Residents urge Lincoln County to cut ties with ES&S, allege uncertified equipment and 'dropped votes'

Multiple Lincoln County residents used the Aug. 12 public‑comment period to call on county officials to reconsider the county’s relationship with election vendor ES&S and to request greater transparency about election technology.

Scott Montgomery, a Fairview resident, said he and a research group found equipment and procedure issues they believe warrant severing ties with ES&S. "We feel like we don't have a certified laptop for the election management software in this county," Montgomery said, arguing the vendor sold the county a Dell Latitude 5501 that he said is not listed on the federal EAC reporting standard. He asked the commission to "cut ties with ES and S."

Other commenters echoed the concern. Nick Marius told the commission he had identified instances where reported vote totals later dropped in publicly posted spreadsheets during election night in 2022 and said the pattern "requires further explanation." Linda Montgomery, who said she has raised concerns for years, described the vendor and equipment as "fraudulent" and asked the commission to act in defense of free and fair elections.

Commissioners did not debate or act on the requests during the meeting. The chair reminded speakers the public‑comment period is limited to statements and not a Q&A; one commissioner suggested speakers could speak with staff after the meeting to share documents that underlie their claims.

Ending: Commissioners did not announce an investigation or immediate policy change. Public commenters asked the county to review vendor certification, procurement practices and whether local procedures should change; staff did not present a vendor response during the meeting.