The Post-Election Voting System Audit for the 2024 PPP is April 2, 2024 at 8:30 a.m.
at the Lake County Supervisor of Elections Office at 1898 E. Burleigh Blvd., Tavares.

The public is welcome to attend. Please note that seating is limited.

 

We are hiring!

Our office is hiring seasonal positions to assist community members for the 2024 Elections.
These are clerical roles with a start date of mid to late April through the Nov. General Election.
Interested applicants can select this link for additional information: 
2024-Employment-Opportunities.

Voter Confidence Excellent Service Accurate and Efficient Elections Responsible Financial Stewardship
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A Message from Alan Hays

Lake County's Supervisor of Elections

In today’s world of 24-hour news cycles, social media, and the ever-present rumor mill, many false statements are being made about the actions of elections administrators and processes. People who have absolutely NO experience whatsoever in elections administration are making and have made statements that are patently false. Many other statements that are misleading and only partially true have undermined the confidence of the voters unfairly. It is our hope that by reading the following FACTS, you will know the truth about elections administered in Florida.

  1. In 2000, the Florida elections community was the laughingstock of the world. In the 2018, 2020, and 2022 elections, Florida was the model for the nation in successful elections administration.

  2. This status of being the nation’s model occurred only by the diligent work of many Supervisors of Elections (SOE) and their devoted teams. In cooperation with the Legislature and the Secretary of State, the elections professionals of Florida rose to the challenge and excelled.

  3. The Supervisor of Elections and the team of workers are regulated very closely by Florida Statutes and rules promulgated by the Division of Elections in Tallahassee. Most of the work we do is dictated by those statutes and rules.

  4. All votes cast in Florida are on paper ballots. Those ballots are retained for 22 months after each election then shredded.

  5. All counties must use electronic tabulation systems that have been certified by the Bureau of Standards of the Division of Elections in Tallahassee. NONE of the tabulation machines are ever connected to the internet.

  6. The election night transmission of UNOFFICIAL results to the SOE offices does NOT use the internet. That data is transmitted via a system that resembles an interstate highway with no exits and no entry ramps.

  7. The tabulation data is stored on memory sticks that are returned to the SOE office on election night. That data is downloaded the next day and compared to the transmitted data of the previous evening to confirm its accuracy.

  8. Many counties, (Lake is one) have a separate verification system into which every voted ballot is scanned. The totals of this second system are compared with those of the tabulation system. This enables us to audit the entire election instead of the previous practice of auditing only one contest in a few precincts.

  9. There are three well-proven ways to vote in Florida:  Vote-by-Mail (VBM), Early Voting in person, and Election Day in person. Each of those are significantly controlled by Florida Statutes.

  10. The SOE does have some control of the number of days and the hours of Early Voting but everything else is by statute.

  11. Vote-by-Mail ballots are mailed ONLY to those voters who have requested to receive one. EVERY returned ballot MUST be in a separate envelope and the envelope must be signed by the voter whose name is printed on the envelope.

  12. EVERY envelope signature is checked through a combination of technology and trained personnel to validate the signature on the envelope compared to the signature on file in that voter’s record.

  13. If the envelope signature does not match the signature on file, the voter is notified of the issue and informed of the process and the deadline to rectify the problem.

  14. Each person requesting a VBM ballot has an opportunity to enroll in the BallotTrax program that notifies them quickly if there is an issue with their signature. In addition to the signature notification, the same system notifies the voter when the ballot has been mailed, when it has been received by our office, and when the ballot is counted.

  15. The selection of the polling sites for Early Voting and Election Day voting is again, controlled by statute. Each site must meet specific criteria. We are allowed only one Early Voting site that is not owned by a governmental agency.

  16. No voted ballots are ever left in a polling site overnight. Every voted ballot is returned to our office that evening.

  17. Those ballots are under a strict chain of custody record and are always carried by at least two people.

  18. Transparency and accountability are standard operating procedures for our team. In the design of our building, we intentionally placed in the internal walls, more than 144 square feet of windows so people can observe the actions in each room. This is supplemented with video feeds of various ballot processes (ballot opening, duplication, adjudication, and storage).

  19. Our website has offered tours of our building two days each week for the last 5 years.

  20. We have invested significantly more than $100,000 into enhanced cybersecurity measures and all our systems are monitored at all times.

