tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96691412024-03-14T03:01:30.912-05:00The Grim Future (?)Uncovering the grim underbelly of e-voting and corruption related to the 2004 ElectionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1107127337756807492005-01-30T17:20:00.000-06:002005-12-17T00:54:20.106-06:00Ohio recount volunteers allege tampering and more<p><span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" ><b>‘Why were there stickers on ballots in Clermont County, Ohio?’</b></span></p> <span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" > </span> <p><span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >By Larisa Alexandrovna | <a href="http://rawstory.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">RAW STORY</span></a> Staff</span></p> <span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" > </span> <p><span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >Serious new election tampering allegations have emerged from an Ohio county, where witnesses allege that stickers were placed on presidential election ballots, <a href="http://rawstory.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">RAW STORY</span></a> has learned.</span></p> <span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" > </span> <p><span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >Several volunteer workers in the Ohio recount in Clermont County, Ohio have prepared affidavits alleging serious tampering, violations of state and federal law and possible fraud. They name the Republican chief of Clermont’s Board of Elections Daniel Bare and the head of the Clermont Democratic Party Priscilla O’Donnell as complicit in these acts.</span></p> <span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" > </span> <p><span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >These volunteers, observing the recount on behalf of the Greens, Libertarians and Democrats, assert that during the Dec. 14, 2004 hand recount they noticed stickers covering the Kerry/Edwards oval, whereas the Bush/Cheney oval seemed to be “colored in.”</span></p> <span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" > </span> <p><span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >Some witnesses state that beneath the stickers, the Kerry/Edwards oval was selected. The opti-scan ballots were then fed into the machines after the hand recount.</span></p> <span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" > </span> <p><span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >Allegations of ballot tampering in Ohio – which decided the outcome of the presidential election by some 100,000 votes – find particular resonance in Clermont, one of three Ohio counties which saw the biggest increases in votes for Bush from 2000 to 2004. The other counties were Butler and Warren; Warren County had a lockdown after an alleged terror threat that the FBI later denied. </span></p> <span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" > </span> <p><span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >These counties “increased their support of Bush by only a few percentage points each,” the Cincinnati Enquirer <a href="http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050124/COL06/501240337/1080/NEWS01"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">reported</span></a> Monday. “But in the raw numbers of votes, they made the difference.”</span></p> <span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" > </span> <p><span style=";font-family:verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >In a <a href="http://rawstory.rawprint.com/105/ohio_election_0126_s01.php"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">sworn affidavit</span></a>, Clinton County Democrat Stephen Spraley, a retired plumber from Springboro, Ohio, saw the stickers on at least ten opti-scan ballots. Spraley brought this issue to the attention of Deputy Director for the Clermont Board of Elections, Kathy Jones, who is a Democrat. He says he was rebuffed by the Republican Director of the Board of Elections Daniel Bare.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1106202638901219152005-01-20T01:27:00.000-06:002005-01-20T00:30:38.900-06:00House Judiciary Democrats Request Hearings on Election Irregularities<blockquote>
<br />
<br />January 19, 2004
<br />
<br />The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner
<br />Chairman
<br />Committee on the Judiciary
<br />2138 Rayburn House Office Building
<br />Washington, DC 20515
<br />
<br />Dear Mr. Chairman:
<br />
<br />We write to you at the very outset of the 109th Congress, to request that our committee hold hearings and investigate the vital issue of protecting our citizens right to vote. The right to vote is the very foundation of our Democracy and is at the core of our Committee’s jurisdiction, and we can think of no more important or urgent issue before us than protecting our democratic rights. While the election is settled, however, our job as legislators on the Judiciary Committee to make sure that the constitutional right to vote is protected is just beginning.
<br />
<br />In congressional forums many of us participated in Washington D.C. and Columbus, Ohio, we learned of significant voter irregularities in Ohio. These irregularities are included in a 100 page report Mr. Conyers issued, and include the following:
<br />
<br /> <div style="margin-left: 8%; margin-right: 7%;">• The misallocation of voting machines led to lines of ten hours or more that disenfranchised scores if not hundreds of thousands of predominantly minority and Democratic voters. In Franklin County, 27 of the 30 wards with the most machines per registered voter showed majorities for Bush, while six of the seven wards with the fewest machines delivered large margins for Kerry.
<br />
<br />• The Ohio Republican Party’s decision to engage in preelection “caging” tactics, selectively targeting 35,000 predominantly minority voters for intimidation had a negative impact on voter turnout. The Third Circuit found these activities to be illegal and in direct violation of consent decrees barring the targeting minority voters for poll challenges.
<br />
<br />• The Ohio Republican Party’s decision to utilize thousands of partisan challengers concentrated in minority and Democratic areas disenfranchised numerous legal voters, who were not only intimidated, but became discouraged by the long lines in the adverse weather. Shockingly, these disruptions were publicly predicted by Republican officials: Mark Weaver, a lawyer for the Ohio Republican Party, admitted the challenges “can’t help but create chaos, longer lines and frustration.”
<br />
<br />• Numerous instances of intimidation and misinformation occurred across the state of Ohio that would appear to violate the Voting Rights Act. For example, the NAACP stated that it received over 200 calls regarding incidents of suspected voter intimidation or unusual election related activities, particularly actions taken by challengers who intimidated poll workers and voters. Other specific incidents involved a caller who reported that someone was going door-to-door telling people they were not registered to vote. A voter in Franklin County received information in the mail identified as being from the state that said he would have to vote by provisional ballot because he had moved; in fact, the voter had not moved and had lived at the address for 10-15 years. One polling place worker was reportedly only asking African American voters for their address.
