Mike Lindell Expresses Frustration Over Republican Officials Impeding His Initiatives

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is lashing out at Arkansas Republicans for blocking his efforts to eliminate voting machines in future elections.

Lindell, a proponent of false conspiracy theories claiming that machines helped Democrats “steal” the 2020 presidential election from former President Donald Trump, nominated Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston for a dishonorable “Raffe Award” during a Lindell Report stream earlier this week over his conclusion that the state’s voting machines are accurate and secure.

The name of the “award” refers to Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a frequent target of Lindell and other election conspiracy theorists due to his certification of President Joe Biden‘s victory over Trump. Lindell has also nominated Wisconsin Secretary of State Robin Vos, another Republican who certified Biden’s 2020 win, for the dishonor.

Lindell claimed that Arkansas was set to “go machine-free” until Thurston blocked the efforts of Conrad Reynolds, a Republican who sued the state and has campaigned for “election integrity” after losing a bid for Congress last year in the GOP primary by 17 points. Most counties in Arkansas use touch-screen voting machines in elections, with only one county opting to move to paper ballots this year.

A group headed by Reynolds proposed an amendment to the state’s constitution earlier this month that would require all elections in the state to use paper ballots, prompting the office of Thurston to issue a statement saying that he “believes that the modern, state-of-the-art voting machines and tabulators we use in Arkansas are accurate and secure.”

“Colonel Conrad Reynolds went down there—the news even covered it—saying, ‘You know what? Arkansas is going to go machine-free,” Lindell said. “But then what happens? Their Secretary of State John Thurston sticks his big nose in where it doesn’t belong and says, ‘Nothing to see here in Arkansas! We don’t need paper ballots, we’ve got the best machines. We’ve got trusted election[s].”

Lindell went on to point out that Thurston’s account on X, formerly Twitter, was followed by Democratic Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who he claimed was “in charge of all the Democrat secretaries of state.”

“But there’s more, everybody!” he continued. “Pull up his Twitter [currently X], I think he’s got a little friend on there. Let’s see who he hangs out with … Jena Griswold!”

Lindell also argued that Republican Arkansas State Senator Kim Hammer could be another “award” recipient, blasting the senator for sponsoring successful legislation earlier this year that requires counties choosing to switch to paper ballots to fund their own elections, while also requiring any paper ballots to be compatible with tabulation machines selected by the secretary of state.

One Arkansas count that announced it was switching to paper ballots earlier this year, Cleburne County, changed course after Hammer’s bill passed. Searcy County approved a switch to paper ballots in August despite the new law, agreeing to pay for future elections with county funds.