{"id":2359554,"date":"2024-10-25T12:08:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T16:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-operative-appears-to-tamper-with-drop-box-on-video\/"},"modified":"2024-10-25T12:09:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T16:09:52","slug":"dem-operative-appears-to-tamper-with-drop-box-on-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-operative-appears-to-tamper-with-drop-box-on-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Dem Operative Appears To Tamper With Drop Box On Video"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdem-operative-appears-to-tamper-with-drop-box-on-video%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2359554&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Surveillance footage obtained by\u2064 Fox News showed Laszlo Gendler, a man with ties to the Democratic Party, \u2063appearing \u200bto tamper with a ballot drop box in Glacier County, Montana. Crystal R. Cole, the election administrator for the county, reported the incident to the Montana Secretary of State\u2019s Office, expressing her \u200bconcern after viewing the footage. Gendler claimed that he was sent to check the \u200cbox&#8217;s security, but the Democratic Party did not \u2064inform election officials of this plan. The Secretary of State\u2019s office confirmed\u200c Gendler&#8217;s identity and his actions were deemed suspicious, leading to law enforcement being notified.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which employed Gendler, \u200cstated that his actions\u2064 were not aligned with proper procedures for checking ballot boxes, and\u200d he would no longer be performing such \u2063duties. While Montana is not a major battleground state \u200dfor the presidential \u2062race, significant funds have been directed to the Senate race involving incumbent Democrat \u2064Senator Jon Tester.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cbs-moderators-slammed-for-going-against-vp-debate-rules-fact-checking-vance-and-muting-mics-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"CBS moderators slammed for going against VP debate rules, fact-checking Vance and muting mics - Washington Examiner\">incident raised broader \u200bconcerns<\/a> about election security, particularly\u2063 regarding drop boxes, amid recent allegations of\u2063 ballot box stuffing and other irregularities. \u2063Such issues have sparked legal actions, like a lawsuit\u2064 from the Republican \u2063National Committee against Detroit \u200bfor allegedly deleting surveillance footage of their drop boxes. With election \u2063security in the spotlight, this incident adds to the worries surrounding the integrity of the electoral process.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Surveillance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6363606392112\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">footage<\/a> obtained by Fox News appears to show a man, later identified by the Montana Secretary of State&rsquo;s Office as Laszlo Gendler, pulling on a drop box located in Glacier County, Montana, on Sunday. Gendler has known ties to the Democrat Party.<\/p>\n<p>The election administrator for Glacier County, Crystal R. Cole, sent an email to the secretary&rsquo;s office saying that Gendler looked &ldquo;like he was tampering with the box,&rdquo; according to a copy of the email obtained by The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Yesterday, on October 20th, at 10:25:05, Las[z]lo with the MT Dem Party was on camera tampering with the Box,&rdquo; Cole&rsquo;s email stated. &ldquo;I did call him to ask him what his reasoning was, he stated &lsquo;they&rsquo; sent him to the location to see how secure the box was. The MT Dem Party did not notify the Elections office in any way to state they would be sending someone to the Ballot Box to check how secure it was, so on camera it looks like he was tam[p]ering with the box.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Richie Melby, communications director for the secretary&rsquo;s office, told The Federalist that Cole alerted them to the issue and the state managed to confirm Gendler&rsquo;s identity.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our Elections Director was pleased that the individual was not able to remove the ballot box from the wall, although the activity was obviously highly suspicious and concerning,&rdquo; Melby said in a statement to The Federalist, adding that Gendler&rsquo;s &ldquo;name and details were turned over to Glacier County law enforcement.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spokesman David Bergstein told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/video-dem-aligned-individual-montana-ballot-box-sparks-tampering-concern-from-election-administrator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fox News<\/a> that Gendler &ldquo;was attempting to ensure a new ballot box was secured to the wall&rdquo; but that his &ldquo;actions were not in accordance with our procedures and out of an abundance of caution [Gendler] will no longer be doing this work moving forward.&rdquo; Gendler was hired by the DSCC, according to records from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/political-parties\/dscc\/2024\/expenditures-details?name=democratic-senatorial-campaign-cmte&amp;recip=Gendler%2C+Laszlo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OpenSecrets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While Montana may not be a battleground for the presidential race, Democrats have poured <a href=\"https:\/\/montanafreepress.org\/2024\/10\/16\/pac-spending-on-montanas-u-s-senate-race-approaches-140-million\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">millions<\/a> into the Senate race to help incumbent Democrat Sen. Jon Tester, who faces a challenge from Republican Tim Sheehy, a veteran. A New York Times\/Siena College <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/10\/us\/politics\/senate-polls-montana-florida-texas.