ALERT! Collier election resolution to be introduced Tuesday was drafted by national election denial group

*Collier County Commissioner Chris Hall, who is planning to introduce a resolution to alter county elections on Tuesday. (Image: CCBC)*

April 21, 2024 by David Silverberg

A resolution demanding election changes in Collier County that is expected to be introduced to the Board of Commissioners this coming Tuesday, April 23, is actually a standard, cookie-cutter template drafted by an organization whose executive director has in the past been warned against voter intimidation, election interference and false representation.

Commissioner Chris Hall (R-District 2) is expected to introduce a “Resolution for a Legally Valid 2024 General Election” at the Tuesday meeting. Discussion of the resolution is on the Board’s agenda.

The resolution was not locally drafted and the 11 demands it makes are not solutions tailored to Collier County needs. They are part of a national effort to profoundly change US elections by United Sovereign Americans, a national non-profit 501c3 organization that purports to promote election integrity.

The 11 demands in the resolution include stringent identity requirements, voting audits, multiple witnesses for operations and requirements for new elections if conditions are not met. (The full resolution text and its supporting documentation can be accessed and downloaded at the conclusion of this article.)

The resolution would disrupt upcoming elections in Collier County, county Supervisor of Elections, Melissa Blazier told Hall in an April 18 message. She called it “deeply flawed and highly unnecessary.” (The full text of her message is below.)

The resolution is in two parts. The first part makes unsupported allegations of election fraud in the 2022 Florida election. These allegations were conveyed to Hall by the Election Integrity Committee of the Collier County Republican Executive Committee (CCREC).

Blazier stated these allegations were “riddled with erroneous conclusions and lack any manner of legally relevant evidence.”

The second part of the resolution is just a copy of the United Sovereign Americans’ standard draft resolution produced and distributed by the organization.

Blazier wrote: “The majority of requests this resolution calls for are either already incorporated into existing law, are in direct violation of existing law or would require technology that is not yet available or authorized for use in the State of Florida.”

She noted that her office was not obligated to abide by the resolution but rather by the laws of the state and the US Constitution. Resolutions are non-binding statements of opinion by legislative bodies.

“To use the words of Governor DeSantis, Florida is the GOLD STANDARD for election administration and Collier County is a leader in the state for conducting elections,” she wrote. “By considering or even passing this resolution, the public’s confidence in the elections that are conducted by the hundreds of Collier County citizen election workers who work hard to ensure fair, accurate and legal elections is further eroded.”

Past allegations

Since the election of 2020, unsupported allegations of election fraud and calls to audit or overturn certified elections are nothing new in Collier County.

While United Sovereign Americans’ website claims chapters in 24 states and thousands of volunteers, it does not provide a single name, identify a director, or provide a headquarters location.

However, an activist named Marly Hornik claims to be its executive director. Hornik led the NY Citizens Audit, another non-profit 501c3 corporation, which demanded an audit of New York state election results.

In an undated podcast, Hornik told interviewer Jeff Dornik that United Sovereign Americans was “working in state after state to prove that non-compliant and inaccurate elections were certified as compliant and accurate” and that “the elections were a sham, that the certifications were an act of perjury.”

In 2023, New York State Attorney Letitia James sent a cease and desist letter to Hornik stating “that reports alleging that volunteers from the NY Citizens Audit Civic Fund have confronted voters across the state at their homes, falsely claimed to be Board of Elections officials, and falsely accused voters of committing felony voter fraud.”

The letter demanded: “You are hereby instructed to cease and desist any ongoing or contemplated voter deception and intimidation efforts, including instructing or otherwise causing volunteers to falsely represent themselves as government officials or falsely accuse voters of voter fraud. Voter deception and intimidation have no place in New York, and the [Office of Attorney General] will use every tool at its disposal to protect New York voters.”

(The full text of the letter can be accessed and downloaded below.)

United Sovereign Americans is calling for election challenges across the United States. As part of that effort it provides the 11-point draft resolution for local political bodies to use as a model for election demands. This is the same draft being used by Hall for his resolution in Collier County.

As a basis for its allegations of Florida voting irregularities in 2022, Hall’s resolution cites the information provided by the CCREC.

A key member of the CCREC is Francis Alfred “Alfie” Oakes III, a local farmer and grocer, who is also an elected Party state committeeman.

Oakes has been an intense adherent of President Donald Trump’s untrue allegations of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Oakes has also alleged that machine-based ballot counting is untrustworthy and the election system is corrupt.

In 2021 he called for an audit of the results of the 2020 election results in Florida, despite their being uncontested by any party and the fact that they led to all Republican victories. On the Alex Jones InfoWars show, he offered a $100,000 political contribution to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) if the governor would sit down for two hours to listen to Oakes’ allegations of election fraud in person. This prompted fellow Trump activist Christy McLaughlin to warn that such a direct quid pro quo contribution would constitute a bribe, an argument Oakes rejected. Ultimately, DeSantis never took up the offer and the election results were unchallenged.

The allegations of voter fraud passed on by the CCREC prompted Blazier to ask why, if they were aware of election irregularities, they weren’t reported to the proper authorities at the time.

Blazier’s message to Hall is provided in full below:

Commissioner Hall,
As Collier County Supervisor of Elections, with 18+ years of election administration experience, I find the attached proposed resolution to be deeply flawed and highly unnecessary. The statements purporting to support the 11 requests are riddled with erroneousness conclusions and lack any manner of legally relevant evidence. I am concerned that this matter is being presented to the board without being thoroughly vetted to the legitimacy of its claims. One of the key questions is, if the outside organization that provided this information to the Collier County Republican Executive Committee had proof or evidence that the State of Florida’s election had violated both federal and state laws, why would they not present that evidence through the proper legal channels versus through a nonbinding resolution at the local level? This resolution states that the 2022 General Election, in the State of Florida, was fraught with massive inaccuracies that violate both Federal and State laws. This is the same election, may I remind you, that 44 races and contests were decided in Collier County – including County Commission District 2.
The majority of requests this resolution calls for are either already incorporated into existing law, are in direct violation of existing law or would require technology that is not yet available or authorized for use in the State of Florida. My comments on each of the 11 requests is also attached. As election officials in Florida, my staff and I take an oath of office to uphold both the US and Florida constitutions and to implement Florida’s election laws. Should this resolution pass, we are under no obligation to follow it unless otherwise required by state and federal law.
To use the words of Governor DeSantis, Florida is the GOLD STANDARD for election administration and Collier County is a leader in the state for conducting elections. By considering or even passing this resolution, the public’s confidence in the elections that are conducted by the hundreds of Collier County citizen election workers who work hard to ensure fair, accurate and legal elections is further eroded. The statements in this resolution only fuel the harassment of the many individuals who come together to ensure the integrity of the electoral process in our community.
I truly hope that you give consideration to my thoughts and concerns and do not pass this egregious resolution.
Sincerely,
Melissa R. Blazier

Since Hall is expected to introduce his resolution at the Collier County Board of Commissioners meeting this coming Tuesday, April 23, Collier County residents can express an opinion on this matter by writing or calling their commissioners. The resolution is listed as agenda item 10A and residents who sign up in person the day of the meeting can speak before the Board for 3 minutes.

District 1

Rick LoCastro

Rick.LoCastro@colliercountyfl.gov
(239) 252-8601

District 2

Chris Hall

Chris.hall@colliercountyfl.gov
(239) 252-8602

District 3

Burt Saunders

Burt.Saunders@colliercountyfl.gov
(239) 252-8603

District 4

Dan Kowal

Dan.kowal@colliercountyfl.gov
(239) 252-8604