Countering claims of a rigged election. Wood County Clerk Cynthia Cepress, President of the Wisconsin County Clerks Association, says processes and procedures don’t change from one election to the next.
“You’re doing the exact same thing every election.” Cepress said. “You’re just ordering more ballots and having more inspectors for an election this size.”
Cepress is a state certified trainer for municipal clerks and chief election inspectors. “Municipal clerks are required to have a certain amount of training, as are those chief elections inspectors are each polling place. They need to be certified, and then they need ongoing training within their election cycle.”
As for claims of dead people voting, Cepress said election rolls are updated every four years — and the names of individuals who have not voted in that time frame are removed. “Can there be people on that list that are deceased until that four year maintenance comes around? Yes, there can be. Are those people voting? Absolutely not.”
Donald Trump has made claims that the presidential election will somehow be rigged a major talking point in the final weeks of the campaign. “I will totally accept the results – if I win,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Ohio last week. “Of course I would accept a clear election result – but I would also reserve my right to contest or file a legal challenge in the case of a questionable result.”
“Every elections official that works take an oath of office to uphold the integrity of the election,” Cepress said. “That’s where we’re all coming from. We’re there doing our job to the best of our ability.”