<br />
<br />• In Franklin County, a worker at the Holiday Inn observed a team of 25 people who called themselves the “Texas Strike Force” using payphones to make intimidating calls to likely voters, targeting people recently in the prison system. The “Texas Strike Force” members hotel accommodations were apparently paid for by the Ohio Republican Party, whose headquarters is across the street. The hotel worker heard one caller threaten a likely voter with being reported to the FBI and returning to jail if he voted. Another hotel worker called the police, who came but did nothing. There were also reports of phone calls incorrectly informing voters that their polling place had changed.
<br />
<br />• The <i>Cleveland Plain Dealer</i> found that several Lake County residents received an official-looking letter on Board of Elections letterhead informing them that their polling place had changed or that they were not properly registered to vote. A fake voter bulletin from Franklin County Board of Elections was posted at polling locations, and fliers were distributed in the inner city, telling Republicans to vote on Tuesday and Democrats to vote on Wednesday due to unexpected heavy voter registration.
<br />
<br />• In Cleveland, the <i>Washington Post</i> reported that unknown volunteers began showing up at voters’ doors illegally offering to collect and deliver complete absentee ballots to the election office. The Election Protection Coalition testified that in Franklin County, voters received fliers informing them that they could cast a ballot on November 3. Also, in Franklin County there were reports that about a dozen voters were contacted by someone claiming to be from the county board of elections, telling them their voting location was changed, and “door-hangers” telling African-American voters to go to the wrong precinct were distributed.</div>
<br />
<br />In our view, this course of events is not consistent with the right to vote as we understand it. The fact that many of these instances appear to be focused particularly on minority voters is all the more disheartening, and triggers even more clearly our jurisdiction involving civil rights.
<br />
<br />We look forward to full and open hearings concerning these instances of disenfranchisement in Ohio and around the Nation. We very much would like to work with you and your staff to insure that allegations of improprieties by both Democrats and Republicans are looked into and considered.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1106166076255457182005-01-19T14:12:00.000-06:002005-01-19T14:21:16.256-06:00Report suggests changes in exit poll methodology<p><b style="font-size: 14px;"></b></p> <blockquote> <p><b style="font-size: 14px;">WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Exit polls overstated John Kerry's share of the vote on November 2, both nationally and in many states, because more Kerry supporters participated in the survey than Bush voters, according to an internal review of the exit-polling process released Wednesday.</b></p> <p>The report said it is difficult to pinpoint precisely why, in general, Kerry voters were more likely to participate in the exit poll than were Bush voters. "There were certainly motivational factors that are impossible to quantify," the report said.</p> <p>Problems with the numbers first surfaced on Election Day, when exit polls showed Kerry with a 3-point lead nationally and an edge in some key battleground states. Those exit poll results were leaked and became widely known through the Internet.</p> <p>CNN did not air those inaccurate results or post them on its Web site, and CNN's projections of winners on election night were accurate.</p> <p>Nationwide, Bush got about 3.5 million more votes than Kerry.</p> <p>The discrepancies stemmed from problems in interviewing voters at the 1,480 randomly chosen precincts where exit pollsters were stationed, not from how those precincts were selected or the way the data were processed, according to the 75-page report.</p> <p>The report recommends a number of steps to deal with the problem, including better training for interviewers, as well as continued research aimed at boosting participation in the polls.</p> <p>The report was issued by Mitofsky International and Edison Media Research, the polling firms that conducted the polls on behalf of the so-called National Election Pool, a consortium of six national media organizations (AP, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC).</p> <p>To prevent leaks in future elections, the news organizations have agreed not to access the data until 6 p.m. ET.</p> <p>The report found that the exit polls offered no evidence of widespread fraud.</p> <p>"Exit polls do not support the allegations of fraud due to rigging of voting equipment. Our analysis of the difference between the vote count and the exit poll at each polling location in our sample has found no systematic differences for precincts using touch screen and optical scan voting equipment," the report found.</p> <p>The new report shows that exit polls overstated Kerry's support in 26 states, while estimates overstated Bush's support in four states. The problem is not new -- in every presidential election since 1988, exit polls have overstated support for Democrats nationally -- but the discrepancy in 2004 was more pronounced than in previous years.</p> <p>The report identified several factors that may have contributed to the discrepancy, including:</p> <ul _implied="true"> <li>Distance restrictions from polling places imposed upon the interviewers by election officials at the state and local level.</li><li>Weather conditions, which lowered completion rates at certain polling locations.</li><li>Multiple precincts voting at the same location as the precinct in the exit poll sample.</li><li>Interviewer characteristics, such as age, which were more often related to the errors last year than in past elections.</li><p>The pollsters said they plan to further investigate the recruiting and training procedures, the interviewing rate calculations, the length and design of the questionnaire, as well as characteristics of both the interviewers and the precincts chosen to be surveyed.</p><p>"Even with these improvements, differences in response rates between Democratic and Republican voters may still occur in future elections," the report reads. "However, we believe that these steps will help to minimize the discrepancies."</p><p>In addition to the information included in this report, exit poll data from this election are being archived at the Roper Center at the University of Connecticut and at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and will be available there for review and further analysis. A description of the methodology of the exit polls is posted at www.exit-poll.net.</p><p>From 1990 to 2002, exit polls were conducted by Voter News Service (VNS), whose exit polls in 2000 led to the networks' decisions to declare Al Gore the winner in Florida. In 2002, VNS was unable to deliver any exit poll data to the networks, resulting in the decision to disband it.</p> </ul> </blockquote> <ul _implied="true"> <p></p> </ul> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1106163694049717842005-01-19T13:38:00.000-06:002005-01-19T14:05:05.426-06:00Ohio AG Seeks To Sanction Attorneys Over Vote Challenge<span class="Dateline"><blockquote>COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to sanction four lawyers who handled a legal challenge, later withdrawn, to last year's presidential election in Ohio.
