Date posted: 04-05-2022
Estimated Reading Time : 8:00
A new expert report analyzing the computer hard drive on a Dominion Voting Systems machine in Mesa County, Colorado, concludes that, during the 2020 general and 2021 municipal elections, “a critical security failure occurred ” allowing unauthorized databases to be created and populated with ballots that cannot be verified.
The bombshell report, authored by cyber experts Jeffrey O’Donnell, chief information officer at Ordros Analytics, and Walter C. Daugherity, senior lecturer emeritus at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, found that the unauthorized activity occurred after counting of ballots in those elections had already begun and that it was committed by unknown actors outside the office of the Mesa County clerk and recorder.
The findings are based on a forensic examination and analysis of the election machine server images commissioned by county Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters. Peters had the images of the machine hard drive made in May 2021, just before Dominion Voting Systems, under the direction of Democrat Secretary of State Jena Griswold, eradicated election data from the drive in what Griswold dubbed, “The Trusted Build.”
Other findings from the forensic examination of the Mesa County hard drive were set forth in two earlier reports. Those reports concluded that the “Trusted Build” by Griswold and Dominion permanently destroyed over 29,000 files from the hard drive, which were required to be maintained for at least two years under state and federal law. They also found that the Dominion Voting machine was illegally embedded with 36 wireless devices which could enable cell phones and other external computers to access the machine and alter the election results.
Despite the oft repeated claim that Colorado has the “gold standard” for election integrity, a lawsuit filed against Griswold various state and county elected officials alleges that she has certified voting machines for use throughout the state which do not meet mandatory state and federal standards.
Because of her alleged actions in copying the hard drive and sharing it with others, Peters has come under fire by Griswold and Mesa County Prosecutor Dan Rubenstein. Rubenstein caused Peters to be recently indicted along with her deputy, Belinda Knisley, on charges of ‘criminal impersonation’ for allegedly using the identity of Gerald Wood to access the voting machine to have the copy made. Peters is a Republican candidate for secretary of state who has stated that she had the image of the hard drive preserved in order to preserve election records as required by state and federal law.
According to investigative journalist and former White House correspondent Emerald Robinson, the latest forensic report “was written by experts who analyzed all the data from Mesa County’s election server, which was saved before the Colorado secretary of state and the electronic voting machine company ‘overwrote’ and wiped away the contents of the server’s hard drive.”
Among the key findings of cyber experts who analyzed the copy of the voting machine hard drive:
- Multiple “shadow” databases for adjudication and tabulation of votes were created without the knowledge of Mesa County election officials. A way to think about the added databases is like a second set of accounting books potentially used to cover illegal activity.
- The shadow databases were added and used to move ballot images by unknown parties in both the 2020 and 2021 elections. Experts believe variations in the methods used demonstrate evidence of a deliberate manipulation of ballots and election records.
- Some, but not all ballot images and records were copied to the shadow databases. Digital files used to validate ballot images were not available after the creation of the shadow databases, meaning election officials can no longer accurately verify records.
- There are no known processes to enable election officials to add databases or manipulate voting records on the electronic voting machines used in Mesa County. Experts believe the efforts in 2020 and 2021 to create shadow databases and move ballot images were unauthorized and achieved through software, remote access, or some other means.
- Since evidence points to manipulation and destruction of voting records, the electronic voting system used in Mesa County could not meet state and federal requirements and cannot be certified.
Only days before the report was released, Democratic leadership in the Colorado legislature began to fast-track legislation that would consolidate control over elections in the hands of Griswold. The so-called “Internal Election Security Measures” act (SB22-153) would mandate the use of electronic voting machines in every county of the state and remove any remaining oversight county clerks may have over the elections. In short, it would centralize nearly all power over elections with the office of one state official.
“It removes the autonomy of county commissioners to purchase election systems for their counties, and the authority of county clerks and recorders to run elections, and keep records in their counties,” said Peters. “It gives the secretary of state chokehold-control of every county election.”
While the astonishing forensic examinations of the Mesa County hard drive were under way, investigations in other states have also produced alarming evidence of suspected election tampering.
Georgia
The state Board of Elections granted subpoena power to officials last month empowering them to investigate allegations of illegal ballot trafficking in 2020.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s probe is based on the work of election integrity group True the Vote, which compiled and analyzed cell phone data allegedly showing “that several people—suspected ballot harvesters—were making multiple trips to multiple drop boxes, raising potential legal questions.”
True the Vote filed a complaint with Raffensperger in November 2021, detailing actions by nearly 250 people who allegedly dumped mail-in ballots in Georgia drop boxes, with some believed to have been paid for each ballot submitted. According to the complaint, about 40 percent of the visits by those individuals were suspiciously made between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.
According to state law, it is illegal for third parties who are not immediate family to harvest ballots and submit them to drop boxes. Joe Biden’s alleged margin of victory in Georgia is approximately 12,000 votes.
Wisconsin
A former justice of the state Supreme Court released an interim report last month that found, “widespread election fraud at Wisconsin nursing homes in November of 2020.”
Special Counsel Michael Gableman investigated nearly 100 nursing homes in five counties. Accusations of fraud stem from reports of administrators and staff potentially violating state election code by marking ballots for elderly patients or forging their signatures.
According to Gableman’s report, “improbably high voting rates” at Wisconsin nursing homes indicated that fraud was possible, and additional evidence revealed incidents of residents clearly casting votes even though they were otherwise unaware of their surroundings or unresponsive to family or caregivers.
According to Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling, whose 2021 investigation spurred Wisconsin officials to act, “We would be foolish to think for a moment that this integrity issue, this violation of the statute, occurred to just this small group of people at one care facility in one county in the entire state.”
It is estimated that Wisconsin nursing homes serve more than 90,000 residents. Biden’s alleged margin of victory in Wisconsin is less than 21,000 votes.
Arizona
In September, 2021, the findings from a forensic audit of the election in Maricopa County, Arizona were released. As in Mesa County Colorado, the experts in Arizona found that 284,412 ballot images were corrupted or missing from the Dominion Voting Systems machines. They too found that “all the data in the database related to the 2020 General Election had been fully cleared” contrary to federal law.
Election integrity analysts have raised serious concerns about artificially inflated voter registration rolls across the county, contending that the rolls contain publicly available data that can be accessed by bad actors and used to generate fake election outcomes. In Arizona, the forensic audit showed that there were 27,807 ballots counted in that election from people who had moved out of the county before the election and should have been removed from the rolls.
Time for Action
In light of recent evidence, it’s time for action from our law enforcement and election officials. Claims must be investigated and charges brought against those suspected of manipulating votes. With another election scheduled for later this year, it is imperative that election integrity be preserved so that every legal vote counts.
Contact your local elected officials to preserve election records in their communities, encourage police and prosecutors to look into allegations of wrongdoing, call on state legislators to support election integrity laws, and demand Congress stop federal election takeover bills.
Learn More
Explore the Truth & Liberty website and visit our Research Center for great practical resources. Also learn how you can become a Truth & Liberty Coalition member and join us in standing for truth in the public square.