Opinion

Jeff Pattison Enters Primary Race for Montana PSC District 1

“Reliable Leadership. Affordable Energy. A Stronger Future.”

WRITTEN BY
Staff Writer

HELENA, MT —

Third-generation farmer, former legislator, and longtime community leader Jeff Pattison is officially seeking the Republican nomination for Public Service Commissioner in District 1, bringing deep agricultural roots, policy experience, and a bold energy vision to the campaign trail. With Montana’s energy future at a crossroads, Pattison says he’s ready to lead with common sense, rural perspective, and constitutional accountability

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Why Americans Across the Spectrum Distrust Voting Machines

OPINION

WRITTEN BY
Staff Writer

Donald Trump’s Truth Social post this morning—pledging to ban voting machines and mail-in ballots by executive order—was instantly polarizing. But here’s the hard truth: Trump isn’t the only one raising alarms. From progressives in Pennsylvania to independents in New Jersey, Americans of all stripes are increasingly skeptical of the machines that count their votes.
And they have good reason.

The Montana Example: Ripley’s Vanishing Votes

In Montana, Senator Ripley’s own rural precinct saw every single one of his votes shifted to his opponent by an ES&S tabulator programming error. All 25 ballots in that precinct—including those cast by Ripley himself, his wife, and their relatives—were wrongly credited to his competitor.

This happened back in 2012, and the election was officially certified with the error in place, because neither the county’s audit process nor the state’s certification procedures caught it and nothing has been implemented since then that would have caught these errors. The only reason it came to light is because the precinct was so small and personal—Ripley and his family knew immediately that something was wrong. In a larger precinct, where votes are more anonymous and diverse, the mistake might never have been noticed at all.

Read the complete Article: Why Americans Across the Spectrum Distrust Voting Machines