<br />
<br />The motion targeting Clifford Arnebeck, Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt and Peter Peckarsky was filed Tuesday on behalf of Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's top elections official, said Kim Norris, spokeswoman for Petro.
<br />
<br />The motion said the 37 protesters filed a "meritless claim" for "partisan political purposes" and said "a contest proceeding is not a toy for idle hands."
<br />
<br />"Instead of evidence, (the lawyers) offered only theory, conjecture, hypothesis, and invective," Petro's office wrote. It said the challenge was filed "only for partisan political purposes."
<br />
<br />Arnebeck called the motion frivolous. He said his clients "put in a great deal of evidence in the form of affidavits and sworn testimony."
<br />
<br />He accused Blackwell of "stonewalling" and refusing to answer questions as requested in his December court filings.
<br />
<br />The challenge was withdrawn last week, with those contesting the election saying it was clear they would be dismissed as moot with Bush set to be inaugurated Thursday.
<br />
<br />Ohio's 20 electoral votes went to Bush, who won the state by 118,000 votes over Democratic Sen. John Kerry.</blockquote></span><b class="Dateline">
<br /></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1105051081626328302005-01-06T16:37:00.000-06:002005-01-07T01:34:30.906-06:00And With That. . .<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">. . .The Future is Indeed GRIM!
<br />
<br /></span></span> <div style="text-align: left;">Thanks to Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones for at least trying to shed some light on the numerous issues with the election of 2004! It shows there is *some* hope of things getting better. Also thanks to the other represenatives who stepped up in support:
<br />
<br />Corrine Brown, FL
<br />Julia Carson, IN
<br />William Clay Jr., MO
<br />James E. Clyburn, SC
<br />John Conyers Jr., MI
<br />Danny Davis, IL
<br />Lane Evans, IL
<br />Sam Farr, CA
<br />Bob Filner, CA
<br />Raul Grijalva, AZ
<br />Doc Hastings, WA
<br />Maurice Hinchey, NY
<br />Jesse Jackson Jr, IL
<br />Sheila Jackson Lee, TX
<br />Eddie Bernice Johnson, TX
<br />Stephanie Tubbs Jones, OH
<br />Carolyn Kilpatrick, MI
<br />Dennis Kucinich, OH
<br />Barbara Lee, CA
<br />John Lewis, GA
<br />Ed Markey, MA
<br />Cynthia McKinney, GA
<br />John Olver, MA
<br />Major Owens, NY
<br />Frank Pallone JR, NJ
<br />Donald M. Payne, NJ
<br />Jan Schakowsky, IL
<br />Bennie Thompson, Miss.
<br />Maxine Waters, CA
<br />Diane Watson, CA
<br />Lynn Woolsey, CA
<br />
<br />As well as those Senators who were in support of Senator Boxer.
<br /></div> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1105050954553292342005-01-06T16:33:00.000-06:002005-01-06T16:36:30.650-06:00Congress Formally OKs Bush Election<blockquote> WASHINGTON - <span style="font-family:arial;"> Congress certified President Bush)'s re-election Thursday but only after Democrats forced a challenge to the quadrennial count of electoral votes for just the second time since 1877.
<br /> </span><span style="font-family:arial;">
<br />Bush's Election Day triumph over Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., was never in doubt. After a near four-hour delay to consider and reject the dispute over voting in Ohio, lawmakers in joint session affirmed Bush's 286-251 electoral vote victory — plus a single vote that a "faithless" Kerry elector cast for his running mate, Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. </span> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> In a drama that was historic if not suspenseful, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., formally protested that the Ohio votes "were not, under all known circumstances, regularly given." That, by law, required the House and Senate to convene separately and hold separate debates on the Ohio irregularities. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> Boxer, Tubbs Jones and several other Democrats, including many black lawmakers, hoped the showdown would underscore the missing voting machines, unusually long lines and other problems that plagued some Ohio districts, many in minority neighborhoods, on Nov. 2.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span> <!-- TextEnd -->
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1105036990623205222005-01-06T13:40:00.000-06:002005-01-06T12:43:10.623-06:00Other Senators preparing to support Sen. Boxer in electoral challenge<p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"><b>As many as eight senators ‘to support Boxer in challenge’</b></span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">Sources on Capitol Hill have told <a href="http://rawstory.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">RAW STORY</span></a> that other senators are preparing statements of support to deliver when Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) challenges Ohio’s electoral votes today.</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">Several sources indicated that additional senators are not likely to sign the challenge, possibly at the request of Sen. Boxer and Rep. Tubbs-Jones. MSNBC’s Countdown program suggested as many as half a dozen senators might join Sen. Boxer.</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">According to Jesse Jackson, who <a href="http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001105.htm"><span style="color:#ff0000;">announced</span></a> the news at a D.C. rally, among those who are expected to speak in support of Boxer are Senators Clinton, Obama, Reid, Durbin and Dodd.</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">Boxer said Thursday afternoon at a press conference that there may be as many as eight. She said she had not spoken with Sen. Kerry about the challenge.
<br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">(Continued)
<br /></span></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1105036828583038892005-01-06T13:37:00.000-06:002005-01-06T12:40:28.583-06:00Democrats to Force Debate on Ohio Results<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> A group of Democrats on Thursday planned to interrupt Congress' ceremonial counting of the electoral votes that gave President Bush his re-election victory and force the House and Senate to debate Election Day problems in Ohio.
