Re: NM GOP state convention voting procedures

[Victor Serrano Contreras Jr.]

Dear Brian,

Good morning. I fully support a paper ballot system. I have been a presiding judge in our local elections and I can tell you fully electronic is open to hacking. I have no fear of "ballot stuffing" as Ms Maestas states, not in a small election like ours. I hope the chair listens to the electorate, if not, we need someone who does. 

Victor S. Contreras Jr.

Cell: 575-639-4312

*Republican for a Reason!*
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-----Original Message-----
From: bdtierney <bdti...@aol.com>
To: weh <w...@dwmaestas.com>; gnibert <gni...@hinklelawfirm.com>
Sent: Mon, May 9, 2016 8:13 pm
Subject: Re: NM GOP state convention voting procedures

Chairman Maestas,

Regarding your first e-mail response (copied below) to my concerns:
 
Your itemized responses completely fail to address the following:

(1) Any failure of the electronic voting systems for any reason, including but not limited to, bandwidth/capacity issues for hundreds of simultaneous users, and power interruptions.

(2) Using wireless devices in the hall for voting (cell phone/tablet voting) enables hackers, located anywhere in the World, to manipulate the results in real-time.

(3) The voter has no way of definitively knowing if, how, and/or to what extent, the electronic voting machines correlate the voter's personal identification number (PIN) with said voter's ballot choices. Relying on another person's word regarding this matter is utterly absurd and an insulting suggestion. Voters could likely face retaliation from whomever controls the PIN lists and has access to the machines after the convention.

(4) Unused PIN numbers, belonging to delegates who fail to attend the convention for any reason, are subject to being used by some corrupt person(s) to engage in electronic "ballot stuffing". A paper-based system, in full plain view of the entire convention, eliminates this concern.

Incidentally, as I assume you are aware from news reports this month, the Republican National Committee will not use such systems at the upcoming national convention for similar reasons.

As regards your 2nd e-mail response to me (also noted below):   

I consider your threat against me to be utter nonsense.

No candidate for the position of national delegate has a fair shot at conducting a successful campaign if he or she has good reason to believe the voting process may be rigged. As such, it is the business of the electorate, in this case the state convention delegates, to be aware of any potential problems with the voting procedure. Accordingly, for the sake of transparency, I shared with them my concerns, and will continue to copy all delegates on all correspondence with you regarding this matter.

Furthermore, I will not argue with you SCC quorum rules via e-mail. The record of what transpired at the SCC meeting of May 7, 2016, which you chose not to attend, is clear and speaks for itself.

Sincerely,
Brian Tierney

-----Original Message-----
From: Debbie Maestas <w...@dwmaestas.com>
To: Greg Nibert <gni...@hinklelawfirm.com>; bdtierney <bdti...@aol.com>
Sent: Mon, May 9, 2016 6:19 pm
Subject: RE: NM GOP state convention voting procedures

Hi Greg,

 

No there was not a quorum, nor enough members to call for any vote.  This was only a group of members who have chosen to disapprove the voting process and present their preferences.

 

Further, this effort is not in unity of the NM GOP and therefore, unfortunately divisive for our Party.  In response, the Party will only address what is required, if anything, and in accordance with the rules.

 

Meanwhile, I thought I'd share with you, what I have shared with Mr. Tierney.  Please see below in blue. 

 

Lastly, it has been brought to my attention that Mr. Tierney, who has self-nominated himself for a National At-Large Delegate, and who signed a NDA Agreement with the Party to use the list of self-nominees and convention delegates for his campaign, took the liberty to use those lists for the purpose of spreading his argument.  Something he was not allowed to do and violated what he had signed.  That in itself is another matter that must now be dealt with. 

 

Hope this offers you some further background.

 

Kind regards,

Debbie

 

Brian,

 

Per your email earlier, you and some others, need to bring yourself up on the facts, many of which you clearly aren’t aware of. 

 

1) I put a convention committee in place that contributed and vetted our process and deemed it secure and absolutely creditable.

2) I have presented and discussed the process with the RNC and they commended the process and fully support and encourage electronic voting.

3) RPNM has spent significant resources needed to implement this process therefore this is not something we simply change.

4) The process does not call into concern the issue of secrecy.  It is secret and anonymous.  There has been more voter fraud with paper balloting than any other system.  Therefore, there is no more secret system than electronic balloting whereby a ballot can't be found or traced.

5) The convention also has a ballot committee, and an election judges committee, of which both are involved in the process and will be the people responsible for any oversight.

6) Your statement below "the GOP Chairman, Ms. Maestas, has the sole responsibility for choosing the delegates to the upcoming Republican National Convention" is inaccurate and tells me you are not educated on the process. Convention delegates vote for our National delegates, it never is given to the Chairman to choose.

