% THANKS VERY MUCH.%>> THANK Y
OU.
% >> VOTING RULES AND GUIDANCE ARE
% STILL CHANGING EVEN THIS CLOSE
% TO THE NOVEMBER ELECTION.
% THE LATEST CHANGE SAW A COURT
% AND THEN THE WISCONSIN ELECTIONS
% COMMISSION THIS WEEK DUMP
% GUIDANCE TO CLERKS THAT THEY
% COULD FIX THE PART OF ABSENTEE
% BALLOT ENVELOPES HOLDING THE
% WITNESS SIGNATURES, CURING SUCH
% THINGS AS A ZIP CODE OR SPELLING
% OF A STREET NAME.
% IS THAT A BIG DEAL?
% WE ASKED DANE COUNTY CLERK SCOTT
% MACDONALD.
% THANKS VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
% >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
% >> SO IS IT A BIG DEAL?
% WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO DUMPING
% THE GUIDANCE THAT CLERKS CAN
% CURE ABSENTEE BALLOTS IN THIS
% WAY?%>> WELL, FOR THE MOST PA
RT, IT
% JUST MEANS MORE WORK FOR THE
% CLERKS.
% I THINK WE SAW THAT IN THE
% AUGUST ELECTION.
% CLERKS ARE SPENDING A LOT OF
% TIME TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT
% ENVELOPES THAT WEREN'T COMPLETE
% WERE GETTING BACK TO THE VOTERS
% SO THEY COULD COMPLETE IT AND
% GET IT BACK AGAIN.
% YOU KNOW, THEY DID THAT WORK.
% THERE WAS ONLY A HANDFUL OF
% BALLOTS THAT I SAW THAT HAD BEEN
% CURED AND SO THEN WHEN WE -- YOU
% KNOW, 25 OF THEM, I THINK, OUT
% OF 130,000 IN AUGUST IN DANE
% COUNTY.
% BUT THAT WAS BECAUSE CLERKS WERE
% WORKING HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT
% THEY HAD GOTTEN CURED AND YOU'RE
% GOING TO SEE EVEN MORE OF THAT
% IN NOVEMBER, JUST BECAUSE NUMBER
% OF VOTERS GOES UP.
% >> IN YOUR MIND, DID THAT KIND
% OF CURING RESULT IN FRAUD?
% >> NO, ALL OF THOSE -- THE
% CURING WAS DONE BY CLERKS AFTER
% THEY COULD VERIFY WHO THAT
% PERSON WAS.
% THEY LOOKED THEM UP IN THE
% SYSTEM, THEY COULD VERIFY THE
% ADDRESS, THE PERSON.
% SO YOU KNOW, AND ALL OF THAT
% COULD HAVE BEEN TRACED BACK TO
% SHOW WHO IT WAS, AND THE PURPOSE
% OF THAT ADDRESS, FOR EXAMPLE,
% FOR THE WITNESS IS SO THAT LAW
% ENFORCEMENT CAN INTERVIEW THEM
% AND SAY, IS THIS THE PERSON WHO
% VOTED?
% DID YOU SEE THEM VOTE?
% IS THERE FRAUD?
% SO FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW, IF
% YOU CAN SHOW LAW ENFORCEMENT WHO
% THIS PERSON IS AND WHERE TO FIND
% THEM, THAT'S JUST THE OPPOSITE,
% IT PREVENTS FRAUD.
% >> DO YOU THINK THAT THE NEW
% RULES WILL DISCOURAGE PEOPLE
% FROM VOTING ABSENTEE OR RESULT
% IN NUMBERS OF BALLOTS BEING
% THROWN OUT, OR WHAT DO YOU
% THINK?
% >> YOU KNOW, I JUST THINK IT'S
% REALLY ON THE MARGIN, AND I
% WOULD SAY IT'S EVENLY
% DISTRIBUTED AROUND THE STATE.
% I MEAN, GENERALLY THESE MISTAKES
% THAT WE SEE OFTEN ARE AN OLDER
% COUPLE LIVING AT HOME, THEY
% WITNESS EACH OTHER'S BALLOT, AND
% THAT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE KIND OF
% EVENLY.
% SO I DON'T THINK IT AFFECTS THE
% ELECTION, AND I DON'T THINK
% THERE'S A LOT OF IT, BUT IT'S
% JUST FRUSTRATING FROM A CLERK'S
% POINT OF VIEW, BECAUSE WE CAN
% SEE WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE, AND TO
% DISENFRANCHISE THEM JUST SEEMS
% WRONG.%>> WHAT IS IT LIKE THI
S YEAR,
% TRYING TO READY FOR A MAJOR
% ELECTION?
% >> WELL, IN SOME WAYS, IT'S THE
% SAME OLD SAME OLD.
% I MEAN, WE DO THIS ALL THE TIME.