<br />
<br /> </span> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> The challenge does not jeopardize Bush's November win over Sen. John Kerry. But it does legally compel lawmakers to interrupt their formal count of the Electoral College vote — only the second time since 1877 that the House and Senate were forced into separate meetings to consider electoral votes. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> The joint session began as required by law at 1 p.m. EST, with Vice President Dick Cheney presiding as the Senate's president and about 100 lawmakers present. One by one and in alphabetical order, each state's electoral votes were read aloud. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., signed a challenge mounted by House Democrats to Ohio's 20 electoral votes, which put Bush over the top. By law, a protest signed by members of the House and Senate requires both chambers to meet separately for up to two hours to consider it. Lawmakers are allowed to speak for no more than five minutes each. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> "I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election," Boxer wrote in a letter to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, a leader of the Democratic effort. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> The action seems certain to leave Bush's victory intact because both Republican-controlled chambers would have to uphold the objection for Ohio's votes to be invalidated. Supporters of the drive said that rather than changing the election outcome, their hope was to shine a national spotlight on the Ohio voting problems.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> </span></p> (Continued)
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1104950235119244902005-01-05T13:35:00.000-06:002005-01-05T12:37:15.120-06:00Executive Summary: House Judiciary Dems’ final report on Ohio election problems<p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"><b></b></span></p> <blockquote> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"><b>Text: Executive Summary of Conyers’ Ohio election report</b></span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">The following is the text of the Executive Summary written by the House Judiciary Democratic staff about election problems in Ohio’s November presidential election, and is the crux upon which Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) is seeking to contest Ohio electoral votes and open a discussion of the election on the Senate floor Jan. 6. The report was published Wednesday, and the text released to <a href="http://rawstory.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">RAW STORY</span></a> by the Judiciary staff.</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">The full document in PDF format can be <a href="http://rawstory.rawprint.com/105/final_conyers_ohio_report_105.php"><span style="color:#ff0000;">found here</span></a>.</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"><b>Executive Summary</b></span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">Representative John Conyers, Jr., the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked the Democratic staff to conduct an investigation into irregularities reported in the Ohio presidential election and to prepare a Status Report concerning the same prior to the Joint Meeting of Congress scheduled for January 6, 2005, to receive and consider the votes of the electoral college for president. The following Report includes a brief chronology of the events; summarizes the relevant background law; provides detailed findings (including factual findings and legal analysis); and describes various recommendations for acting on this Report going forward.</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">We have found numerous, serious election irregularities in the Ohio presidential election, which resulted in a significant disenfranchisement of voters. Cumulatively, these irregularities, which affected hundreds of thousand of votes and voters in Ohio, raise grave doubts regarding whether it can be said the Ohio electors selected on December 13, 2004, were chosen in a manner that conforms to Ohio law, let alone federal requirements and constitutional standards. </span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">This report, therefore, makes three recommendations: (1) consistent with the requirements of the United States Constitution concerning the counting of electoral votes by Congress and Federal law implementing these requirements, there are ample grounds for challenging the electors from the State of Ohio; (2) Congress should engage in further hearings into the widespread irregularities reported in Ohio; we believe the problems are serious enough to warrant the appointment of a joint select Committee of the House and Senate to investigate and report back to the Members; and (3) Congress needs to enact election reform to restore our people’s trust in our democracy. These changes should include putting in place more specific federal protections for federal elections, particularly in the areas of audit capability for electronic voting machines and casting and counting of provisional ballots, as well as other needed changes to federal and state election laws.</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">With regards to our factual finding, in brief, we find that there were massive and unprecedented voter irregularities and anomalies in Ohio. In many cases these irregularities were caused by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it involving Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">
<br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">(Continued)
<br /></span></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1104940612060095542005-01-05T09:53:00.000-06:002005-01-05T09:56:52.060-06:00House Dems to Contest Electoral Vote Count<span style="font-family:arial;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;"> A handful of House Democrats plan a long-shot effort to snarl President Bush's formal re-election by preventing Congress from counting Ohio's pivotal votes when lawmakers tally the electoral vote on Thursday. </span> <p> No one expects the action to undo Bush's victory. Instead, it seems likely to do little more than call attention to Election Day voting irregularities, a growing frustration for Democrats who blamed similar problems in Florida for Bush's 2000 defeat of Democrat Al Gore. </p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> In a measure of the dispute's political delicacy, proponents are considered unlikely to find a senator who will co-sign the objection, which is required to force Congress to act on the challenge. Most Democrats are reluctant to launch a serious effort to undo the election, in which Bush outpolled Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., by more than 3 million votes nationally. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> Even so, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., has sent letters to senators seeking their support for his plan to object to the counting of Ohio's 20 electoral votes, which gave Bush his November victory over Kerry. Some Ohio voters have complained of Election Day fraud, citing a shortage of voting machines at precincts with minority voters, unusually long lines and computer problems. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> "I am hoping that you will consider joining us in this important effort to debate and highlight the problems in Ohio which disenfranchised innumerable voters," wrote Conyers, top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> The House Democrats' chief hope of finding a supportive senator may be Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Her spokesman, David Sandretti, said Tuesday that she has been asked to sign the complaint "and she is considering it." </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> Bush won the 2004 election by 286 to 252 electoral votes, with 270 required for victory. By law, the House and Senate will meet Thursday in joint session to tally the states' electoral votes. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;"> Should a senator and House member formally challenge a state's results, the two chambers must meet separately and consider the objection. That scenario would still ensure Bush's re-election because both bodies are controlled by Republicans.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family:arial;">
<br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial;">(Continued)
<br /> </span></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1104905038194578152005-01-05T01:01:00.000-06:002005-01-05T00:03:58.193-06:00Ohio Republican Secretary of State brags about delivering Ohio for Bush in gubernatorial fundraising letter<p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"></span></p> <blockquote> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell boasted of helping “deliver” Ohio for President Bush and said he was “truly pleased” to announce Bush had won Ohio even before all of the state’s votes had been counted in his own fundraising letter, <a href="http://rawstory.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">RAW STORY</span></a> has discovered.</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">The letter, which was received by a Butler County resident Dec. 31, is a plea to support Blackwell’s campaign for governor. The resident has asked to remain anonymous. </span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">In apparent disregard for his nonpartisan role as Ohio’s chief election official, the Republican Secretary and chairman of Bush’s Ohio reelection campaign slammed Senator Kerry as a “disaster” who would have reaped “terrible” and “horrible” results on both Ohio and the United States. </span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">Further, Blackwell’s use of the word “deliver” finds striking resonance with another controversial fundraising letter sent by the CEO of voting machine manufacturer Diebold Walden O’Dell in the summer of 2003 when he said he was “committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.”</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;"> </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">Blackwell’s campaign office confirmed that they that sent the letter but offered no further comment.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">
<br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;">(Continued with scan of letter available as well. . .)
