The Bible teaches me that as a follower of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ, I am only a steward of the funds that God has entrusted to my care. This morning during my prayer time I was reminded that I am to trust Him in all things. I had freely given money to the group as a contribution and I willingly loaned additional money to the group effort. This morning the Lord gently reminded me that all I have is His and my desire to have some of His money returned to me through crowd source funding is, for me, a sin.

I appreciate the generous monetary contributions that have been made to this account but want you to know that I will not be requesting the use of any of these funds as reimbursement for any of the payment for the recount made in accordance with RCW 29A.64.011.

I do not know God’s purpose for this recount. It may simply be the Lord publicly teaching me a lesson in humility and stewardship. I am certain that God’s purpose is not to weigh in on an election result but rather, in some way, to bring people to the knowledge and faith Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, and was raised from the dead to restore the relationship He desires with every single one of us.

I covet your prayers as we go through this recount process. Please pray for John and Rick. They bear the image of God and He loves them both dearly. Please pray for the staff of the elections department as they have been asked to give their time and energy to the recount during this Christmas season when we celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.

William Campbell

December 7, 2022

12/10/2022 Update on Fundraiser:

We received the above communication from William Campbell earlier this week and responded that while we appreciate his desire to shift our focus from fundraising to prayer, the fundraiser provides a way for the community to show their support in a tangible way.

After several discussions he has agreed to accept repayment of the money he provided as a loan but will then consult with us to redirect the funds to individuals, organizations, or efforts engaged in discovering and resolving flaws or weaknesses in our election systems and processes. He stressed that none of the funds returned to him will be given to any political party or campaign.

12/5/2022 Update on Fundraiser:

The election was certified November 29, 2022. The Recount request was filed on December 1, 2022 in accordance with RCW 29A.64.011.

We have spoken with the Auditor's office, and they tell us that we will have to put a security deposit down to get the process started. RCW 29A.64.030 requires a deposit of 25 cents for each ballot that is requested to be manually recounted, and there are 124,242 ballots in Kitsap. Then the Auditor's office has to setup a space (likely the Commissioner's chambers) to count the ballots. They said they need to do this to accommodate so many paid workers since the room they normally use to process ballots is too small. The number of paid workers they will use is unknown at this time, but they said likely close to 30. After setup of the ballots then they begin counting.

Once they are complete with the process and have our total then we will see if we owe them any more funds. RCW 29A.64.081 directs the canvassing board to determine the expenses for conducting a recount. If the costs of the recount exceed the deposit the applicant shall pay the difference. To meet the filing requirements the applicants for the recount have accepted the personal financial risk associated with the deposit and with the total cost of the recount being unknown.

We estimate that if they have 30 employees being paid $30/hour (hourly wage + benefits) working 8-hour shifts then that is roughly $7,200 per day for the counting portion (30 people x 8 hour shifts x $30 per hour). This does not include setup and breakdown.

The Auditor’s Office continues to be transparent and has provided a good faith estimate of $34,000 to perform the hand recount. The Office noted that a recount like the one we have requested has never been performed so there is some uncertainty in the accuracy of the estimate. Based on the explanation of the process used to arrive at the estimate we believe it is the minimum cost we can hope for. Allowing for the estimate to be exceeded by 40% and accounting for contributions that were used to make the deposit required by law when the recount request was submitted, we have revised our goal down to $47,000.

RCW 29A.64.041 (2) allows us stop the count upon written request at any time. The deposit of $31,060.50 was made by individual registered voters of Kitsap County using their own contributions and unsecured loans. The Auditor’s Office is planning to provide us with updates of the total cost as the recount progresses. This will give the registered voters that requested the recount a financial escape path if all available funds are consumed before the recount is complete.

If we do have money left over we will save this money to be used for future hand recounts in other counties if needed. We want to ensure that we have clear evidence of trust in the voting system that we have in WA state and that will only be achieved through verification. No matter what side you are on, this should make sense.

We are asking WA state citizens to pledge to help keep election integrity in our state by donating for a hand recount of the Sheriff's race in Kitsap County. The HART intercivic machines that are used in Kitsap County are used in 16 counties in WA state so this look at these machines is a way to evaluate this system in 16 other counties in WA state.

How does the HART intercivic system work? It does not count paper ballots. Instead, ballots are scanned, and ballot images are saved. Then the images are read by the election system and tabulated. If the software is unable to read the ballot selections, the image/record is manipulated through adjudication, and then tabulated. Each step in the process, in terms of this description, is deemed an "event". Events are logged for each process within the system in real time. These logs are the record of events that take place within the system while processing and counting the votes. At 8 pm on election night, the voting machine tabulates all the votes to come up with the winners.

The end goal is not to overturn the election results, merely to trust but verify them. Your vote is more important than your money and you should have the same trust in your voting system as you do in your bank. We need to verify our voting system just like we would if we cashed a check at a bank. Do you count your money when you cash a check? Yes. Why? Because you trust the bank but you also verify that it is accurate. We want the same standard for our elections. Trust but verify.

We as registered voters of Kitsap County, want to gain confidence in the tabulation machines just as we do in a hand recount. Several people have stated that they are not voting based on a perceived lack of trust. We are uniting to verify the results and instill confidence in our election process.

We want to look closely at whether the results of the machine will match 100% with the hand count. If it doesn't, it will mean your vote does not matter and this voting system needs to be put into question.

How can you trust the system when your vote is not counted correctly?

We must ensure our vote matters and be able to trust the system that codifies our voices. This begins with one donation. Are you willing to donate for a full hand recount and ensure election integrity?

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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