County clerk Sandy Neill’s

failure inexcusable

10-29-2020

WOW…Not one, but two editorials, last week in the Sanpete Messenger, defending the actions of the Sanpete County Clerk, Sandy Neill’s, ballot fiasco.  However, critical facts were neglected:

1. As Neill explained to me, two weeks ago, she was fully aware of the IVS (Integrated Voting Systems, aka Integrated Voting Solutions.) snafu that occurred in Sevier County, in the 2018 elections, identical to what recently occurred with the Sanpete County ballots in the current election—no signature line. But even after further discussion with Sevier’s county clerk, Neill and Sevier County both went ahead and rehired IVS for the current election.
2. Contrary to what has been explained, the signature page WAS partially printed, with hatch marks. So, how exactly was the signature line not printed at the same time? On the same page!

Regardless, Neill’s failure to investigate IVS, prior to hiring the company, is inexcusable.  Considering the facts, it would have not only disclosed Sevier County’s ballot fiasco, but also IVS’s troubled financial history. Even worse, and related, IVS was responsible for another huge ballot disaster in numerous counties in Colorado in the 2016 election. All of this is public information.

Although Neill chalks this up to an IVS printing error, Neill should be held fully accountable, as the county clerk, for being derelict in investigating IVS’s disastrous financial history as well as ballot fiascos in the last three elections.

In closing, three out of the nine people I have talked to, have not received “the postcard,” which is supposed to be sent to all voters to enable them to sign their ballots.

Linda Nielsen

Manti

Editor’s note: The Messenger has not run an “editorial” on the ballot printing issue. In last week’s paper, we ran a news story on the front page, which primarily quoted the state director of elections reacting to the problem. On the editorial page, we ran a “Publisher’s Perspective,” a personal column by publisher Suzanne Dean as distinguished from an editorial representing the opinion of the whole staff. Dean’s column did defend Neill.