Shelby Co. (ECWd) –
We received a copy of an email sent to the entire board by the former State’s Attorney Rob Hanlon just prior to his last day in office. Within the email were several concerning updates for the board. To date, we have not heard the board discuss any of those matters.
One in particular should concern everyone if our election system is to have actual integrity.
“It came to my attention that the objection petition filed by Mr. Boehm was highly irregular. Mr. Boehm acknowledged in the hearing on the Objection Petition that he did not have all of the necessary paperwork for his petition. Video Footage available to myself and the court demonstrate that Mr. Boehm entered the building with less than a minute to spare to file his objection and did not possess any papers upon entry. In addition the Clerk’s clock was checked for its relationship to the time on the video. A test of that correlation revealed that there was no significant deviation between clocks and therefore the time indicated in handwriting on the petition was erroneous. I declined to charge any person and I informed the Clerk of the need to manage her office without irregularities such as this. No grand jury material was used in providing this information to you. Additionally, I have suggested that the clerk utilize an electronic time stamp machine for stamping electoral documents.” (emphasis added)
Boehm was questioned in the petition hearing objection and invoked his 5th Amendment right as covered in this article. Couple that with the above, we now understand why. Looking at his petition objection it indicates they were turned in at 3:58 PM. The deadline was 4 pm. The courthouse video referenced above points to Boehm entering the building with less than a minute to spare to file his objection.
How did Boehm get his paperwork in the Clerk’s office at 3:58 when he had yet to even enter the courthouse at that time?
A viable solution was presented by former State’s Attorney Hanlon, an electronic time stamp machine for stamping electoral documents.
I contacted Shelby County Clerk Jessica Fox and asked, “Can you tell me if you have implemented an electronic time stamping system in order to electronically time stamp election-related documents in your office?”
At the time of publication, we have not received a response to our question. We will update the article if we get a response.
As it stands, we do not know if any electronic time-stamping machine has been instituted. If it has, great.
One question that I think the public has a right to know the answer to; What actions were taken against the Deputy Clerk who signed the petition that indicates it was received before Boehm even entered the courthouse?
It is our opinion that every viable option to ensure an honest election takes place from start to finish must be exercised. The above types of actions are improper and unacceptable and create distrust in our elections.
Boehm pleading the 5th was possibly one of the smartest things he has ever done.
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