Resolution: Voters Declaration of Independence from Voting Machines

Whereas: There are increasing concerns that China is an enemy of the United States due to its threats to attack and take over Taiwan. [1]

Whereas: The Department of Defense in January of 2021 banned any telecommunications and other critical equipment that contained components supplied by the People’s Republic of China or the Russian Federation because they are a threat to National Security. [2]

Whereas: There are many reports that voting machines in the United States contain wi-fi chips and other components that are manufactured in China. [3] [4] [5]

Whereas: Any of these components could be used by China to hack into Multnomah County digital voting equipment and alter the vote count without the awareness of election employees and this is a matter of National Security.

Even such seemingly innocuous acts as updating drivers for scanners or keyboards can introduce malicious code that becomes a doorway to hack into computers and manipulate the vote.

Whereas: China has recently banned the use of computer chips made by Micron in America because they represent a National Security risk to China. [6]

Whereas: There is increasing concern that an AI program could penetrate Multnomah County’s election security measures without the awareness of election employees, and this is also a matter of National Security. This is especially true if the AI originated in China and was specifically designed to hack into our voting systems.

Whereas: The Naval Information Warfare Center’s Red Team is tasked with improving government cybersecurity and they have never failed yet to hack into government computers. This hack is typically done using phishing techniques. It would be naïve to think that county election workers are immune to phishing when highly skilled federal workers ALWAYS fell for it, 100% of the time. [7]

Whereas: Once malicious code is introduced into a computer system, it is literally impossible for County Election workers to detect four or five lines of code in a computer system with millions of lines of code in it, especially when much of the code cannot be viewed because it is the Intellectual Property of the machine manufacturer. This means that the security of Multnomah County’s election system is based on assurances by non-governmental employees that the system is secure. This reliance on third parties to guarantee the safety of our voting is not acceptable, and the public dissatisfaction with the security of our country’s current voting methodology can be seen in the results of an April 2023 Rasmussen poll where 60% of voters believe that recent elections have been affected by cheating, and they also believe officials are ignoring the problem. [8]

Be it resolved therefore: The Republican Party of Multnomah County hereby concludes that it is incumbent upon our Multnomah County Commissioners to stop ignoring this problem. Our commissioners must fulfill their legal obligation to provide accurate, verifiable and transparent vote counts. The Republican Party of Multnomah County believes that this can only be accomplished by in-person voting on a paper ballot at a local precinct. Voting in this manner requires that each voter prove that they are a US Citizen when they register to vote, and they must present valid ID showing they reside in their assigned precinct before they vote and present that ID when they vote. Each voter’s ballot is then deposited by the voter in a sealed ballot box. When the voting time period has concluded, the ballot box is opened, and the vote is counted by volunteers with observers from each party verifying the accuracy of the vote record. The final tally of votes from each precinct is then securely delivered to the central vote recording facility of Multnomah County.

In the old voting system, a person desiring an absentee ballot due to health, travel or military service, would be given one under the rules that prevailed at that time. Only absentee ballots allowed under the system prior to mail in ballots should be allowed. 

In conclusion, the Republican Party of Multnomah County believes that in order to restore honest, transparent and verifiable elections, which is a matter of National Security, and thus restore trust by the public in our voting systems, we must return to the non-digital voting method that worked in our state for 140 years, beginning with our first election on June 6, 1859.

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[1] www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-62064506?zephr-modal-register

[2] www.governmentcontractslaw.com/2021/01/changes-to-dod-regulations-banning-chinese-telecommunications-equipment-and-services-offer-potential-opportunities-for-contractors/

[3] www.wsj.com/articles/voting-machine-parts-made-by-foreign-suppliers-stir-security-concerns-11576494003

[4] www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/online-vulnerable-experts-find-nearly-three-dozen-u-s-voting-n1112436

[5] www.cnn.com/2019/09/26/politics/hackers-voting-machines/index.html

[6] news.sky.com/story/china-bans-chipmaker-micron-from-key-infrastructure-projects-as-tech-row-with-us-escalates-12886723

[7] www.niwcatlantic.navy.mil/2018/03/ssc-atlantic-red-team-the-good-bad-guys/

[8] www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/election_integrity_most_voters_suspect_fraud

— Resolution adopted by the Multnomah County Republican Party (MCRP) Executive Committee on Monday, June 12th, 2023.