<br /></span></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1104826088610733422005-01-04T02:08:00.000-06:002005-01-04T02:08:55.726-06:00Bush Asks Judge to Toss Ohio Election Suit<blockquote>COLUMBUS, Ohio - President Bush's re-election campaign asked the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court on Monday to throw out a challenge of the election in this swing state, saying the case resembles "a poorly drafted script for a late night conspiracy-theory movie."
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<br />The court filing was made as the Rev. Jesse Jackson held a rally before hundreds of people in Columbus to support the challenge and urge the U.S. Senate to debate Ohio's results on Thursday when Congress is in joint session for the official tally of the electoral votes.
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<br />Thirty-seven Ohio voters who filed the challenge are asking Chief Justice Thomas Moyer to set aside the election results. Some of the voters are suspicious of Bush's victory over Sen. John Kerry, while others say hours-long waits in heavily black neighborhoods caused voters to leave in frustration without casting a ballot.
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<br />"In 2000, if Al Gore had just held on and fought to the bitter end, he would have been president," said Mark Lomax, a black Columbus musician challenging the vote. "I kind of have the same feeling now — whether or not you like John Kerry, that's not the issue. It's just that your vote counts."
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<br />Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell said there's no reason to prolong the election.
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<br />"Jesse Jackson can complain, grandstand, whine, stamp his feet all he wants," said Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo. "It's not going to change the results of Ohio's election or how voters cast their ballots on Nov. 2."
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<br />The Bush campaign echoed those sentiments in the filing, saying the challenge falls "far short of a legitimate election contest."
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<br />It is not known when the chief justice might rule on the challenge.
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<br />Bob Fitrakis, one of the lawyers who filed the challenge, said that if Moyer's decision comes after the tally by Congress, it likely wouldn't have any effect on the outcome of the presidential election. But any ruling favorable to the challengers — regardless of when — would bolster their efforts to improve voting law, he said.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1104705443447661112005-01-02T16:35:00.000-06:002005-01-02T16:37:23.446-06:00Some national exit poll data leaked<p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" ></span></p> <blockquote> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >Some national exit poll data from the presidential and other election races on Nov. 2 have been leaked online.</span></p> <span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" > </span> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >Others in prominent positions are in the process of vetting the data for any useful and/or relevant information, <a href="http://rawstory.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">RAW STORY</span></a> has learned. This site hopes to provide further context over the days to come, but for now the data can be viewed at <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/pdfs/Mitofsky4zonedata/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Scoop.co.nz</span></a>.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >
<br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11px; font-family: verdana,tahoma,arial;font-size:100%;" >(Continued)
<br /></span></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1104309168761248782004-12-29T02:31:00.000-06:002004-12-29T02:57:50.146-06:00US looking to 'rig' Iraqi elections???<blockquote> Iraq's election body rejected a suggestion in Washington it adjust the results of next month's vote to benefit the Sunni minority if low turnout in Sunni areas means Shi'ites win an exaggerated majority in the new assembly.
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<br />
<br /><p>Speaking of "unacceptable" interference, Electoral Commission spokesman Farid Ayar said: "Who wins, wins. That is the way it is. That is the way it will be in the election."</p> </blockquote> <p>
<br /></p> <p>(Continued)
<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1104263834854931712004-12-28T13:54:00.000-06:002004-12-28T13:57:14.853-06:00Kerry moves to preserve Ohio recount evidence<blockquote>On Monday afternoon, Kerry-Edwards' state counsel for Ohio filed a motion in to preserve evidence related to the state's presidential recount, <a href="http://rawstory.com/">RAW STORY</a> has learned. Specifically, the motion seeks to preserve all ballots and voting machines for investigation and analysis, and to make a Triad Election Systems technician available for a sworn deposition. Triad had previously been accused of tampering with voting machines in Ohio.
<br />
<br />(Continued)
<br /></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1104261534032886582004-12-28T13:16:00.000-06:002004-12-28T13:18:54.033-06:00Ohio Recount Ends, Shows Votes Closer<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> Election officials finished the presidential recount in Ohio on Tuesday, with the final tally shaving a few hundred votes off President Bush's six-figure margin of victory in the state that gave him a second term.
