Meeting called to order at 9:35 AM
Present: Alan Shinall, Chairman, Cindy Castello (R), Donald Sams (D), Rachel Kinsey (D), Mike Byrd (R), Anne Dover, Supervisor; Anne Brombaugh, Attorney for the Board
Approximately 30 observers including myself
Chairman Shinall read a statement defining the duties and responsibilities of each of us as citizens and patriots to protect and defend the electoral process. These included the boundaries of the office of the commissioners where they are bound to conduct elections consistent with the laws and procedures of the state and that they will not break the laws and put at risk the lawful f=votes of the citizens. Further, the Cherokee County Board of Elections does not ‘partner’ with any group or organization; it conducts the business of elections and maintenance of records at the highest level of efficiency and integrity. If anyone wishes to change the laws regarding the election process, they should be in touch with their State Representatives.
The agenda for the meeting was approved by voice vote.
The minutes of the March 14, 2022 meeting were approved as distributed by voice vote.
The meeting was then open for Public Comments. Members of the public who expressed a desire to speak were given 3 minutes to address the Board. As there are many people who wish to speak, the time allotted for this purpose was extended to 30 minutes from the previous 15 minutes.
First speaker – commended the Board on their honesty and good judgment. She expressed her strong position that those who defame the Board are deplorable.
Second speaker – initially requested to be last among the speakers but was denied. She then read a lengthy prayer expressing her belief that God is taking control of our nation and will take control of the voting process. She included many statements that indicated her disapproval of how the process has been implemented in recent times.
The third speaker – expressed the belief that the constitution protects the right for each vote to be properly counted, that every individual is free to cast his or her own vote and that this right cannot be undermined. 2020 demonstrated that there were leaks in the system similar to water leaks in a home. We need to fix the leaks in order to have proper elections.
The fourth speaker – Prayed for the Board. She indicated that as an artist she represented what is going on in the culture. We need to represent people’s views. 2020 was a wake-up call. The counting stopped at 11:00 PM. There should be hand counting of all ballots to assure accuracy. The Gold Dome does not represent the voters but is a demonstration of the Wokeness of our state. We need to disable the internet and do a hand count of all ballots.
The fifth speaker – traveled around the country after the election for 4 months in multiple states. He is proud of our Board members. He was proud of the poll workers who do the counting of ballots after a long day and were tired. They have great integrity and should be thanked for their commitment and support of the process.
Sixth speaker – We have a right to self-govern. There was fraud in the last election. We should have top;line hand counting to assure that the number of votes reported by the computer matches the number of actual votes cast for each candidate at the top of the ballot to verify the totals down-ballot. The solution is actually outside of the Board of Elections. The only way to verify the votes is through a hand count like we did in the past. Such a hand count he does not believe is in violation of the State laws.
The seventh speaker – Is very impressed and confident in the staff and Board as well as the poll workers and poll watchers. They did a terrific job. She also expressed her dismay that a member of the public would read a religious prayer in a public meeting as that is a violation in her view of the separation of Church and state.
Eighth speaker – There were many statistical anomalies in the last election. We need new laws to assure that the process is properly run in the 2024 election. Having a hand count will be a big step in that direction and there are many volunteers present who will happily do the counting. He ended by asking everyone to rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
The ninth speaker – as an attorney indicated that there have been violations of the protections of canvassers. That canvassers wee being intimidated. That there were issues with poll workers who were canvassing and should be fired. (this was unclear in my notes).
Tenth speaker – We have a very complex voting process that leads to corruption. It is not transparent. A hand count in conjunction with cleaning up the voter lists will improve transparency. We have many volunteers who will work to canvass the county. He accused the Board members of violating the trust and the laws.
The eleventh speaker – Expressed concern that there were voters who were not credited with voting in the 2020 election, that there are different ways to handle the ballots, that there was a 30-day delay in crediting some of the ballots, that there are different ways to count the ballots and give credit for voting. She received no answers to her questions from the state.
At the end of the Public Comments section, the Board went into Executive Session.
This ended the public portion of the meeting.
*These Meeting notes were typed and prepared by a volunteer
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