Al Simpson Opposes Hand-Count Elections & His Own Local Party

Cody leader and former US Senator Al Simpson has a few words for his fellow Park County Republicans, questioning their motives as they push for election reform.

On Friday, April 15, Simpson penned a letter to the editor and submitted it to the online publication WyoFile. In his letter, Simpson addresses the recent push – led by the Park County Republican Party – to hand-count ballots in future elections.

Simpson’s letter is published below in its entirety.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am totally opposed to Park County counting ballots by hand in the next election or any other

What is the need to “restore our citizens’ faith in elections in Park County”? We’ve never had any problem with election integrity here in my 90-year lifetime. The Sons of Freedom demanding this foolishness — who are they? What are their names? What do they stand for? They may be a cult within a cult! It seems to me that anyone demanding officials declare a for-or-against stance is not “pure and unbiased”.

To say that this is a “bipartisan effort” is absurd. There are 29,000 human beings in Park County, yet, apparently only 50 showed up at the last Park County Commissioner’s meeting to address the issue — one of them a Democrat.

The first batch of “volunteers,” after seeing the inane nature of the hand counting process, will never volunteer again! And who is training the groups?

The State of Wyoming will be waiting for hours or days for Park County to total up its votes.

The Park County Republicans have their share of notoriety for communications to legislators and obsession with censuring anyone who dares disagree with them. Where do they get the gall to impugn the integrity and honesty of our county officers and commissioners — all of whom are Republicans?!

Who do they trust? Apparently no one. Neither their government, nor elected officials (except their chosen ones!) nor their fellow citizens. They don’t even trust their fellow men and women in the Park County Republican Central Committee.

Watch how they treat folks who get up on their hind legs and challenge the Oath Keeper state chairman, the executive committees and the various county organizations that swallow state-party dicta, then request non-disclosure agreements from everyone present.

Who is going to protect the security and validity of the person’s ballot for the time it takes hand counters determine if it “is accurate to the intention of the voter”?

The missive from the party also says — “a hand count should verify the machine count.” I’ll tell you who the people who are legally and professionally qualified to run and evaluate fair elections will be looking for if it doesn’t — the meddling middlemen volunteers and election judges who handled our secret ballots, not the voters or the county clerk. That will be a real scrap!

These self-appointed party-purity enforcers say they are hunting RINOs — Republicans in Name Only. I call those doing the hunting “Republicans Ignorantly Needling Others.”

If anybody can tell me about anything that ever happened in Park County that had to do with election fraud or deception, please weigh in on it. I’ve been around a long time. I do recall one election where “they” didn’t like the winner. The challenger who lost by over 400 votes was pressed to ask for a recount. The recount changed about seven votes and cost taxpayers about $5,000.

What is happening with our Republicans nationwide? Why don’t the members of my party trust anybody anymore?

There are 61 state, county and national lawsuits regarding the presidential election that Donald J. Trump lost by 8 million votes. Yet, he’s still on his soapbox red-faced and ranting. With that zany unhinging, we’ll be waiting for Sens. Ted Cruz or Josh Hawley or Gov. Rick DeSantis to take him out in the next Republican presidential election convention.

And so it goes in America today! It’s your right to be guarded, suspicious, fearful, rigid and afraid. Go for it. But, please leave the rest of us alone who believe in truth and integrity, and don’t try to shove down our throats every cockamamie conspiracy that ever came down the pike.

Sincerely,

Alan K. Simpson

Precinct Committeeman, District 25-1