* Background is here if you need it. We briefly talked about this story before, but here’s the Daily Southtown…
A Will County judge dismissed an election fraud case Thursday filed by the losing candidate in the 2022 race for Will County clerk that claimed mathematic formulas showed the final vote count was fraudulent.
Republican Gretchen Fritz filed the lawsuit Dec. 28, claiming she believes “mistakes and fraud have been committed in the casting and counting of ballots” in the race because her opponent, Democratic Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry, received more votes than Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
* Let’s take a look at Judge Anderson’s ruling…
Specifically, the petition states that Ms. Fritz, “in good faith based upon reasonable inquiry,” “believes that mistakes and fraud have been committed in the casting and counting of ballots for the office Will County Clerk,” in such a way “that the outcome of the … election was predetermined.” Ms. Fritz bases her remarkable claims on the following: (1) the fact that Ms. Staley received 4,358 more votes in Will County than did Governor JB Pritzker; (2) the gubernatorial election entailed vastly more media coverage, spending, and superior ballot position than did the County Clerk’s race; and (3) mathematical “analyses” by Messrs. Edward Solomon and Walter Daugherity supposedly establishing that the election “does not reflect the [w]ill of the [p]eople, but the [d]emand of an [a]lgorithm,” and that the vote totals were “artificially contrived according to a predetermined plan or algorithm.”
Ms. Fritz seeks an extraordinary remedy to match her extraordinary claims. She requests (1) a finding that the election was the predetermined result of a fraudulent and manipulated voting process; (2) an order declaring the office of Will County Clerk vacant; (3) an order requiring a new election to be held; and (4) an order that votes be cast with paper ballots and physically hand counted. Equally extraordinary is the remedy Ms. Fritz does not seek: a recount and/or examination of the paper ballots that were actually cast and counted.
Emphasis added.
* I love this first graf…
We do not use algorithmic, logarithmic, or statistical analyses to determine official election results. Generally speaking, we use addition.
Consequently, the “analyses” allegedly performed by Messrs. Solomon and Daugherity offer “expertise” that is no more valuable than that which a person with basic arithmetic skills could provide. Even the materials attached to Ms. Fritz’ response brief acknowledge that election forensics “do[] not produce definitive proof of fraud, only statistical anomalies. Finding proof for or explanation of the anomalies could come from in-person electoral monitoring or other social science research ….” Here, Illinois law provides a variety of tools which can actually produce definitive proof of vote counting fraud, such as recounts and in-person election monitoring-yet Ms. Fritz does not request or rely on any of that.
* Conclusion…
Fritz’ lawsuit is, in sum and substance, an attack on the legitimacy and security of our elections- an attack no less disturbing than the one imagined in her petition. Abraham Lincoln once said, “elections belong to the people.” Setting aside the electorate’s voice in the County Clerk’s race based on how many votes someone else got in some other race, and based on mathematical probability analyses “would disenfranchise all voters who voted *** and who did nothing wrong in exercising their right to vote.” Accordingly, Ms. Staley’s motion to dismiss is granted; the Verified Election Contest Petition is dismissed on 2-615 grounds.
* Back to the Southtown…
[Staley Ferry’s attorney Burt Odelson], who has been an election law attorney for 50 years, said in court Thursday he had “never ever” seen a case like this one, which he said was not based on facts or presented specific allegations but seemingly came from a “cosmic ray from Mars.”
Odelson said Solomon presented mathematical theories on elections that have been debunked in other election cases.
A previous analysis by Solomon is part of a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against One America News Network, after Solomon told the network the results in Fulton County, Georgia, for the 2020 presidential election “can only have been done by an algorithm.”
- TheInvisibleMan - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:29 am:
–While the lawsuit argued Staley Ferry received more votes than Pritzker, Odelson said, **it failed to mention that Fritz received more votes than Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey** as well as Republican candidates for U.S. Senate, secretary of state and comptroller.–
But wait. It’s not over yet.
–But Shestokas said the opinion ends with dates in April for the parties to respond and said **he’d pursue a motion to reconsider before taking the case to the appellate court**.–
In almost every election, local plainfield republicans consistently fail to get elected when they try to run in larger elections outside of plainfield. At least for now, it’s fairly obvious to the rest of the region that this group is not interested in serious public service, and the voters generally send them packing when they show up in county-wide races.
- Keyrock - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:30 am:
Math and civics education work hand-in-hand.
