Eddy County Auditor resigns

Eddy County's auditor will vacate her position at year's end.

Patty Williams, the county's auditor since 2015, has officially resigned amid recent controversy about voting machines used by Eddy County and other precincts across the country in the past two elections.

Williams' resignation was approved during a special meeting of the county commissioners on Monday, Dec. 11.

Later that day, Williams told the Transcript that her sudden departure was triggered when an attempt was made by the District 14 Republican Party to get on the Eddy County Commission's December agenda.

According to Larry Danduran, an Eddy County resident and District 14 Republican Party committee member, their purpose for doing so was to discuss vulnerability concerns with the voting machines used in Eddy County's last elections.

As the county's auditor, Williams is directly responsible for organizing and carrying out elections within the county.

The voting machine topic didn't appear on the commission's agenda for their regular meeting on December 5, but later last week the Transcript received a special meeting notice for Monday, Dec. 11, with just one agenda item:

"District 14 (Republican Party): Chairman, Bill Kuntz and Committeemen Larry Danduran and Jason Steidl."

The meeting notice was emailed to the newspaper by Eddy County Tax Equalization Director Kristy O'Connor, who had taken minutes at the Dec. 5 meeting. Just one day later, however, the Transcript received a second special meeting notice via email from Eddy County State's Attorney Ashley Lies for the same date and time, along with a message stating the previous notice did not comply with state law.

"It is my understanding that you may have been previously provided with a Notice of Special Meeting for this same date and time," states Lies. "That Notice does not comply with state law and is therefore invalid; please disregard any prior notice."

Noticeably absent from the new agenda was any mention of the District 14 Republican Party.

Instead, the agenda included a briefing from the State's Attorney regarding open meetings law and parliamentary procedures, as well as the resignation of the county auditor.

Wells County State's Attorney Kathleen Murray provided counsel for Monday's meeting, in the absence of Lies due to a family emergency.

Murray outlined with commissioners some key facets of open meeting laws, including the fact that meetings are to be called only by the commission chairman and/or auditor. Since the special meeting for Monday was initially called by neither, the notice was invalid, Murray said.

Also, Murray noted that although it is a citizen's right to appear at a public meeting, it is at the commission's discretion to decide whether or not the citizen will be allowed to speak. Due to the nature of the topic to be discussed by the District 14 representatives, namely election concerns, Murray said that both she and Lies advised that it wasn't a topic befitting of a public meeting.

Rather, she recommended that the matter be referred to the N.D. Secretary of State's office, or if there is concern of fraud, to the county sheriff or the N.D. Bureau of Criminal Investigation. She added that if there is an investigation to be done, that it should be conducted prior to release in a public meeting.

Danduran told the Transcript that he disagrees with the commission's decision to deny him the right to present his concerns.

"I believe as a constituent of Eddy County and a former election judge in this county's precinct, that [the county commission] is the place to start," he said.

Danduran maintains that he has never questioned the integrity of Eddy County's election, and that his concerns were not directed at Williams or anyone who oversees elections in Eddy County or elsewhere.

Rather, his only intention was to highlight potential vulnerabilities in the machines themselves, which he said he believes are used in multiple states. With election integrity concerns coming to the forefront after the 2020 general election, Danduran said he simply wanted to present his findings to his locally-elected officials.

Williams was notably absent from both the commission's regular December meeting and the Dec. 11 special meeting, at which O'Connor recorded meeting minutes.

Williams told the Transcript she already wasn't planning to run for reelection once her current term expires, but that this recent controversy over voting machines prompted her decision to resign early.

She was most recently reelected to the auditor position – a 4-year term – in 2022.

Williams' letter of resignation states that her last day will be Friday, Dec. 29.

"This was not an easy decision to make, but I have come to realize that I am not up for running another election or fully committed to the challenges it includes," states Williams in her resignation letter. "I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given to serve the citizens of Eddy County and for your support while doing so."

Williams also said she's willing to help train whoever the commission finds as her replacement.

With finding a new auditor now at the top of their list of priorities, the county commission has scheduled a special meeting for 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 15 to discuss exactly that.

The meeting will take place in the basement of the Eddy County Courthouse.