7) Some of your statements below, also lead me to believe you have not read our Voting Process (pages 7-9) outlined in our Official Call.   I have attached that hereto. 

 

What you have outlined is your preferences, not requirements, and no process, for any Party, will ever satisfy everyone 100%.

 

I am extremely confident in the system we have put into place, and regard it more secret than any paper ballot claims to be.   

 

Regards,

Debbie

 

From: Greg Nibert [mailto:gni...@hinklelawfirm.com]
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2016 10:39 AM
To: bdti...@aol.com; Debbie Maestas
Subject: RE: NM GOP state convention voting procedures

 

Was there a quorum of the SCC?  I am confused because you state the SCC met, but then you say the report is of your own doing and “does not reflect an official position of the SCC.”  You also indicate a motion may be made at the upcoming convention.  Does this mean the meeting on Saturday was merely a meeting of interested persons and had no effect, possibly due to lack of a quorum?  Is someone going to report an official position of the SCC if a quorum was reached.  I hope the meeting on Saturday was one of unity and not an effort to divide our Party, but I cannot conclude that from your report.  I asked Janice Arnold Jones to make it a meeting that will unite us.  I trust she was successful.

 

Greg Nibert,

SCC member from Chaves County

 

From: bdti...@aol.com [mailto:bdti...@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2016 6:29 PM
To: w...@dwmaestas.com
Subject: NM GOP state convention voting procedures

 

Dear Chairman Maestas, fellow State Central Committee members, and my fellow state convention delegates,

My name is Brian Tierney, and as a member of the NM GOP State Central Committee (SCC) I am writing to you concerning the upcoming state GOP convention which will take place at the Sandia Casino on May 21, 2016. The SCC convened yesterday, May 7, 2016, to discuss the technical procedures that will be used to count and record the ballots we cast at the upcoming state GOP convention.

The members of the SCC were informed in our meeting yesterday that the State GOP Chairman, Ms. Maestas, has made plans to use an electronic voting system to count and record our votes at the state convention. This is cause for great concern because 1) it calls into question the true secrecy of the ballot system, and 2) we were told if the electronic ballot system fails for any reason then, the GOP Chairman, Ms. Maestas, has the sole responsibility for choosing the delegates to the upcoming Republican National Convention. Upon learning of this electronic system, I called for a motion at yesterday's SCC meeting, which was subsequently passed by a show-of-hands vote, to completely and utterly abandon any electronic voting system and replace it with a paper ballot system. I did this for three reasons:

(1) Most importantly, voting by secret ballot is a historical foundation upon which the fate of our Republic rests. As such, I believe it is our sacred duty to honor such a principle at our convention. There is no better system than a paper-based one to insure the integrity of our voting process, and it is imperative, no matter how "inefficient" or costly it may be, to use one. I will not compromise on this point -- countless Americans have shed their blood - and millions have died -  for our right to vote with a secret ballot.

(2) The primary purpose of our state convention is to elect delegates to the National Convention. Our state party must unite before going to Cleveland to showcase our fight against the Democrats. As such, we must mitigate any likelihood of chaos that could ensue if some of our national delegate candidates have reason to believe they were cheated out of a fair election by a rigged, electronic voting system.

(3) As a man with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering (semiconductor device physics), I have zero confidence in the capability of any electronic system to unequivocally insure a fair, secret ballot. 

Regarding the technicalities of implementing a paper ballot system, I intend on making the following three-part motion at the next SCC meeting (to take place at Sandia Casino immediately prior to the State GOP Convention):

[Ms. Maestas, I request that you direct your staff to make the appropriate arrangements in the event that the motion is adopted.] 

(1) Paper-based balloting will be done on unidentifiable paper ballots by means of a "fill the oval" procedure, similar to that done in our usual civic polling booths, and placed in ballot boxes located in the convention hall.

(2) Each ballot box will remain under guard at all times by at least four members of the SCC.

(3) After all ballots are cast, the ballots will be brought in plain view to the front of the hall, and will be counted aloud by counting teams, in full, plain view of the entire convention. The results will be simultaneously tabulated on a series of white/black boards (not electronic ones) positioned at the front of the room facing the convention, with several witnesses observing the counting process (As a candidate myself for the position of delegate-at-large, I will recuse myself from being involved in the counting process in any way.)

For any questions concerning this letter, please feel free to contact me at my home telephone number (505) 200-0826 or e-mail me at bdti...@aol.com. For the record, I state that this e-mail is of my own doing, and does not reflect an official position of the SCC.

Sincerely,
Brian D. Tierney
SCC Member, BC GOP Ward 15 Secretary