<br />
<br /></span> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> The recount shows Bush winning Ohio by 118,457 votes over John Kerry, according to unofficial results provided to The Associated Press by the 88 counties. Lucas County, where Toledo is located, was the last to report its results Tuesday. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> The state had earlier declared Bush the winner by 118,775 votes and planned to adjust its totals to reflect the recount later this week. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> The Kerry campaign supported the recount, but said it did not expect the tally to change the election winner. Supporters of the recount, requested by two minor party candidates, said they wanted to make sure that every valid vote was counted. </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> </span></p> <p> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:-1;"> Ohio and its 20 electoral votes tipped the race to Bush when Kerry conceded the morning after the vote.</span></p>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1104209192719016882004-12-27T22:45:00.000-06:002004-12-27T22:46:32.720-06:00Ohio Official Refuses Interview Over Vote<blockquote><span style="font-family:Geneva,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has requested a protective order to prevent him from being interviewed as part of an unusual court challenge of the presidential vote. </span> <p><span style="font-family:Geneva,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Blackwell, in a court filing, says he's not required to be interviewed by lawyers as a high-ranking public official, and accused the voters challenging the results of ``frivolous conduct'' and abusive and unnecessary requests of elections officials around the state. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Geneva,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Citing fraud, 37 people who voted for president Nov. 2 have challenged the election results with the Ohio Supreme Court. The voters refer to irregularities including long lines, a shortage of voting machines in minority precincts and problems with computer equipment. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Geneva,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:85%;">President Bush defeated John Kerry by 119,000 votes, according to the official count by Blackwell. Ohio's 20 electoral votes gave Bush the 270 he needed for victory. Kerry conceded the morning after Election Day.
<br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Geneva,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:85%;">(Continued)
<br /> </span></p> </blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1103867095841842542004-12-23T23:42:00.000-06:002004-12-23T23:44:55.843-06:00Voting Problems in Ohio Spur Call for Overhaul<nyt_byline version="1.0" type=" "> <span style="font-size:-1;"><strong></strong></span></nyt_byline><blockquote><nyt_byline version="1.0" type=" "><span style="font-size:-1;"><strong> By JAMES DAO, FORD FESSENDEN and TOM ZELLER Jr. </strong></span>
<br /> </nyt_byline> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr><td>
<br /></td></tr> </tbody> </table> <nyt_text> </nyt_text> <p>COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 22 - William Shambora, 53, is the kind of diligent voter who once assumed that his ballot always counted. He got a rude awakening this year. </p> <p>Mr. Shambora, an economics professor at Ohio University, moved during the summer but failed to notify the Athens County Board of Elections until the day before the presidential election. An official told him to use a provisional ballot.</p> <p>But under Ohio law, provisional ballots are valid only when cast from a voter's correct precinct. Mr. Shambora was given a ballot for the wrong precinct, a fact he did not learn until after the election. Two weeks later, the board discarded his vote, adding him to a list of more than 300 provisional ballots that were rejected in that heavily Democratic county.</p> <p>"It seems like such a confused system," said Mr. Shambora, a John Kerry supporter who blames himself for the mistake. "Maybe if enough people's votes had counted, the election might have turned out differently."</p> <p>From seven-hour lines that drove voters away to malfunctioning machines to poorly trained poll workers who directed people to the wrong polling places to uneven policies about the use of provisional ballots, Ohio has become this year's example for every ailment in the United States' electoral process.</p> <p>With a state recount expected to be completed next week, few experts think the problems were enough to overturn President Bush's victory here. And many of the shortcomings have plagued elections for decades.</p> <p> But with the 36-day Florida recount of 2000 proving that every vote counts and with the two major parties near parity, the electoral system is being scrutinized more closely than ever. Election lawyers and academics say Ohio is providing a roadmap to a second generation of issues about the way the nation votes. </p> <p>Congressional passage of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 - which mandated the provisional ballot as a failsafe and provided states money to update voting technology - was considered a landmark overhaul that would help prevent another Florida.</p> </blockquote> <p>
<br /></p> <p>(Continued)
<br /></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1103835461617015752004-12-23T14:55:00.000-06:002004-12-23T15:08:21.346-06:00Video Supporting Ohio Vote Fraud Claim Revealed<span style=";font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:85%;" ><blockquote>Truthout has come into possession of video from Hocking County, Ohio. The video was recorded by a documentary film crew that was reporting on the Ohio election. The crew interviewed a technician from Triad Systems.</blockquote></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1103835262456919282004-12-23T14:51:00.000-06:002004-12-23T14:54:22.456-06:00Triad Systems Had Remote Access to Voting Machines<blockquote>The ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued a followup letter to the president of Triad Election Systems Thursday, noting that he had <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">confirmed that Triad Election Systems had remote access to voting machines controlled by local Board of Elections</span>. . .</blockquote>
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<br />(Continue to see scans of letter)
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1103830090992973322004-12-23T13:26:00.000-06:002004-12-23T13:28:10.993-06:00Kerry to Enter Ohio Recount Fray<span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><strong></strong></span><blockquote><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><strong></strong>
<br /> By William Rivers Pitt