- Pundent - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:32 am:
This suit, and others like it, are nothing more than an attempt by the GOP to give legitimacy to phony allegations of fraud. The belief is that if repeated enough the claims will seem credible. The courts need to start punishing those that would bring the cases forward, plaintiffs and attorneys.
- Roadrager - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:34 am:
I have a sneaking suspicion “algorithm” and “woke” are synonyms to Mr. Solomon.
- Big Dipper - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:34 am:
Fritz represented by yet another goofy former Republican candidate for Attorney General.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:37 am:
Conspiracy theorists exist because the basic math to them… doesn’t add up.
“That’s it”
- RNUG - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:38 am:
The only way she *might* have had a case would be if the total of votes for the office she was seeking was significantly higher than all the votes for Governor. Even then, it would have to be a big discrepancy, say 20% or greater, because you always have some voters leaving certain races blank. That would have raised my eyebrows and suggested the need for a recount.
The fact there was no request for a recount is telling …
- Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:40 am:
If you told me 20 years ago the entire GOP would devolve to a bunch of sniveling whelps worshipping a con artist I would call you crazy.
- Big Dipper - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:44 am:
What is it with Republicans invoking Hitler:
“If Adolf Hitler says “2+2=4″ the world would agree with him even if they generally don’t,” Shestokas said.
Also, pretty funny that they couldn’t obtain a signed affidavit from Solomon as those are under oath.
- Demoralized - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 10:47 am:
The lawyers for Fritz should be sanctioned for this.
- Cubs in '16 - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 11:00 am:
Does Gretchen not realize there are less expensive ways of promoting a conspiracy theory?
- Homebody - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 11:03 am:
God, I wish I was amoral enough to just be a professional grifter who will say any BS to get paid. There are people who make entire careers out of just saying nonsense that other people want to hear and never get in trouble for it. Just be professionally wrong, all the time, get paid, and let someone else like the plaintiff in this case, or the “kraken” lawyer, or Fox News be the one to get in trouble.
- H-W - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 11:16 am:
== A previous analysis by Solomon is part of a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against One America ==
Dear Ms. Fritz. If you lie down with dogs, you are gonna get fleas. What you need is a flea collar, not a new election.
- Socially DIstant watcher - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 11:35 am:
@RNUG: The only way this’d be a case is if total votes in the clerk’s race exceeded the number of ballots cast. Short of that, their “algorithmic analysis” is hooey.
- RINO - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 11:40 am:
Will County GOP should put as much emphasis on candidate recruitment and candidate quality as they do on post-election lawsuits.
Traditionally, it is much easier to just run an effective campaign and get more votes for your candidate than it is to change the results of the election after the fact. Aren’t we the party of personal responsibility?
Stop following Pillow Man and Jewish Space Lasers for your election strategy, or you will continue to lose every single race. WILL GOP lost their majority, they lost all of their countywides, and they have lost all of their Cookoo lawsuits. You need new leadership and a better plan.
- illinifan - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 11:44 am:
RINO you forgot to add that the WILL GOP also lost their marbles.
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 12:30 pm:
“Generally speaking,we use addition.”
I believe the cool kids call that “throwing shade”.
Good on Anderson for doing it too.
- TheInvisibleMan - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 12:31 pm:
–WILL GOP lost their majority–
Don’t need a majority when the Will co dems will cede control to you anyway.
The current county board chair is a republican. The forest preserve board currently has a split 4-yr term chair between D and R(2yr each - currently R), because the supposed tie-breaking vote of the democratic county exec was useless in securing even a full term democratic chair position at the forest preserve board(Which is made up of county board members).
Why should the Will GOP bother trying to win more elections, when the democrats in the county will give the GOP county-level positions no matter what the vote is.
- ChiSox4 - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 12:59 pm:
This is the same judge that pointed out that Judge McHaney’s rulings were “bereft of meaningful legal analysis.” He cuts through BS with a chainsaw.
- Huh? - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 2:13 pm:
“It was an unfair and fraudulent election because I didn’t win.”
Thought process of republican’t party.
- Huh? - Friday, Mar 31, 23 @ 4:22 pm:
I am coming to the conclusion that the republican’t party is a bunch of egotistical, self indulgent cry babies who looking for the participation ribbon that they got in their childhood competitions.
When they lose, they go crying to mommy (the courts) wailing about the unfairness of the election.
When are the courts going to start sanctioning the lawyers for filing frivolous cases?