  21. All staff members undergo background checks, are engaged in continual training, and are encouraged to pursue professional development.

Many counties, (Lake is one) have a separate verification system into which every voted ballot is scanned. The totals of this second system are compared with those of the tabulation system. This enables us to audit the entire election instead of the previous practice of auditing only one contest in a few precincts.

These are the FACTS. I and my staff are proud to serve our community as elections professionals. Please feel welcome to contact my office should you have questions or to schedule a facility tour. We want you to have confidence in us and in the elections processes. Thank you for the priviledge of serving as your Supervisor of Elections.

 

Election Night Results

Supervisor of Elections Open House

 

             

 

 

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Attacking the Foundation of Freedom: An OP ed from the desk of Supervisor Hays

Friday, October 8, 2021
Attacking the Foundation of Freedom

Our republic has weathered many storms. Typically, these storms come from outside our country 
(enemy attacks, weather, and more recently the internet). External assaults bring us together, 
promote a united response, and bring out the best of who we are as a people. However, when we are 
attacked internally (riots, social degeneration, rewriting of our history, and now the erosion of 
trust in our institutions and our elections), our ability to unite becomes so frayed that we are 
unable to overcome the division and hatred permeating our current society.

We are subjected to manufactured news, online editorial bias, and political leaders determined to 
destroy our capitalistic economy. A current effort to manipulate a political party to the extent of 
being subjugated as pawns to a conspiracy which belittles and uses them, and actually affects the 
purveyor’s prescribed outcomes through their deception. Today, many Americans ascribe to the belief 
that an election was stolen. Much of this is promoted through a continuous false narrative 
supported by flimsy arguments and even weaker statistical analysis. This purpose is to secure a 
“forensic audit” to validate the election results as they believe them to be.

One of the stolen elections theories is a belief that election equipment has been modified to 
incorrectly report tabulation of votes contrary to the voted ballot. This latest ruse was developed 
through the promulgating of sloppy analysis of population growth, coupled with voter registration 
data and voting trends to persuade the belief that the presidential election of 2020 was stolen, 
with the claim that the “proof is in the numbers.” Rather than test the theory and verify the 
statistical modeling and analysis, and ultimately the facts of election data, the promoters demand 
a hand recount of the ballots for proof.  Proof has two aims - firstly to convince, and secondly to 
explain the proposition through peer and public review (see; Gold, B. Simons, R.A. (2008) Proof and 
other dilemmas: mathematics and philosophy).

Many have been convinced without the need to explain or review.  They have been convinced without 
inquiry to the office, or a request of any data from the same, that Lake County was a “red zone” on 
the “heat map” of voting outcomes, and therefore something was wrong.

The theory claims that during the 2020 Presidential election, over 17,000 votes in Lake County were 
removed from Donald Trump's vote total and placed into Joe Biden's vote totals. This supposed 
modification was done purportedly through software manipulation via outside nefarious agents. 
Neither our voter demographics, nor operational procedures, support this fallacy.

All tabulation equipment authorized for use in Florida elections undergoes vigorous testing and is 
certified by the Florida Bureau of Voting Systems Certification. None of Lake County's voting 
equipment utilizes the internet, nor does any outside agency have contact with equipment during any 
election. This has been explained to those trying to lead others to believe their statistical 
models. Our equipment is stored in our warehouse under constant video surveillance, monitored by 
our professional staff.

Our office completely complies with Florida Statutes, which require us to test tabulation equipment 
at a publicly noticed Logic and Accuracy test. Those same statutes also require us to test 100% of 
the tabulation devices to be used in the upcoming election. Upon completion of the election, the 
machines are tested again to verify the results previously reported.

Each election is audited by randomly selecting a contest to audit then randomly choosing the 
prescribed number of precincts for the audit. Then ballots are hand counted in those precincts 
related to the selected contest. We have a long-running record of 100% accuracy!

Let us use our time, effort, and money to promote confidence in a system that has proven its 
accuracy, authenticity, and reliability. Lake County has such a system. We believe Lake County 
deserves nothing less. More information on election security can be found at www.lakevotes.gov.

D. Alan Hays, D.M.D., MFCEP
Lake County Supervisor of Elections

 

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