About – Election Fairness Institute

The Election Fairness Institute, Inc. [EFI] is an Internal Revenue Service [IRS] approved Sec. 501(c)(3) entity engaged in election process research and publication of such research for the public interest of advancing transparent, secure and fair elections, free of special interest influence over the suffrage of U.S. Citizens.

Currently there is no firm, legal or accountancy, that specializes in election audits —forensic audits of elections— critical to solving the lack of transparency necessary for trustworthy elections. Moreover, organization that should provide oversight have themselves been capture by an interest in the outcome. “‘Given the vital role elections play in this country, it is clear that certain systems and assets of election infrastructure meet the definition of critical infrastructure, in fact and in law,’ Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said in a statement.”¹ Building such a firm grounded with SixSigma rigor at its foundation, provides State and County governmental units, as well as citizen’s groups with the missing component in the elections oversight space.

To comply with Internal Revenue Service regulations concerning 501(c)(3) status, we do not support nor do we advocate for any party, candidate or ballot proposal, no electioneering whatsoever. Our focus is on election process and compliance with statutes and regulations regarding election contests; the mission can be summed up with our slogan, “Let’s Be Fair.” Regardless of party affiliation, office or position, the system that appoints representation of the People’s will must indeed, compete in an ecosystem that is transparent and open to inspection of tools and processes.

Executive Summary

The Election Fairness Institute, Inc. is currently engaged in pro bono evidence based research to match evidence with law, and validate Arizona Election Law as it pertains to election “contests” between major party candidates. The Election Fairness Institute does not provide research services to any candidate or party, which would invalidate the 501(c)(3) charter of the organization. The work product of the various content contributors to EFI is available to all who request it.

A critical project in the planning stage is to examine “vote-by-mail” systems all across the United States. For perspective, vote-by-mail is a relatively new archetype for elections that arrived on the scene after the General Election of 2000. In a report made by a “bi-partisan Commission” chaired by Ex-President Jimmy Carter (Democrat) and former Whitehouse Chief of Staff James Baker (Republican), the Commission took aim at “vote-by-mail” as the most effective means to corrupt elections at every level.

Elections are held at the County government level, but are certified —directed/managed/over-scene— at the State level. The most significant number of votes cast in 2022 are by mail. A key feature in most states that have a “vote-by-mail” system, is that they require a signature on the “Return-by-Mail envelope,” which is in form and function an affidavit. The Counties and Courts have blocked most attempts to examine critical records to verify that all legal votes are counted and votes outside of the law are not. Votes —ballots— outside of the law are those with do not confirm to Title 16, Arizona Revised Statutes.

Under the Help America Vote Act [HAVA] Tile III, all legal U.S. Citizens have standing to redress their grievances in the Federal Courts regardless of party affiliation, but they do not have the resources to conduct research of pure fact. That is the mission of the EFI.

U.S.C. 52 § 20701 is explicit on the subject of records retention: “[E]very officer of election shall retain and preserve, for a period of twenty-two months from the date of any general, special, or primary election of which candidates for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives,” yet many political subdivisions of states like Arizona mishandle election documents. Preservation of documents has no maximum time line, only a minimum period specified by law. Inspection of original documentation has been the source of ever-increasing controversy since 2000 and the case of Bush v. Gove, 531 U.S. 98 (2000). EFI will act in the public interest to verify that the public record does indeed support the election outcome.

Action

It is the mission to EFI to support strict compliance with the law, for if anything else stands, then the Body Politic becomes a sloppy society reliant on opinion and feelings instead of the black letter of the law. There are three areas of process focus:

Strict Compliance: The Second Circuit Court of Appeals put down the notion of “substantial compliance” with the law in Halo v. Yale health Plan, No. 14-4055 (2d Cir. 2016) Jurisprudence is replete with arguments between “strict compliance” and “substantial compliance” with the law. ultimately, the standard is strict compliance.

Also at issue is the application of due process and “one man, one vote.”

Due Process: In the Arizona election challenges the Election Contests Lake v. Homes, and Finchem v. Fontes the question was not about the candidates, but rather about the voters themselves and the guarantee of due process.

“The Constitution states only one command twice, the requirement for due process. The genesis of due process found in the United States Constitution is as follows: the Fifth Amendment stipulates that, according to the federal government, no one shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, uses the same eleven words, called the Due Process Clause, to describe a legal obligation of all states, which includes California as well as the counties and municipalities incorporated therein. Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states in the relevant part: ‘…[N]or shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…’ These words have as their central promise an assurance that all levels of American government must operate within the law (“legality”) and provide fair procedures. The U.S. Supreme Court has published many opinions on this issue and has arrived at the conclusion that due process is essentially the right of a party to be provided ‘notice’ and ‘an opportunity to be heard’ on all issues in dispute.” https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/18-7893/87866/20190215103504829_00000008.pdf

To be heard is a guarantee, not an option of the Court. The imposition of sanctions upon ELECTION CONTESTS must never be permitted, least we sink into an oppression of the minority. In the U.S. Supreme Court case Grannis v. Ordean (1914), the Court stated, “The fundamental requisite of due process of law is the opportunity to be heard. Petitioner contends that, if she had actually been “heard,” the merits of her case would have prevailed”. 234 U.S. 385, 34 S. Ct. 779, 58 L. Ed. 1363 [234 U.S. 385]. In the contests of Lake and Finchem, based on the evidence of ballots that were “outside of the law” were commingled with legal ballots -strict compliance— of course there was a belief that they would prevail.

The work product published by EFI will focus on post mortem evaluation of contests primarily at the state and federal level, and not the politics of contests, but rather that which is unseen. Hosting the work of such authors as Capt. Seth Keshel (U.S. Army Ret.), Tom Renz, Esq, Phil Evans, and many more qualified specialist auditors, the firm will provide a body of analysis that leads to a more transparent elections system.

Sustainability: EFI will not charge for access to content unless such content is the result of a contract with County, State or Federal governmental units, but will solicit for contributions to make the corporation sustainable. The work product of contributors will be open and transparent to all.

Priorities, Reforms, and Model Election Procedures

Paper ballots with currency-grade watermarks

Breaking up large counties like Maricopa

Shortening the early voting window

Ending mass mail-in ballots, return to Absentee Opt-in

Voter ID enhancements

Banning ballot harvesting

Stopping block ranked-choice voting

Banning compromised black-box ballot tabulation computers

Easing automatic recount requirements

Banning ballot drop boxes

Banning centralized mail-in ballot tabulation and restore power back to the precincts by adopting precinct level ballot tabulation

Supply chain-level accountability for ballot paper used by counties to track the number of ballots

Trackable ballots

Support research and litigation against cartel money-laundering in American elections

Lobby states to withdraw from the Soros-funded ERIC voter database

Lobby Attorneys General to act decisively on claims of election fraud

Provide support to localities that want to do an audit of their election process