I just got this email from a friend in Ohio.

[missouri dem 2]

I went to recount training today. Can you believe, the Glibs are
having
trouble finding enough volunteers?! Each county Bd of Elections will
be
using bipartisan teams of their own paid staff and each team needs to
have a recount volunteer to 'observe.' Some counties are resisting
revealing which day and time they intend to start and how many teams
they'll have (hence we don't know how many volunteers to assign...etc.
One of the far out rural counties near us is starting at 7:30am on
Monday (ouch). Warren County is up to some new tricks (I think they
should get an investigative reporter on that, but it's not up to me).
CLEARLY Warren County has something serious to hide or why would they
continue to be so obstructionist. (Warren is the county famous for
it's
lock-down due to a phony terrorist threat on election night, so no one
was allowed to witness the count).

The ones of us who made it to the 2-hour training this morning are
bogged down in trying to understand the various details of what we're
expected to do--in unfamiliar settings with unfamiliar equipment that
we're supposed to 'see but not touch.' There are a LOT of holes in
this recount thing and it doesn't give me great confidence.

For starters, the BOE's select the precincts to count to make up 3% of
that county's votes. Those 3% are hand-counted and then run thru the
counting machine. If the numbers match, then the rest of the precincts
aren't recounted!!!! What's to stop the counties from picking the
precincts that they know are 'clean?' But there also are issues with
how to tally in the 'funny' ballots--provisionals, absentees, spoiled,
etc, so it's not as easy as it may sound to get at the accurate
numbers.

Even just in our little corner of the state (SW Ohio), several of the 5
or so counties that our coordinator is in charge of are woefully short
of volunteer observers. The recount must begin by Thursday at latest
but most counties are starting on Monday or Tuesday--so, how to find
the
volunteers and get them trained in time....? Ohio has 88 counties.

The Greens in charge are doing their level best but the time pressures
are really taking their toll on 'organization.' The Greens are the
ones
really doing the work on this. The Libertarians have been well-wishers
but haven't actually done much of anything, I'm told.

I have no way of knowing how things are going in the rest of the
state...but my guess is that it must be fairly chaotic too--given the
time frame we have to work within.

[gristy]

1. Sounds like a sham to me

For starters, the BOE's select the precincts to count to make up 3% of
that county's votes.

A 12-year old would know that you have to randomly select which precincts to recount.

[aquart]

2. Does this mean the Democrats are sitting on their hands?

[Habibi]

5. I wonder that too

Are the Republicans having such a hard time getting volunteer observers?

[NVMojo]

19. well I know the state dem jerks did nothing to assist those Cobb

recount people in Nevada. Are people so stupid they don't know what is going on or is this a conspiracy between top party dems?

[NMDemDist2]

3. get a phone number and post it in activism and the Ohio State thread n/t

[skippythwndrdog]

4. FYI: County BOEs have 2 Dems and 2 Reps per board.

They are bipartisan.

[w4rma]

6. Anyone can *say* they are a Democrat (or a Republican).

That doesn't mean squat.

[skippythwndrdog]

11. Well, I'd think that the County Party would know better.

There is no huge conspiracy here. IIRC, the County Democratic and Republican parties each appoint two members. Oftentimes, two of the four members are the Republican and Democrat County Chairmen. The odds of imposters getting in are slim to none. Has anybody noted that the Warren County Democratic party hasn't been having half the fit that we have had here?

[KoKo]

7. Kerry said he supported this...and the DNC needs to get volunteers in

there...they said they had 17,000 lawyers...so where are the "volunteers for the recount?"

Where is the national call for Volunteers? Ask DU and other Blogs to put it on their front page. Massive call for Volunteers to SAVE DEMOCRACY...OHIOANS NEEDED ASAP!

[Stinky The Clown]

8. Here's why this will be a sham

In that e-mail, your friend is spot on in why this is an exercise in futility:

"For starters, the BOE's select the precincts to count to make up 3% of
that county's votes. Those 3% are hand-counted and then run thru the
counting machine. If the numbers match, then the rest of the precincts
aren't recounted!!!! What's to stop the counties from picking the
precincts that they know are 'clean?"

[skippythwndrdog]

12. Hmmm, do some research, people!

The BOE has two Dems and two Reps, it has to be agreeable to that BIPARTISAN board.

[sunnystarr]

15. Hmmmm you mean like Theresa LaPore (Madame Butterfly)

was a Democrat???? How many other wolves in sheep's clothing are there around our country?? Guess I can register Republican and get on an election board too ... maybe that's not a bad plan after all lol

[skippythwndrdog]

16. Oh, come on, it is not easy.

Probably the next thing to impossible. You have to be one of the most trusted and influential Democrats in the county to have a prayer of getting on the BOE.

[Freddie Stubbs]

17. The chairman of Warren County's BOE is also

the Chairman of the County Democratic Party.

[Guaranteed]

9. It's so late...how can we be having a recount now?

Won't the EV's be certified soon?

[Griffy]

10. THATS WHY.. you should be planning to go to DC.. JAN 3-6

the revolution has begun.. this is not a drill!!

[Leilani]

13. I'm amazed at the Dems

& they're lack of organization, etc.

If it had been up to the DNC or Kerry, this thing would be going nowhere, & it doesn't seem as if they're helping now.

By the was, Kerry stopped in Iowa on his way to his vacation.

Thank goodness for the Glibs & the Grassroots Activists.

[ohio_liberal]

14. Total chaos here

There are plenty of volunteers but the coordinating is in disarray. We got less than 12 hours notice to show up for the training session in SE Ohio

[cmd]

18. I'm on call this week

Sometime this week my county will begin the recount. I have a packet detailing the rules for the recount. Yes, the BOE's do select the precincts to be recounted. We also have the right to suggest precincts, but the final decision will be that of the BOE.

The most important rule is to keep hands off the ballots. I know what to look for, what I can ask and how the recount will be run. I just don't know when.

I am glad to hear that Kerry has asked that the ballots that showed no vote for president be inspected. This is where we will look for those infamous chads. I'll do my best to make sure the votes are counted correctly. Wish me luck. cmd

[missouri dem 2]

20. Good luck and thank you for your effort.