Hat Tip ATVPA
On July 26th, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of State sent out a strange memo to county election officials stating that the controversial ERIC system is just now beginning to conduct an assessment of “improper votes” that may have been cast in the 2020 election. Because of this “investigation”, the Department of State is suggesting that the individual counties maintain all election records from 2020. But the creator of the memo is bizarre to say the least.
The Gateway Pundit has previously covered the controversial private ERIC system:
** ERIC Part 1: Who’s “Cleaning” Our Voter Rolls? ERIC Now in 31 States
** ERIC Part 2: Largest U.S. Counties Removed ZERO to TWO Ineligible Voters
** ERIC Part 3: The Founding of the Nation’s Largest Voter Roll Clean-up Operation
** ERIC Part 4: A Response to the Panicked Media Attacks
From the memo:
Dear County Election Officials:
As you are undoubtedly aware, there has been a large amount of litigation surrounding the November 3, 2020 general election. While some of these cases have been disposed of, others continue to work their way through various courts. Further, you may also be aware that Pennsylvania is a member of the Electronic Registration Information Center (“ERIC”). ERIC membership assists in improving the accuracy of Pennsylvania’s voter rolls and in performing voter list maintenance activities. As part of its membership in ERIC, Pennsylvania is participating in the Voter Participation Project to assist in identifying any voters who may have cast “improper votes” in the 2020 general election. A review of records for the 2020 general election in conjunction with the Voter Participation Project is currently ongoing. To complete this project, information is required from some counties that has not yet been provided despite requests by the Department of State (“Department”).
We are approaching the end of the 22-month document retention requirement for records pertaining to federal elections. See 52 U.S.C. § 20701. However, the statute of limitations for federal crimes related to improper voting is five years. In addition, Pennsylvania has a two-year statute of limitations for casting improper votes in an election. Given the Department’s current review in connection with the Voter Participation Project, the Department strongly recommends that all counties continue to maintain all voting records pertaining to the 2020 general election.
Further, if your county is involved in any currently pending cases relating to the 2020 election, all those records should be maintained, notwithstanding any contrary document retention policies your county might have. Even if your county is not currently involved in any such litigation, given the factors mentioned above and in an abundance of caution, we believe it would be prudent to continue to retain 2020 general election records for the time being and request that you do so.
The reason this memo is strange is not because of the request for records retention. That should be universally mandated given the extreme controversy still surrounding the 2020 and now 2022 elections, despite the mockingbird media’s strict adherence to “The Big Lie” narrative.
This memo is strange because it does not appear to have originated from the Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions, Jonathan Marks. It does not appear to have originated from anyone in his office, either. Or anyone employed by the Department of State at all.
Instead, the metadata from this memo suggests it was created by “Clint Eisenhower”. An online search revealed a Linked-in page for a Clint Eisenhower in the Greater Harrisburg area (capitol of PA) shows that he works for Thomson Reuters in Risk, Fraud, and Compliance.
While it is a major step in the right direction to maintain these records, the document itself and the involvement of a Thomson Reuters’ Risk/Fraud/Compliance employee needs explanation.
I have sent emails to all of Clint Eisenhower’s listed email addresses and left three voicemails with different officials at the appropriate offices in Pennsylvania Department of State requesting comment or clarification about why a Reuters employee is sending out Department of State memos to election officials. If anyone responds, I will update accordingly.