<br /> t r u t h o u t | Report</span> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> Thursday 23 December 2004</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry will file today, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, papers in support of the Green Party/Libertarian Party recount effort. Specifically, Kerry will be filing a request for expedited discovery regarding Triad Systems voting machines, as well as a motion for a preservation order to protect any and all discovery and preserve any evidence on this matter.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> Triad Systems has come under scrutiny recently after Sherole Eaton, deputy director of elections for Hocking County, swore out an affidavit in which she described her witnessing the tampering of electronic voting equipment by a Triad representative. Rep. John Conyers, the ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, has requested an investigation into this matter by the FBI and the Hocking County prosecutor.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> Truthout will have more on this specific Triad allegation later in the day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> Previously, the Green Party and Libertarian Party have not fared well in their efforts to get emergency orders regarding this matter in Ohio. In order to pass muster with a judge, the individual or group requesting an emergency order for such a recount must show both irreparable harm as well as a substantial chance for success on the merits. While Green and Libertarian representatives have been able to show irreparable harm, they could not establish a substantial chance for success on the merits, because no recount would deliver Ohio to either party.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> Kerry's entry into this recount effort changes the math on this matter dramatically. He can likewise show irreparable harm, and unlike the Green and Libertarian candidates, he can also prove a substantial chance for success on the merits because he lost the Ohio vote by a statistical whisker.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> It should be noted that Kerry's filing of these requests does not indicate his complete entry into the recount process, but does clearly indicate that he is moving decisively in that direction. His previous stance on the matter was based simply on his desire to defend the right to have a recount in the first place. The evidence of election tampering in Ohio, specifically surrounding Triad, has motivated him to actively join the fight. The Democratic Party is also quietly putting financial resources into the Ohio recount effort.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> Perhaps the most significant aspect of all this, from the activist point of view, has been the effectiveness of the telephone calls and letters to Kerry. The activist push to get him involved had a very significant effect on his decision to enter this effort. Likewise, calls to other Senators in order to convince them to join House members in challenging the election have likewise had significant effect. If such an effort continues, the activists involved will very likely see the desired result unfold.</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"></span></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1103829901424462732004-12-23T13:23:00.000-06:002004-12-23T13:25:01.423-06:00Conyers blasts election firm over "cheat sheets"<blockquote>The ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued a stinging letter to the president of Triad Election Systems Thursday, remarking that he had "more questions and concerns than ever" after viewing a tape of Triad's visit to the Hocking County Board of Elections Dec. 20.</blockquote>
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<br />(Continued)
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1103788741017040382004-12-23T01:56:00.000-06:002004-12-23T01:59:01.016-06:00 The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Intimidation and Suppression in America Today<span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >A Report by PFAW Foundation and NAACP </span>
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<br />In a nation where children are taught in grade school that every citizen has the right to vote, it would be comforting to think that the last vestiges of voter intimidation, oppression and suppression were swept away by the passage and subsequent enforcement of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965. It would be good to know that voters are o longer turned away from the polls based on their race, never knowingly misdirected, misinformed, deceived or threatened.
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<br />Unfortunately, it would be a grave mistake to believe it.</blockquote>(Continued)
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1103782562240553322004-12-23T01:10:00.000-06:002004-12-23T00:16:02.240-06:00Ohio Vote Suppression Videos Show Numerous IssuesWe have come across some amazing footage of various issues Ohio voters experienced on election day. This footage was provided by <a href="http://www.thefreespeechzone.net/">Free Speech Zone
<br /></a>
<br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Ohio Voter Suppression Videos</h3> <div> </div> <div style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 255); padding: 5px; width: 50%; text-align: center;"> <p>File One: <a href="http://460design.net/ohio/video1.wmv">WMV Video 1</a> [8 MB]</p> <p>File Two: <a href="http://460design.net/ohio/video2.wmv">WMV Video 2</a> [3.2 MB]</p> </div>
<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">The following is the press release to accompany the videos:</span></span>
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<br /> <b><p align="center"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">GROUP RELEASES VIDEO FOOTAGE OF ‘JIM CROW LIKE’ CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN OHIO ON ELECTION DAY</span></p> </b><i><span style="font-size:100%;"> <p align="center"><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">An emerging coalition of civil rights, pro-democracy groups, and disenfranchised voters challenge US election’s legitimacy. Unprecedented Constitutional confrontation continues to escalate
<br /> </span></p> </span></i><b><span style="font-size:130%;"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">View just released video footage here: <a href="http://oneblockover.net/dropbox/%0D%0D" target="_blank">http://oneblockover.net/dropbox/</a></span></p> </span></b> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">A 25-minute video was made available to the press and public today that exposes the widespread civil rights abuses and voter disenfranchisement suffered by the African American community in Franklin County Ohio on Election Day. The footage was released by "We Do Not Concede" (<a href="http://www.donotconcede.com/">www.donotconcede.com</a>), a nonprofit grassroots organization created to unite and mobilize citizens whose voting right were suppressed, denied, or simply not counted.</span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">"We hope this footage will serve as a wake up call to all Americans that the fundamental principles our country was founded upon like ‘democracy’ and ‘equal rights’ are being systematically dismantled by a small group of Republicans who are concerned with keeping power, not preserving liberty," said Zack Kaldveer, Communications Director, We Do Not Concede. "In America every vote must be accurately counted and equally valued, and that’s not what happened on November 2nd. We the people most definitely do not concede."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">The video provides a first hand glimpse of an emerging civil rights scandal of historic proportions that will culminate in a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" bus trip organized by We Do Not Concede, consisting of voters who are contesting the Ohio electorate, led by Rev. Bill Moss of Columbus Ohio. The buses will travel from Columbus to Washington DC on January 4<sup>th</sup> through the 6<sup>th</sup>. Rev. Jesse Jackson has pronounced Ohio's vote fraud fiasco "the biggest deal since Selma" and has called for a national rally at "the scene of the crime" in Columbus January 3<sup>rd</sup>.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">"For the second Presidential election in a row African-American voters have been subjugated to the role of second class citizens through efforts by Republicans to suppress, intimidate, and disenfranchise our vote," said Rev. Bill Moss, original Contestant of Ohio Electors and founder of the Center for Freedom and Justice. "Whether its Katherine Harris or Kenneth Blackwell, the purpose is the same: do everything in their power to ensure George W. Bush becomes President. If they are willing and able to thwart democracy and abuse the civil rights of American voters right in the face of the press and public, what else are they capable of? I am contesting this election because tyranny, particularly in the guise of democracy, is our civic duty to fight."