Ranked Choice Voting and Election Integrity Under Fire

On August 24, 2022, Kim Monson explores election manipulation on two fronts: ranked choice voting schemes spreading across America and the ongoing battle for election integrity in Colorado. Policy expert Charles Heatherly and entrepreneur Susan Kochevar provide analysis and firsthand accounts of the challenges facing voters.

The Ranked Choice Voting Scheme

Start listening at 30:31 – Hour 1

Charles Heatherly, a veteran of the Reagan administration and former Heritage Foundation vice president, sounds the alarm on ranked choice voting. Drawing on decades of election experience across Arizona, California, Virginia, and Colorado, Heatherly argues the system fundamentally undermines majority rule. Fort Collins has ranked choice voting on the ballot, and Alaska already uses the system. Heatherly traces congressional support for the scheme to Senate Bill 2939, sponsored by Colorado Senator Michael Bennet.

The policy expert notes that cities implementing ranked choice voting tend to be liberal political communities, and incumbent senators in Alaska and Maine use it for protection from their own parties. The system forces voters to rank candidates they may oppose, and in some versions, ballots are discarded if voters refuse to rank all candidates. Heatherly explains this creates enormous complexity for recounts and opens doors for manipulation by election workers.

“In the end, it’s really a plan to make political parties obsolete. And some people would say that’s a good idea.”

Charles Heatherly, Reagan Administration Official

Election Integrity and the Uniparty

Start listening at 62:00 – Hour 2

Susan Kochevar, owner of 88 Drive-In Theater and grassroots activist, brings firsthand observations from Mike Lindell’s Moment of Truth Summit. Kochevar reports representatives from every state presented evidence of election system vulnerabilities, with cast vote records set to be destroyed on September 13th. The entrepreneur urges citizens to request these public records from their counties before the deadline.

The discussion turns to Colorado’s election system, which Kim calls the “pyrite standard” rather than the gold standard. A bipartisan ad featuring Secretary of State Jenna Griswold and her Republican predecessor Wayne Williams cost taxpayers one million dollars, yet both parties block hand recounts that would verify machine tabulation accuracy. Kochevar emphasizes that paper ballots and in-person Election Day voting remain the most secure methods to thwart manipulation.

“There are more of us than there are of them, which is why they’re doing this in all of these different states. They have to take over the elections because if we have open and free elections, they will be voted down totally.”

Susan Kochevar, 88 Drive-In Theater Owner