW 29A.60.185 Intent - 2018 c 218: It is the intent of the legislature to ensure our elections have the utmost confidence of the citizens of the state.
The people, and third party companies, should absolutely have the ability to review, audit and oversee elections. And the SOS and counties should welcome and honor such requests.
Additionally, at least 22 counties in Washington State that used Clear Ballot, Hart InterCivic and Dominion voting systems deleted or can't provide 2020 general election Web Activity and / or other election logs, violating federal and state statutes 52 USC 20701, 42 USC 1974, RCW 29A.60.110, WAC 434-262-200 and WAC 434-261-045 which requires all federal election records to be kept for 22 months. This fact alone is good enough reason as to why the public should question and independently audit elections in our state by whatever practical means necessary, including examination of state-certified voting systems, or any components of such systems by qualified experienced independent third parties.
It appears that the WA State SOS is asking the people to trust the SOS, EAC, VSTL's, Voting Machine Vendors, etc. to audit elections and voting systems internally / themselves. This WAC amendment and policy does not foster public trust in elections. The public trust and confidence of our voting and elections systems are at all-time historic lows and this WAC amendment will severely erode it even further.
Please consider the long-term collateral impacts of your decision, make the right choice and do not amend WAC 434-335-260.
Thank you!
Bill Bruch, SCRP Chairman
Proposed Amendment below highlighted and underlined:
(1) The secretary of state may decertify a voting system or vote tabulating system or any component thereof and withdraw authority for its future use or sale in Washington if, at any time after certification the secretary of state determines that: (a) The system or component fails to meet the standards set forth in applicable federal guidelines or state statutes or rules; (b) The system or component was materially misrepresented in the certification application; or (c) The applicant has installed unauthorized modifications to the certified software or hardware; or
(i) County auditors shall not provide physical, electronic, or internal access to third parties seeking to copy and/or conduct an examination of state-certified voting systems, or any components of such systems including, but not limited to: Voting software and systems, tabulators, scanners, counters, automatic tabulating equipment, voting devices, servers, ballot marking devices, paper ballot printers, portable memory media devices, and any other hardware, software, or devices being used as part of the voting system.
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