FAQ – Illinois Election Integrity Program

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Does the Coalition endorse using a mobile app for Election Observers?

What is the Coalition’s position on interactions with local Election Authorities (EA’s)?

Does the Coalition endorse using a mobile app for Election Observers?

Evaluation and Procedural Findings of Illinois Election Integrity Program Coalition (IEIP)

Election integrity volunteers have raised questions about an application for mobile devices (“app”) for Election Observers (termed the “PWR app”) which is being demonstrated in Illinois. In early 2022, IEIP sought input and guidance regarding use of this software as a part of our comprehensive effort to build a statewide approach for election integrity in Illinois. Weighing in were:

RNC Election Integrity (EI) staff who work closely with battleground states around the nation;
The coordinating leaders of the Virginia Fair Elections Coalition (The Virginia Model originators) who are assisting many states in building their own statewide coalitions, including ours;
The Election Integrity Committee of the IL GOP composed of representatives around the state;
Candidates leading the 2022 GOP ticket to coordinate and build consensus and cooperation for EI efforts;
Individual representatives from grassroots coalition organizations who possess technical experience or have participated developing jurisdictional systems for deployment of volunteers.

First, the evaluators noted that statewide coordination of volunteers remains a critical, fundamental principle – efforts should not migrate toward independent, fragmented deployment of limited volunteers. By working in coalition, limited volunteers can be placed in the most strategic locations and placed in pairs for safety and effectiveness.

Finding: Neither the app developers in North Carolina (where it is termed the “SEIRS app”) nor the Illinois Freedom Alliance (who paid to license the app) brought it to the statewide coalition for evaluation in advance. When working in a coalition, it is critically important to build consensus among coalition members. When one organization or person makes a unilateral decision and then attempts to impose it on the other coalition members, that often leads to dissension and can fracture the coalition. The app project is managed as an independent project by one small organization. This runs contrary to the foundational principle employed by The Virginia Model statewide coalition, which paved the path for the Youngkin ticket victory in November 2021 and continues to grow to this day.

Second, the coalition (1- 5 above) reviewed technical aspects of the tool:

The app appears to offer strong potential and, when fully developed and tested, it may become a robust tool for use in future elections. Currently, it is in the beta or early testing stage.
It is not being used in many states. Only a portion of jurisdictions in North Carolina (where it is being developed) and scattered users throughout Illinois have served as the test subjects for this software application. The number of users the app can accommodate in a stress load is currently unknown.
The app is designed as a tool for Election Observers and must be pre-loaded on one’s device and have advance authorization to access. Unlike an Election telephone “hotline”, it does not allow access for the average voter or election judge. Years of frontline experience has shown that critical and timely incident reports often come directly from voters and election judges.
The app is reported to have failed during a trial run before the IL June 2022 primary. There is no reviewable evidence that it has been used previously in a simulation of a statewide or other high traffic user load for stress testing.
If a voting location has poor or no WIFI or cellular service, will there be data access?

Third, from an election management perspective the analysis included:

The support and management of the software and data would be outside of the statewide team. It is managed under an exclusive arrangement or contract with a single entity with unknown contractual terms and legal obligations.
Who would own the data collected with this app and would it be sold or restricted to preferred candidates in the future? These are not known due to the proprietary arrangements not revealed.
How many proficient or experienced volunteers might be unwilling to load an app on their device during this election cycle? What is the process to address log-on issues /forgotten passwords?

Fourth, these are difficult times for election workers and Election Observers – will this app make their task easier or more perilous?

The Left has built a narrative which portrays Election Observers as aggressive and threatening to election workers.
The current DOJ is actively seeking to prosecute anyone appearing to be disruptive or appearing to intimidate voters under Federal law.
As voters are checking in to receive their ballot, and they see Election Observers stationed behind the Election Judge entering data in their phone as that voter checks in, will that be perceived as a violation of privacy by that voter? Might that voter legitimately claim to feel intimidated? It only takes ONE upset voter or Election Judge (possibly with a partisan agenda) to report and remove the Election Observer.
In the November 2022 election, one of the IFA-trained Election Observers was involved in a confrontation with Election Workers and officials from the State’s Attorney’s office. This incident led to his arrest by local police.
Partisan election workers might use any possible excuse to remove diligent Election Observers from polling locations and from Vote by Mail processing centers.
If the Observer is relegated to a hallway or parking lot, it is impossible for them to fulfill the mission statement, “Eyes on every ballot”.
In the November 2022 election, our Election Observers stationed in the Cook County Vote by Mail Processing Center (in Cicero) were absolutely forbidden to use cell phones at ANY TIME during the period they are in the processing room. Taking out a cell phone makes the Election Observers subject to IMMEDIATE REMOVAL.
In the second largest County in Illinois (DuPage), signs forbidding cell phone use are posted in each voting location by Election Judges at the direction of the DuPage County Clerk (see link below to view the actual page from the DuPage County Election Judge Manual which lists official signs to be posted by Election Judges in each voting location). The use of cell phones in DuPage voting locations is clearly prohibited.
https://www.ieip.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DuPage-EJ_No-Cell-Phones.pdf
It appears that many of the smaller, less consequential Election Jurisdictions are ambivalent about use of mobile devices in voting locations, while the larger Jurisdictions (where we need “Eyes on every ballot” the MOST!) have more restrictive policies.