</span></p> </span> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">The footage details what transpired in heavily leaning Democratic precincts throughout Franklin County on Election Day, including unexplained voting machine shortages, organized campaigns directing voters to the wrong polling places, malfunctioning voter tabulation equipment, election worker confusion and incompetence, and a host of other problems. However, as detailed in an official affidavit by Richard Hayes Phillips, a geomorphology Ph.D. from University of Oregon, the extent of voter disenfranchisement was systematic and widespread in African American precincts throughout the state. Dr. Phillips sworn testimony (<a href="http://web.northnet.org/minstrel/supreme.htm">http://web.northnet.org/minstrel/supreme.htm</a>) read: </span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">"It is my professional opinion that John Kerry's margins of victory were wrongly reduced by 22,000 votes in Cleveland, by 17,000 votes in Columbus, and by as many as 7,000 votes in Toledo. It is my further professional opinion that John Kerry's margins of defeat in Warren, Butler, and Clermont Counties were inflated by as many as 37,000 votes in the aggregate, and in Miami County by as many as 6,000 votes. There are still 92,672 uncounted regular ballots that, based upon the analysis set forth of the election results from Dayton and Cincinnati, may be expected to break for John Kerry by an overwhelming margin. And there are still 14,441 uncounted provisional ballots." </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio’s Secretary of State, as was the case of Katherine Harris, Florida’s Secretary of State in 2000, simultaneously served as Bush’s campaign Co-Chair, raising serious conflict of interest issues. These concerns were only compounded by the fact that in each case, both Blackwell and Harris were accused of making decisions that seemingly twisted voting regulations to benefit the election of George W. Bush, and both stymied recount and investigation efforts seeking to determine the true will of the voters.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">"We must not succumb to tyranny and rationalize that imperfection in voting irregularities and suppression tactics are reasonable expectations. They are not," said Butch Wing, Director, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Silicon Valley. "Too many world-changing events have hinged on one vote for us to be cavalier when thousands are systematically disenfranchised. This system of 50 separate and unequal state elections must give way to the fulfillment of the American promise, which requires an amendment to the Constitutional affirming the individual right to vote, federally protected, and an even playing field for all Americans."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Sworn testimonies submitted to Rep. John Conyers "voter forums" investigating the tens of thousands of complaints regarding the legitimacy of the election have brought to light mountains of evidence that point in one direction: Bush’s "victory" in Ohio is highly dubious, and therefore so too is his electoral college total and the established view that he should continue to serve as President. In fact, lawsuits filed by Ohio voters, Common Cause, the Alliance for Democracy, the ACLU, the Green Party, and the Libertarians have already protested the official results of Election Day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Among the findings uncovered by Rep. Conyers investigation are (see detailed statistical analyses of Ohio anomalies at <a href="http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/1012" target="_blank">http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/1012</a>):</span></p> </span> <ul> <span style="font-size:100%;"> <li><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Fewer voting machines were available in low-income precincts, creating lines of up to 10 hours, people never received their absentee ballots, polling places were moved at the last minute, voters were sent to the wrong polling places, and many were illegally removed from voter lists and had to fill out provisional (that weren’t counted) ballots.
<br /> </span></li> </span> </ul> <span style="font-size:100%;"> <ul><li><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Only four of the 77 precincts that were extremely crowded on Election Day due to voting machines being subtracted were Republican. While some voters waited in long lines to cast a ballot, the Franklin County elections board left 39 voting machines unused on Election Day.
<br /> </span></li></ul> <ul><li><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">South Concord managed a 98.5% turnout heavily tilted toward Bush; but a Cleveland precinct that was heavily tilted toward Kerry managed just a 7.1% turnout.
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<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">In Miami County 19,000 votes came in after all precincts had voted, with a 2:1 margin for Bush.
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<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Exit polls, specifically in Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio were all wrong and outside of the margin of error. Statisticians say there is a 180-million-to-one chance for this sequence of exit polling disparities to have occurred.
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<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Election officials in Warren County alerted staff on the Thursday before the election that there would be a Homeland Security alert on Election Day — and then took the ballots to a warehouse for a secret count which resulted in a 14,000 vote increase for Bush from his 2000 total.
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<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Dr. Norman Robbins of Cleveland testified that over 10,000 voters in Cuyahoga County alone were disenfranchised by various means, and that nearly all were "youth, poor and minorities." In one Cleveland ward, he said, 51% of the provisional votes cast were thrown in the trash, virtually all of them from African-Americans.
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<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Votes seem to have been added to Bush’s total, or in many cases, taken away from Kerry and added to the totals of other Democratic candidates further down the ballot. C. Ellen Connally, an African-American candidate for Ohio Chief Justice, who was little known and outspent in the southern part of the state, received hundreds of thousands of more votes than Kerry.</span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Another major national demonstration will take place in Washington DC on January 6, as Congress ratifies the Electoral College.</span></p></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> </span></p></span>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9669141.post-1103766471288635042004-12-22T19:45:00.000-06:002004-12-23T00:18:53.273-06:00Ohio Chief Justice Moyer Lays Groundwork for Suit's Dismissal<blockquote>Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer, a Republican who was re-elected on the same ballot as President George W. Bush Nov. 2 but has declined to recuse himself from a suit contesting the president's election, issued a motion and procedural ruling today that denies an expedited hearing in the case and lays out the framework by which he might dismiss the case. <a href="http://rawstory.com/">RAW STORY</a> acquired the ruling Wednesday afternoon.</blockquote>
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