Letters to send to your state senator and to AG Peterson

 In this video, I share with you the specific actions that we can (and MUST) take to claim our rightful role in government. And it only takes a few minutes of your time to do it. :)

Here is the letter that I have written to AG Peterson. Please feel free to copy and send it as is, or use it in part or in whole in any way that helps you send the message that it is from "we the people" that our government derives its authority and that they work for us. The letter below may be sent to AG Peterson at ago.info.help@nebraska.gov. The other important letter that I reference in this video, which you may copy and paste to your senator, can be found here:

https://www.voicesofnebraska.com/silent-no-more/tired-of-the-tyranny-this-is-how-we-end-it

Please take a few minutes to send these letters. Do not underestimate the power that we hold when we speak up together. 

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Dear Attorney General Peterson,

I am writing to you in an attempt to get the answers and accountability that the people of Nebraska deserve to have when it comes to being able to have confidence that our elections are being conducted in a manner which is constitutional. Many Nebraskans believe that the contract between the State of Nebraska and Election Systems and Software (ES&S) denies voters their constitutionally protected right to an election that is free and without impediment or hindrance. I have raised this concern with each of our state senators and the few replies which I have received have not been satisfactory.

I propose that the contract was immediately void, for the terms within it deny voters the transparency and access to our voting system which would provide us with the assurances that our votes are counted as they are cast. The contract results in our elections being conducted in a way that reduces our selection of candidates at the ballot box to little more than an act of political theater. The people have been cut out of the process, and the proper focus on the purpose of our elections has strayed from what is written in our U.S. Constitution and Nebraska State Constitution.

The services provided by ES&S distance the voters from the election process. That is not to say that this is done by any intent on the part of ES&S, but it is a fact that the terms of the contract indicate that it is the desire of ES&S to prevent the State of Nebraska from revealing to the public the results of any security testing. In addition to this, ES&S has a very long history of instances of vulnerabilities in the services they provide, as well as a history of attempts to block information about the security of their services from being released to the public. The lack of transparency and the unwillingness of ES&S to be forthcoming when questions are raised about the security of the services they provide threatens Nebraskans' right to an election that is free and without impediment.

As referenced above, the replies I have received to my concerns have not been satisfactory. Senator Hilgers has responded to me that he has contacted your office on this matter and was informed that the office of the Attorney General "typically" only responds to requests which relate to a specific piece of legislation. As someone who is running for the office of Attorney General, Senator Hilgers should know that while it may "typically" be the case that opinions from the AG's office are tied to specific legislation, there are many instances of opinions rendered by the AG which fall outside of the scope of that and are handled at the discretion of the AG. A quick perusal of the opinions rendered by your office bears this out.

In addition to there being a pressing need for your office to address the apparent violation of Article 1-22 of the Nebraska State Constitution which would suggest that the contract is void, there are additional concerns which your office should immediately address regarding the overreach of the federal government into our state elections as well. The State of Nebraska should not be permitting the federal government to exercise the control over our elections which they currently hold. In designating elections to be critical infrastructure, those in the Department of Homeland Security have granted to themselves an authority which runs counter to our constitutional right to an election that is free and without impediment or hindrance.

Legislation that has been proposed during the current session of the Nebraska Legislature points directly to the potential for undue influence to occur in our elections when those from the private sector infuse money into the elections in certain areas of our state. Secretary of State Bob Evnen has on several occasions pointed out the impropriety of allowing such a practice to occur. What I would ask you, AG Peterson, is to examine whether or not a similarly improper relationship with the potential for undue influence does not also exist as a result of the many partnerships between the departments and agencies of the federal government, members of the private sector, and state election officials--all of whom work in unison with one another, and apart from "we the people." The people are the ones who should be closest to our elections, and yet we are removed from the process almost entirely by the collaboration between the state and federal government and those in the private sector (whose influence, according to proposed Legislative Bill 858, would be deemed improper if it occurred in isolation and not alongside the government). A number of bills are currently being considered in the Unicameral which specifically address vulnerabilities in our elections. Given the gravity of what it would mean if our state were to proceed forward with an election which many believe to be unconstitutional, I believe this matter must be addressed immediately and deserves your prompt attention.

In an "Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity," dated May 12, 2021, former Senator Joe Biden declared that the contracts between the federal government and those in the private sector lacked the proper level of transparency, and so he ordered the "contractual barriers" with those in the private sector to be changed to accommodate a greater level of information-sharing with those in the Executive Branch. This Executive Order only increases the already heavy hand of the federal government in our state elections. It allows for those in the federal government and the private sector to tighten their grip on the election process and voting system in our state.

ES&S is one of those who partners with the federal government to provide cybersecurity for our elections. I believe that Nebraskans deserve an explanation as to how it is not an impediment and hindrance to our exercise of the elective franchise when those in the Executive Branch of government are permitted a greater level of access to our elections than the voters themselves. The process of voting does not end when a ballot is marked, but continues through to the point at which the vote is counted, and there must be guarantees to the people that this process is conducted fairly and securely at every step along the way. The involvement of ES&S in our elections denies us those guarantees. Are our elections not our own? They should be, and yet the voters in Nebraska have had our role in choosing who will represent us in government effectively reduced to little more than feel-good theater.

"We the people," by our authority as members of Nebraska's Second House, request that our concerns about the constitutionality of our elections be given your immediate attention, for this is a matter that must be addressed before the May primary. It is from the people of the Second House that the Office of the Attorney General is granted its authority, and with that honor and privilege comes a great responsibility. Many elected officials in our state have lost sight of the fact that this is true for the positions that they hold as well. We are at a pivotal moment in history. Do not underestimate the importance of your reply, for how you answer the concerns raised here will clearly define for the people exactly where it is that we stand in relation to our government. How you respond will inform how we proceed forward as free people, for if our government ceases to recognize and defend our rights, then the responsibility of ensuring our freedom falls directly to us. We will not acknowledge the authority of, nor consent to, any government which does not recognize and defend our rights as free people.

Respectfully,

Jennifer Hicks
Peru, NE