Complex issue
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Kurt Johnson
Do you trust our election system?
It’s a pretty simple question, but that’s where the simplicity ends. In fact the answer is as complex and divisive as any issue our nation has faced in decades.
Regardless of who you supported for president in 2020, or how you felt about the election outcome, questions about some aspects of the voting process linger on. The reality is becoming obvious that those concerns won’t go away, threatening debate and hostility that could cloud election campaigns no matter whose name is on the ballot going forward.
In my view, Hamilton County voters generally trust their local election officials, volunteers and everyone involved with the voting process. There has been no hint or accusation of irregularities here, though that’s not the case in other parts of the state or nation. And yet, more than 200 people showed up last week at the first-of-its-kind Hamilton County Freedom Rally, where concerns for voter integrity appear to have some grassroots support.
I attended the rally with an open mind and came away with far more questions than answers. I was impressed with the credentials of keynote speaker retired Air Force Col. Shawn Smith, who spoke as a credible source on the issue of cyber security, which some elected officials, including our own Sen. Curt Friesen, have said is above their pay grade. It’s really, really complicated.
Smith aired several very specific, fact-based concerns about electronic voting systems used in several states, including what he called a lack of testing and transparency with the operation of electronic voting machines, as well as the reported discovery of “remote access controllers” within some of those machines. You don’t have to be a technical guru to understand that the presence of modems inside an electronic voting machine could be misused, and worst-case scenario threaten the integrity of its use.
Based on that issue alone, the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office should be working proactively to transparently research and report findings about electronic voting machines used here in Nebraska. It’s an issue that should not be dismissed as partisan rhetoric.
It will also be interesting to see what kind of support Freedom Rally organizers get for their initiative to push for a return to all in-person voting here in Hamilton County. If these voting machine questions can’t be or simply aren’t answered that approach may have merit statewide.
The goal hopefully shared by all is having trust that our elections are secure and accurate.
Kurt Johnson
