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PrRel: Letter To Pres Biden, AG Garland: Election data being
unlawfully deleted<br>
<br>
<b style="font-weight:normal;"
id="docs-internal-guid-cd020f54-7fff-bce8-93ef-03e55d587c24">
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:15pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Concerned Citizens Urge President Biden and Attorney General Garland to Address Election Data Retention, Transparency and Compliance with Federal Law</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Press Release -- For Immediate Release</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">San Diego, CA – Sept 5, 2024 – Today, a coalition of concerned citizens and election integrity advocates has sent an urgent letter to President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, highlighting serious concerns about the retention and transparency of election data across the United States. The letter calls for immediate action to ensure that all election data, including original ballot images, are fully retained and published, in compliance with federal law.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The letter emphasizes that original ballot images, critical for ensuring the integrity of our elections, are currently being deleted by some jurisdictions, undermining the transparency and accountability necessary for public trust in the electoral process. This practice not only erodes voter confidence but also represents a clear violation of federal law.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">"We are deeply concerned that some jurisdictions are actively deleting original ballot images, destroying irreplaceable audit records, and thereby violating federal law," the letter states. "To improve election transparency and voter confidence, it is essential that all election data be fully retained and, to the maximum extent possible, published and archived securely."</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The letter outlines two key requests for the administration:</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Immediate Action for the 2024 General Election:</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The coalition urges the President and the Department of Justice to take swift action to ensure that all election data for the 2024 General Election is properly retained, making audits possible and achievable. This is a critical step to address the current violations of federal law and to safeguard the integrity of the upcoming election.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Long-Term Measures for Election Security and Transparency:</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The letter also calls for additional steps that, while some are likely not feasible to implement for the 2024 election, are crucial for future elections. These include securing and publishing election data, as well as clarifying voter intimidation prohibitions to ensure a fair and transparent electoral process.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">The coalition hopes that this letter will prompt immediate and decisive action from the administration to protect the sanctity of our elections and to restore public confidence in the democratic process.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">For more information, please contact Ray Lutz at CitizensOversight.org.</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;"></span>This
is a shareable link. PDF also attached.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://copswiki.org/w/pub/Common/M2023/2024-09-05%20M2023%20Letter%20to%20Biden%20and%20Garland.pdf">https://copswiki.org/w/pub/Common/M2023/2024-09-05%20M2023%20Letter%20to%20Biden%20and%20Garland.pdf</a><br>
<br>
</p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">###</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Contact:</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">Ray Lutz, CitizensOversight.org</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Montserrat,sans-serif;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre;white-space:pre-wrap;">619-820-5321</span></p>
</b>--
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-------
Ray Lutz
Citizens' Oversight Projects (COPs)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.citizensoversight.org"
moz-do-not-send="true">http://www.citizensoversight.org</a>
619-820-5321</pre>
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