% BUT I THINK THE BIGGER
% DIFFERENCE IS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE
% SEEN JUST OUR WORKLOAD REALLY GO
% UP.
% A LOT OF OPEN RECORDS REQUESTS
% COMING IN.
% I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY I'VE
% GOTTEN.%AND IT'S TRUE ALL OV
ER THE STATE
% AND ALL OVER THE COUNTRY,
% HONESTLY.
% ALSO JUST TRYING TO PLAN
% CONTINGENCY WISE FOR THINGS YOU
% HAVEN'T HAD TO WORRY ABOUT
% BEFORE, DISRUPTIONS IN THE
% POLLING PLACES, HOW ARE YOU
% GOING TO MAKE SURE LAW
% ENFORCEMENT AND THE CLERK'S
% OFFICE ARE ON THE SAME PAGE ON
% HOW THEY'RE GOING TO RESPOND TO
% THOSE THINGS?
% JUST A LOT MORE WORKLOAD THAN
% NORMAL.%>> SO IN TERMS OF TH
OSE OPEN
% RECORDS REQUESTS, ARE THESE FROM
% PEOPLE WANTING TO SLEUTH OUT
% FRAUD?
% >> WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF
% DIFFERENT OPEN RECORDS REQUESTS.
% THE ONES THAT I'VE GOTTEN
% RECENTLY SEEM -- THE GOAL SEEMS
% TO BE TO PREVENT THE DESTRUCTION
% OF MATERIALS FROM THE 2020
% LUCKTION.
% LUCK 2020
% ELECTION.
% SO RIGHT NOW, AFTER 22 MONTHS,
% IS WHEN WE WOULD DESTROY THINGS
% LIKE THE BALLOTS TO MAKE ROOM
% FOR THE ONES COMING IN NOVEMBER,
% THE ENVELOPES, YOU KNOW, POLL
% BOOKS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
% SO THEY TEND TO BE A COPY AND
% PASTE THAT HAVE GONE ALL OVER
% THE PLACE SAYING, YOU KNOW, YOU
% MUST RETAIN THESE RECORDS, THERE
% MAY BE A LAWSUIT, OR THIS IS AN
% OPEN RECORDS REQUEST, BUT THEN
% WHEN YOU FOLLOW UP WITH THEM,
% IT'S A LITTLE HARDER TO NAIL
% THEM DOWN ON WHAT THEY WANT.
% THEY SEEM TO BE JUST TRYING TO
% DELAY THE NORMAL CYCLE FOR US,
% AND OF COURSE THAT CREATES ITS
% OWN CHALLENGES FOR CLERKS AROUND
% THE STATE.
% >> YOU SPOKE TO CONTINGENCY
% PLANS AT POLLING PLACES THIS
% YEAR, LIKE WHAT?
% >> WELL, WE SAW IN MICHIGAN, YOU
% KNOW, THERE WAS TRAININGS GOING
% ON IN SOME COUNTIES WHERE THEY
% WERE URGING POLL WATCHERS TO
% BRING CAMERAS IN AND
% SURREPTITIOUSLY DO THINGS%AG
AINST THE LAW.
% YOU REALLY CAN'T RECORD PEOPLE
% VOTING IN A POLLING PLACE, FOR
% OBVIOUS REASONS.
% AND FOR SOME NOT SO OBVIOUS
% REASONS.%THERE ARE PEOPLE VOT
ING THERE
% WHO ARE CONFIDENTIAL VOTERS WHO
% ARE, YOU KNOW, VICTIMS OF
% DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
% SO WE JUST WORRY THERE MAY BE
% PEOPLE BEING DISRUPTED IN THE D-
% DISRUPTIVE IN THE POLLING PLACE.
% THAT DID NOT HAPPEN IN AUGUST,
% SO MAYBE IT'S MUCH TO DO ABOUT
% NOTHING, BUT YOU HAVE TO ASSUME
% THE WORST, AND HOPE FOR THE
% BEST.%>> YOU SPOKE THIS WEEK
ABOUT
% PERSISTENT MISINFORMATION AROUND
% ELECTION ADMINISTRATION.
% WHAT DOES THIS DO TO PEOPLE'S
% FAITH IN THE PROCESS?
% >> WELL, THE SYSTEM DOESN'T WORK
% IF HALF THE VOTERS DON'T THINK
% THEIR BALLOTS ARE BEING TALLIED
% CORRECTLY OR THE MACHINES HAVE
% BEEN HACKED.
% SO I'M NOT SURE WHAT WE CAN DO
% ABOUT IT.
% BUT DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON BOTH
% SIDES BELIEVING IN THE RESULTS.
% >> ALL RIGHT, WELL, WE LEAVE IT
% THERE AND WE WISH YOU LUCK,
% SCOTT MCDONALD.
% THANK YOU.