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Resident urges O'Fallon council to pass election-integrity resolution calling for hand counts
Summary
Doug Gaines used public comment time to ask the council to pass a resolution urging the county to abandon electronic voting machines and return to hand-counted paper ballots, citing ongoing litigation and an alleged whistleblower affidavit claiming machine software vulnerabilities.
During the public-comment period, Doug Gaines identified himself as a private citizen and urged the City of O'Fallon to pass an election-integrity resolution urging St. Clair County to stop using electronic voting machines and return to hand counts.
Gaines summarized two lawsuits he said are pending or recently argued in federal and state courts. He alleged the machines use proprietary software that prevents public verification, described a whistleblower affidavit alleging the software was designed to "steal our voice," and said steps such as discovery into machine code would be necessary to substantiate those claims. Gaines urged the council to "choose transparency over convenience" and to pass the resolution he had previously presented.
Council did not take immediate action on the resolution during this meeting. The mayor thanked Gaines for his remarks; no staff or council member committed to drafting or placing such a resolution on a future agenda during the meeting.
Because the statement was delivered during public comment, it is a citizen request rather than a formal council directive. Any formal consideration would require placement on a future agenda in accordance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act.