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poll<\/a> shows Sheehy leading the race 52 to 44, with The Times saying Republicans &ldquo;appear poised to take control of Senate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The apparent tampering incident in Glacier County isn&rsquo;t the first time drop boxes have been the focus of election security concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Just this month the Republican National Committee <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/17\/detroit-accused-of-deleting-ballot-drop-box-surveillance-footage-after-republicans-asked-to-see-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sued<\/a> the City of Detroit after it allegedly deleted drop box surveillance footage, according to the lawsuit. The suit is asking for an injunction that would force the city to keep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/detroit-accused-of-deleting-ballot-drop-box-surveillance-footage\/\" title=\"Detroit Accused Of Deleting Ballot Drop Box Surveillance Footage\">election drop box surveillance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But security issues going beyond ballot drop boxes being tampered with &mdash; there are also allegations that they&rsquo;ve been stuffed.<\/p>\n<p>A judge overturned the results of a 2023 Bridgeport, Connecticut, mayoral primary race after evidence <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/11\/02\/judge-overturns-bridgeport-mayoral-election-due-to-evidence-of-mail-ballot-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appeared to show<\/a> affiliates of Democrat incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim &ldquo;stuffing ballot boxes.&rdquo; A new race was held in which Ganim was also declared the winner. The Connecticut secretary of state <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/26\/connecticut-elections-chief-reports-suspicious-activity-in-do-over-race-after-judge-overturned-primary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asked<\/a> the State Elections Enforcement Commission in March, however, to look into &ldquo;suspicious activity&rdquo; and other &ldquo;potential violations&rdquo; in the do-over race. One &ldquo;potential violation&rdquo; included an unidentified man &ldquo;wearing a hoodie to conceal his identity&rdquo; seen on camera &ldquo;dropping multiple ballots into drop boxes at two different locations,&rdquo; according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courant.com\/2024\/03\/15\/ct-secretary-of-the-state-files-bridgeport-election-complaint-with-seec\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hartford Courant<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Such incidents give cause for concern this election cycle, where key swing states like Wisconsin will once again use the insecure practice to retrieve ballots.<\/p>\n<p>As my colleague Matt Kittle <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/leftists-get-what-they-paid-for-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-flip-flop-allowing-ballot-drop-boxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, drop box use &ldquo;exploded in 2020&rdquo; and was funded in large part by election administration grants that flooded local clerk offices. The money, which totaled more than <a href=\"https:\/\/thefga.org\/research\/the-wisconsin-zuckerbucks-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$10 million<\/a>, was part of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg&rsquo;s &ldquo;Zuckbucks&rdquo; initiative that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">fundamentally altered local election administration nationwide<\/a>. As Kittle <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/leftists-get-what-they-paid-for-in-wisconsin-supreme-court-flip-flop-allowing-ballot-drop-boxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, &ldquo;The brunt of the money went to swing states like Wisconsin and to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/05\/in-opposite-day-logic-usa-today-breathlessly-defends-zuckerbucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democrat strongholds<\/a> such as Milwaukee, Madison, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/05\/27\/wisconsin-voters-sue-democrat-cities-over-illegal-drop-boxes-in-2020-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Green Bay<\/a>, Kenosha, and Racine.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the use of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wisconsin-supreme-court-bans-uses-of-drop-boxes-in-elections\/\" title=\"Wisconsin Supreme Court Bans Uses Of Drop Boxes In Elections\">unmanned ballot drop boxes<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-groups-intervene-to-stop-democrats-lawfare-against-wisconsin-elections\/\" title=\"GOP Groups Step In to Halt Dems&#039; Legal Attacks on Wisconsin Elections\">2020 election violated state law<\/a>, but the court reversed the decision this past July after the court&rsquo;s majority shifted left.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Surveillance footage shows Laszlo Gendler tampering with a drop box in Glacier County, Montana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2359555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-24-at-2.44.16-PM-e1729795595144.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[43721,34192,16858],"class_list":["post-2359554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dem-operative","tag-drop-box","tag-tampering"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-24-at-2.44.16-PM-e1729795595144.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2359554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2359555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2359554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2359554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2359554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}