Fogbow

On Thursday, the Otero County Commission voted to have an audit of ballots, tabulations, and other election measures in Otero County from the 2020 general election where President Donald J. Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off.

Professor David Clements, who previously taught law at New Mexico State University, was joined by his wife, Erin Clements in testifying on the request for a county-wide audit of the 2020 election.

The County will provide $49,750 for the audit being contracted with EchoMail, an email management software company that is headed by Shiva Ayyadurai — a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate.

Not a single Democrat or leftist was in the audience to testify against conducting an election audit in Otero County.

The County will provide $49,750 for the audit being contracted with EchoMail, an email management software company

tek wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 5:26 pm

The County will provide $49,750 for the audit being contracted with EchoMail, an email management software company

Sounds legit.

The County will provide $49,750 for the audit being contracted with EchoMail, an email management software company that is headed by Shiva Ayyadurai

woodworker wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 7:15 pm I am confident that Shiva has already got the report done and ready to be delivered.

tek wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 5:26 pm

The County will provide $49,750 for the audit being contracted with EchoMail, an email management software company

Sounds legit.

New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colon's Office confirmed it opened a special examination over an agreement between Otero County and a firm to audit the results of the 2020 Election, asserting the contract could violate state precurement laws.

On Jan. 13, the Otero County Commission approved a contract agreement in the amount of $49,750 for EchoMail to perform an audit of the 2020 General Election.

The manner in which the contract was procured raised questions from Colon's office.

Otero County Commission unanimously approves 2020 election audit

Notaperson wrote: ↑Thu Jan 27, 2022 10:53 am State Auditor opens inquiry of Otero County contract to audit 2020 election

New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colon's Office confirmed it opened a special examination over an agreement between Otero County and a firm to audit the results of the 2020 Election, asserting the contract could violate state precurement laws.

On Jan. 13, the Otero County Commission approved a contract agreement in the amount of $49,750 for EchoMail to perform an audit of the 2020 General Election.

The manner in which the contract was procured raised questions from Colon's office.

https://www.alamogordonews.com/story/co ... 606403001/

and the “New Mexico Audit Force” is not a company at all, but a Telegram group that traffics in conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

Colón said his examination will look into whether the EchoMail contract followed state and local codes, as well as whether it is a worthwhile use of taxpayer money.

“Is there supporting justification for expenditures?” Colón told The Daily Beast. “That's where we get into the contemplation of whether or not this is wasteful spending, or if it is in the best interest of the citizens of Otero County.”

In 2020, Colón’s office slapped the county with a risk advisory for travel expenses, after county commissioner Couy Griffin expensed a $3,237 trip to a Trump event in D.C.. Griffin, a former restaurateur and founder of the group “Cowboys for Trump,” later repaid the county.

EchoMail’s contract with Otero County states that its “canvass will be staffed by volunteers under the direction of New Mexico Audit Force (‘Volunteers’) with guidance from EchoMail.”

Neither EchoMail nor Ayyadurai returned requests for comment about its relationship with the New Mexico Audit Force (NMAF) or the group planned to screen and train its door-to-door team.

...Commissioner Griffin agreed with Lenberg and David Clemens that the county needed to proceed with eliminating voting machines. 

“I’m amazed and boggled that we put so much faith and trust and confidence in a digital machine,” Griffin said, to public applause and cheers. Scarce pushback against the commission’s ongoing determination to undermine election norms was either waved off or shouted down by the Clements or Griffin.

“Thank God for technology,” Griffin said, “that you can dial up and stay on with what’s going on.”

GOP commission refuses to certify New Mexico primary vote

New Mexico’s secretary of state on Tuesday asked the state Supreme Court to order the Republican-led commission of rural Otero County to certify primary election results after it refused to do so over distrust of Dominion vote-tallying machines.

Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Olive’s request came a day after the three-member Otero County commission, in its role as a county canvassing board, voted unanimously against certifying the results of the June 7 primary without raising specific concerns about discrepancies.

The commission’s members include Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin, who ascribes to unsubstantiated claims that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Griffin was convicted of illegally entering restricted U.S. Capitol grounds — though not the building — amid the riots on Jan. 6, 2021, and is scheduled for sentencing later this month. He acknowledged that the standoff over this primary could delay the outcome of local election races.

“I have huge concerns with these voting machines,” Otero County Commissioner Vickie Marquardt said Monday. “When I certify stuff that I don’t know is right, I feel like I’m being dishonest because in my heart I don’t know if it is right.”

New Mexico may open criminal investigation if Otero County doesn't certify election results

The Otero County Board of County Commissioners has until Friday to certify the results of the local 2022 primary election after the three member board voted not to do so earlier this week and could face criminal charges if they continue to refuse.

On Thursday, the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office referred the matter to the New Mexico Attorney General's Office for a criminal investigation, citing the commissioners' dereliction of duties in office, a day after the New Mexico Supreme Court issued a court order to compel commissioners to approve the election results by June 17.

Last week, the Commission also voted to do away with ballot drop boxes, discontinue the use of Dominion voting machines and require hand-counted ballots for the November election, a move it said was based on mistrust of present state voting requirements.

"All these actions are unlawful pursuant to the explicit terms of the election code and must be followed," read the Secretary of State's referral to the Attorney General's Office. "Therefore, all these violations of laws implicate the criminal and civil penalties in the Election Code and the Governmental Conduct Act.

"Our office believes that the specific votes of the Otero County Commission identified aboveimplicates civil and criminal violations of law. As such, we respectfully request a promptinvestigation into whether such violations occurred."