How Antelope County conducts elections was the issue for nearly an hour’s worth of discussion among county commissioners and a number of individuals concerned about the process. The issue was front and center at the July 12 meeting at the courthouse in Neligh.
The issue, summed up in two words is ‘election integrity’ — how to assure it and maintain it.
Two women, Sheryl Baker and Connie Baker, speaking on behalf of Antelope County Patriots (ACP), said their goal is to maintain total confidence in county election. At the same time, they want the election process in Antelope County to be reshaped in such a way as to:
• limit mail-in ballots
• eliminate all machines used for counting
• eliminate boxes where ballots may be dropped off.
Sheryl Baker said the request to the county commissioners was shaped, in part, by becoming aware that approximately 4,000 ballots were cast in Nebraska during the 2020 election and no one knows where these ballots came from.
As part of the discussion, Connie Baker asked the commissioners if they had “heard what happened in Kearney this past weekend?” She was referring to the GOP State Convention where a more conservative group of leaders took control of the Republican Party. As part of that meeting, the GOP adopted a resolution to preserve the integrity of elections by requiring hand counting of ballots at the local level with supervision or video surveillance.
“We are asking Antelope County to support the process of hand-counting ballots, no mail boxes and limited mail-in ballots. We are trying to make it (elections) easy but fair, she said.” Later, she added to her comments by saying “We don’t believe Lisa (election commissioner) is doing anything wrong. If there is a shadow of doubt, why would we question it?”
Commissioner Carolyn Pedersen served as election commissioner before Payne assumed the duties when she stepped down as county clerk, said she is “not completely for” mail-in ballots. In the same sentence, Pedersen said “there is no election fraud going on in this office.”
Pedersen pointed out ballot counting machines are checked with test ballots prior to the election to ensure they are in working order.
Payne followed by making it clear the State of Nebraska selects what races will be hand counted as Antelope County does not always get selected. For the rest of the story turn to the Elgin Review.