Findings

Based on the evaluation and findings set forth, it is the consensus of IEIP and its partners that this application is not recommended for use at the present time. The Coalition is always open to reconsidering as new developments may warrant. For example, if the “No Cell Phones” policies of some of our largest and most critical Election Jurisdictions were to be challenged in a court of law, and a definitive finding on the use of cell phone and other mobile devices is handed down from an official court proceeding. Until that time, the “buck stops” with the individual user. This is a potential liability to which we choose NOT to subject our valued Election Observers, who are all volunteers.

Moving Forward Together

Everyone participating in IEIP and beyond is essential to a successful effort to push back the far-left policies destroying Illinois families and communities. Grassroots enthusiasm and innovative efforts are important as we all work long, hard hours to try to ensure a fair and honest election. The lessons learned in Virginia tell us there comes a point when essential elements of coordination in Election Observer coverage must be our primary focus over other priorities. Should your local volunteers choose to use the app, we urge you to coordinate your list of Election Observers and their tentative assigned locations with the statewide team so that all critical needs can receive first priority for coverage. Please caution users of the app that in EVERY voting location in Illinois, per the statutes, the onsite Election Judges are the arbiters of what is acceptable and what is NOT.

When not recruiting and training Election Observers, join the effort to recruit Election Judges. Consider assisting those working to build strong response teams during voting. Most importantly, help candidates with outreach to voters. Put on a smile and canvass door-to-door, make calls, network messaging on key issues—all is needed. The voters are waiting to hear there is hope.

(Posted 09-08-2022. Edited and updated 03-01-2023).

What is the Coalition’s position on interactions with local Election Authorities (EA’s)?

The Coalition believes that a professional and respectful relationship with your local Election Authority is absolutely critical to help ensure election integrity. Because we have steeped ourselves in every facet of Illinois elections for over a decade, we are viewed by many people across Illinois as the “go-to” organization for accurate election information and resources. We have solid professional and respectful relationships with Election Authorities around the state. We learned long ago that taking an adversarial approach to Election Authorities is extremely counter-productive.

It has been disappointing and disheartening to hear from several Election Authorities that there are organizations in Illinois which are training their volunteers to approach those EA’s with a judgmental, suspicious and adversarial attitude. This approach “poisons the well” for those of us who are doing serious election integrity work. For example, one organization has “trained” volunteers to confront their local EA with a 30-question form, to insist upon taking video of the EA as they answer these questions, then insisting that they be allowed to take photos of election equipment. The implication seems to be that the EA is guilty of fraudulent practices which these volunteers will “expose”. The fact is that most EA’s are diligently doing the work of facilitating our elections within the confines of the Illinois Election Code. The Code is not always conducive to transparency and accountability in our election processes. Our coalition encourages our local election integrity task forces to:

Gather facts and data before sitting down with the EA. Don’t be ignorant – ignorance should be a temporary state. Ignorance is cured by educating ourselves, doing our homework, and learning from reliable sources who have served on the frontlines and have first-hand knowledge to share with us. Take advantage of those resources.
Check and double-check your facts and data prior to presenting it to the EA. Have others validate your findings.
BE RIGHT, AND BE POLITE. Never be accusatory.
Be professional and courteous. You are there to be helpful, reasonable, and present facts and data in a calm and efficient manner.
Make an appointment – don’t “ambush” the local EA by showing up unannounced.
Always go in pairs, and carefully document your findings after your appointment, while the facts are fresh in your mind.
Make the appointment during a time of the year when the EA is NOT in the midst of preparing an imminent election. That is a time of high stress and you’ll get less cooperation.
Don’t over-stay your welcome. Stick to the pre-determined time for the appointment.
Don’t bombard your local EA with FOIA’s (Freedom of Information Act requests).
Before sending a FOIA, do your homework: can you obtain that information from a website or other publicly-accessible source?
Work with others in a united, local task force so 20 different people aren’t all requesting the same FOIA information from your EA. Once you submit a FOIA, the EA is legally compelled to reply. If the info could otherwise be obtained, you have just wasted the EA’s time and resources. Don’t become known in your local EA’s office as “it’s that guy again”!
The weeks leading up to an election are not the best time to send FOIA’s if they can wait for a quieter period.
Re-evaluate your findings in light of information you’ve acquired, and take next steps as necessary (follow up in a timely manner to determine if EA has remedied the situation, engage legal help, file a complaint with the IL State Board of Elections, file a HAVA complaint, etc.)