Election integrity ranks high on everybody’s mind as the 2024 general elections draw near. Shawnee County Election Office technical specialist Randy Gregg of Topeka has reason to believe Kansas elections are “the most secure in the nation.” At least this appears to be the case in Shawnee County.
Gregg and Jean Massey of Topeka recently shared about some of the processes local election workers must carefully complete in order to have secure elections.
“The ballots come in sealed, in bundles of 100,” Massey said. “They are counted when they come in and counted when they go out.” They are counted every hour, she said.
“Nothing is hooked up to the Internet,” Gregg said. “Signatures have to match.” Mail-in voting is also carefully monitored.
One way voter fraud and voter registration fraud occur is when someone illegally casts a vote in the name of a dead person or someone who has moved.
READ: Election workers are vital to election integrity
Voter discrepancies were reported in Arizona’s 2022 general election. According to the America First Policy Institution (AFPI) “a potential 8,241 vote discrepancy was found between the total number of registered voters listed as voting and the total number of ballots counted in the 2022 Arizona general election…” Results indicated that either more votes were cast than should have been, or the votes were not counted accurately.
Election workers in Shawnee County work hard to prevent such glitches from occurring. Massey reported that one person’s job in the election office is to read the obituaries every day and remove any names from the list of registered voters, so there can be no confusion about names of deceased individuals being used fraudulently.
“We don’t know how many places could be so screwed up,” Gregg said, and they both urge anyone with concerns to volunteer and see how it’s done.
–Carolyn Cogswell | Metro Voice