CITIZENS OVERSIGHT TO AUDIT “SPLIT TICKET” BALLOTS IN SWING STATES

Audits to focus on "split ticket" swing states where Trump won while down-ballot Republicans lost; donations sought to support effort

Hear our interview with Ray Lutz, originally aired on KNSJ Radio, on his election audit efforts and potential consequences

File photo:  Ray Lutz, founder of Citizens Oversight Projects

December 8, 2024 (El Cajon) -- Citizens Oversight, a nonprofit based in El Cajon, is launching a series of ballot image audits across key counties in swing states to examine the integrity of the 2024 election outcomes.

The audits will focus on swing states where Donald Trump won over Kamala Harris in the presidential race, while down-ballot Republicans lost.  Initial attention will be on areas such as Nevada, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona and North Carolina.

Audits will be only feasible in areas where ballot images and cast vote records are available.

According to Citizens Oversight’s press release,“The effort is grounded in well-documented concerns about vulnerabilities in election systems, including the unauthorized exposure of voting machine software in recent years. This exposure may have allowed malicious actors to exploit weaknesses within the systems. The report from Mesa County, Colorado, revealed a `back door’ in the Dominion election management system (EMS), enabling results to be accessed and altered, raising further alarm about the potential for undetected manipulation. These same concerns were documented in the case DeKalb GOP vs. Raffensperger where the computer security expert Clay Parikh said the Dominion voting system security was `horrible,’ and that no election should be trusted.”

"Our mission is to ensure that every vote is counted as cast, free from interference or error. Ballot image audits are a powerful tool for detecting irregularities in the election process," said Ray Lutz, Citizens Oversight Executive Director. "Given the vulnerabilities that have come to light, it is essential to provide voters with assurance about the integrity of our elections."

Counties under consideration for audit include those with notable split-ticket outcomes, such as:

* Nevada: Vice President Harris and the Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown both narrowly lost.

* Arizona: Both Harris and Kari Lake lost their races, and this would be an interesting area to audit.. However, obtaining ballot images in Arizona presents a challenge due to current access restrictions which we hope to overcome.

* Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina: Key counties in these states saw both Harris and Republican Senate or congressional candidates lose, underscoring potential anomalies worth investigating.

The audits will be conducted in states that meet the split-ticket criteria, and where ballot images are available for review. Such a review can detect many types of malicious activity and discrepancies in vote tallies.

The audits will have all ballots re-examined by software and compared ballot-by-ballot with the official results using the platform AuditEngine, developed by Citizens Oversight. It is the first platform to perform audits using OCR of QR Code ballots by reading the voter-verifiable text.

"By focusing on areas with split-ticket outcomes, we aim to analyze patterns and provide clarity on whether voters’ choices were accurately reflected," added Lutz. "It demonstrates that these audits are independent and nonpartisan. We hope that both major parties will take an interest. This is not about denying the results, we are checking whether malicious acts or errors may have occurred."

Citizens Oversight invites interested counties, election officials, and members of the public to collaborate to help to support this project that will help to ensure transparent and trustworthy elections.

There are roles for volunteers to help with review of the data used in the process (proofs) and to observe the process as it is completed.

The public can support this effort with a tax-deductible contribution to Citizens Oversight, Inc, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization at https://citizensovesight.org/donate.

Raymond Lutz is the founder and executive director of Citizens' Oversight Projects, a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization that has been involved in providing oversight to elections for over 15 years. Lutz has a Masters degree in electronics and software engineering, with experience in the document management and printer/scanner/fax/copier industry, and medical device industry. He is the lead developer of AuditEngine, and was a congressional candidate in 2010 for the CA-52 Congressional District.