Another Rigged Election? Washington County, ISD833

To me, less surprised that it happened, and more interested in how the System continues to protect itself, relying on CYA and a quiet media (no media reports of any kind on this) to memory hole it.

First background, then Mim's response to the attorney which pretty much sums up everything instead of having you read too long a book.

Again, none of this happens without Mim's never give up attitude, a true warrior that the Washington County office, in my opinion, is afraid of, even though she's barely 5 feet tall. (You'll see when you read her email below.)

The same tabulator, a DS200 (from ES&S) that was used for this school board race was also used for the special Senate election, yet the Senate election certification was rushed through at 3pm the day after the election.

Background

Here we have a school district in Washington County whose tests of electronic equipment did not meet the statutory requirement to be error-free before the recent election (2025), as the tests included duplicates (see post hero image above), which means the machine could flip votes, effectively by assigning the votes to the wrong candidate.

Even if the margin of victory or defeat seemed large, it could be explained by Candidate A receiving Candidate B's votes, and Candidate B receiving Candidate A's votes. This has happened before in a number of well documented cases, such as Antrim County, Michigan, in 2020.

The county was not interested in retesting pre-election, is uninterested in hand counting post, and has already certified the special election for the Senate race, and meanwhile this coming Thursday Nov 13 at 4pm the school board (ISD833) will have the choice whether to certify, a likelihood even though it would be better to wait to certify until after hand counting, for which volunteer election judges could be brought in to accomplish on a single day, thus proving the machines in this case were accurate and there was no need for anyone to call attention to the 'failed' machine tests, even though those involved have basically agreed that they did fail, but it is okay for them to fail according to the rules and statutes, in a manner of speaking.

Most of this documentation was made possible by a single individual, Mim, (be like Mim!) with support from several others. I only came in to post this more broadly.

Here is Mim's response to the Washington County Attorney which shows the summary and details of this story:

From: mim arnold
Sent: Tuesday, November 4, 2025 1:32 AM
To: John Ristad <John.Ristad@washingtoncountymn.gov>; State, Secretary (OSS) <secretary.state@state.mn.us>
Subject: Fw: State of MN Election Law Complaint Form Mr. Ristad, Mr. Simon,Thanks for your prompt response to this matter. I am glad you referred the case to the Washington County Sheriff for investigation because a detailed investigation is warranted. In Ms. Stenftenagel's response to Mr. Buck's compliant, Amy recited the MN 206.83 and Rules 8220.1050 as proofs that the test decks on the ISD 833 were all performed accurately doesn't constitute an investigation. Please refer to the following video: https://www.youtube.com/live/d4YiUA2Uib0?si=6X-P8p4XD6SZ18APTimeline 1:44:47-1:46:45.In the video, Mr. Simon said that when an affidavit is filed the matter must be investigated. Please refer to the following MN Statu[t]e:

201.275 INVESTIGATIONS; PROSECUTIONS.

(a) A law enforcement agency that is notified by affidavit of an alleged violation of this chapter must promptly investigate. Upon receiving an affidavit alleging a violation of this chapter, a county attorney must promptly forward it to a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction for investigation. If there is probable cause for instituting a prosecution, the county attorney must proceed according to the generally applicable standards regarding the prosecutorial functions and duties of a county attorney, provided that the county attorney is not required to proceed with the prosecution if the complainant withdraws the allegation. A county attorney who refuses or intentionally fails to faithfully perform this or any other duty imposed by this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction must forfeit office.

(b) Willful violation of this chapter by any public employee constitutes just cause for suspension without pay or dismissal of the public employee.

(c) Where the matter relates to a voter registration application submitted electronically through the secure website established in section 201.061, subdivision 1, alleged violations of this chapter may be investigated and prosecuted in the county in which the individual registered, updated a voter registration, or attempted to register.

History:

1978 c 714 s 6; 1981 c 29 art 2 s 26; 1986 c 444; 1988 c 578 art 1 s 2; 2004 c 277 s 2; 2013 c 131 art 3 s 3; 2014 c 185 s 7; 2015 c 70 art 1 s 10; 2025 c 39 art 8 s 24

I got screenshots of PAT test deck result tapes from some precincts of Stearns, Hennepin, Anoka and most of Ramsey County, not one of their test decks assigned duplicate votes to their candidates. (See attachment #1) How odd that Washington County didn't perform their test deck like the other counties?? By the way Ms. Stenftenagel failed to disclose the whole statu[t]e in her response:

206.83 TESTING OF VOTING SYSTEMS. At least three days before voting equipment is used, the official in charge of elections shall have the voting system tested to ascertain that the system will correctly mark ballots using all methods supported by the system, including through assistive technology, and count the votes cast for all candidates and on all questions. Public notice of the time and place of the test must be given at least five days in advance by publication once in official newspapers. The test must be observed by at least two election judges, who are not of the same major political party, and must be open to representatives of the political parties, candidates, the press, and the public. The test must be conducted by (1) processing a preaudited group of ballots marked to record a predetermined number of valid votes for each candidate and on each question in the contest, and must include for each office one or more ballot cards which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law in order to test the ability of the voting system tabulator and electronic ballot marker to reject those votes; and (2) processing an additional test deck of ballots marked using the electronic ballot marker for the precinct, including ballots marked using the electronic ballot display, audio ballot reader, and any assistive voting technology used with the electronic ballot marker. If any error is detected, the cause must be ascertained and corrected and an errorless count must be made before the voting system may be used in the election. After the completion of the test, the programs used and ballot cards must be sealed, retained, and disposed of as provided for paper ballots. 

The Statu[t]e is very clear that the voting equipment has to be tested to ascertain that that they can mark the ballots correctly, so, how can assigning duplicate vote numbers to multiple candidates would proof beyond a shadow of doubt that the tabulators were performing accurately. 

Here is the instruction from ES&S, the manufacturer of the DS200:6042 CA Election Management System California Use Procedures Revision 1.1. July 2019

Chapter 5: Logic and Accuracy Testing Logic and accuracy (L&A) testing is performed well before the election to verify that the election definition generated for each voting device matches the election being held, and that all contests and candidates are accurately reflected on each ballot style and on reports. L&A testing verifies that all voting positions can be voted, whether each contest can be voted for the maximum number of eligible candidates, and that the system is correctly reading and tabulating votes.

L&A testing consists of processing a test deck. A test deck is a stack of sample ballots already marked and scanned, with known results totals. In addition to predetermined totals, the test deck will also contain examples of ballot errors that can occur. All contests in all ballot types and/or ballot styles are tested in this manner. Any deviation from the predetermined results must be rectified before the tabulating equipment can be certified for processing that specific election.

If ES&S is coding the election, ES&S will provide a hand-counted test deck foreach election.

If your jurisdiction programs its own election definitions, create a test deck that includes a sequential number of votes for each office on that ballot starting with 1 vote for the first candidate. For example, in an Office with 5 candidates the first candidate on that ballot will receive 1 vote, the second candidate 2,the third 3 and so on. Also include at least one completely blank ballot, and an overvoted ballot (mark more candidates than the number specified). Complete this process for all ballot types in your election and maintain accurate records of your test ballot selections.

Note: ES&S, the manufacturer of the DS200 tabulators used by Washington County to conduct their election stated in their user manual to use sequential numbers for each candidate. Please explain why Washington County Election Department deviated from ES&S test deck instructions.

https://electionsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Logic-and-Accuracy-Testing-Guide.pdf         Page 104   

In order to ascertain that the system will count votes for all candidates and questions, you need different numbers for each choice in a contest to prevent vote flips due to improper programming or mapping.  Having any choice sharing the same number, does not vet our vote flipping.

 Merely stating State Statu[t]e and Rules are not sufficient explanation. Please provide Mr. Buck and myself proofs beyond the shadow of doubt that the DS200 counted the TEST ballots accurately when duplicate vote numbers were assigned to multiple candidates. The burden of proof is on the SOS and Washington County and not on the citizens.

I have attached the summary report of the test deck on ISD833 school board race (Attachment #2). Please feel free to share this information with the Sheriff Department to facilitate their investigation. 

We sincerely hope there will be thorough investigation conducted on this test deck issue. Having a fair, transparent and secure election is the constitutional right of every American citizen.

Going forward please update us the investigative process to this complaint. 

I look forward to hearing from you soon! Thank you for your cooperation in this matter! It is very much appreciated!

Sincerely,

Miriam Arnold

Next Steps

None of the school board candidates (that "won" or "lost") have stepped up to challenge this election (which can lead to a hand count): too bad because the gap here is obvious.

Show up to the Nov 13th 4pm ISD833 School Board meeting where this vote may be certified, although the school board should absolutely not certify on the condition that every ballot is hand counted. But maybe the school board wants to participate in this Nonsense or is fearful of the System pressure.

Send record requests (FOIA) for any communications between the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State and Washington County, since in almost every case like this the auditors and attorneys are speaking with the SOS or his office for guidance, which I imagine he and the office are happy to give!

Ask your town, city, or county attorney if they have EVER disagreed (publicly) or given guidance different to the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State (MNOSS) in their history, given that the MNOSS has made statutorily INCORRECT interpretations of election laws in the past, including participating in felony threats to people like you and me. (Should Secretary Steve Simon be giving legal advice?)

Erik van Mechelen is waiting for the press or media or any investigative journalist to have a look at this story but also can appreciate that it is not in the financial interest of most organizations of any kind to do so and that many are afraid of the System.