OK, NEW red flags in Preble County need to be addressed.....

[kuozzman]

http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041217/NEWS01/412170302/1008

Flags from article

1. Preble County ended up $240 to the good because it didn't have to hire anyone to conduct the recount(not entirely true...). Board of Elections members did it for free.

The board fit the needed profile: two Democrats -- Roy A. Spencer and Lisa Bruns -- and two Republicans -- Gene R. Lindley and Ruth M. Siehl. (No observers? Who knows who the Dems were?...."

2. The only local expenses were $210 for the programming the tabulating equipment, thus the $240 profit, which goes into the general fund. Uummm.....WTF?

3. First time through, the hand count number didn't match. Following the statute, the board counted again. That time the numbers were the same. The hand-count number was the one that changed, not the tabulator figure.

Once it was proven the tabulator and the hand counts jibed, all of the ballots from the election were run through the tabulator just as they had been on election night.

[kuozzman]

1. Sound fishy to anyone else??? Or just me?........

[johnaries]

3. Yeah, they had to run it through the tabulator before they knew

what the "hand count" should be. :wtf:

[berniew1]

8. Sounds like this recount was essentially done by a Manufacturer Rep

[theboss]

2. Having actually witnessed a few local recounts before...

...it sounds par for the course.

For the record, it is the most boring process in the world.

[Igel]

4. They followed the guidelines and statutes.

Guidelines: hand count 3%, machine count the same; if they agree, machine count all.
If they disagree, repeat hand count.
If second hand count matches machine count, machine count all. If there's still disagreement, hand count all.

And state law says that any left over money goes to the county general fund. (Only fair: if it had cost more than the glibs paid the county would have had to pay the excess.)

No observers? Not the BOE's problem.

And either the chair or the vice-chair was dem.

[k8conant]

5. But why "programming the tabulating equipment"?

So it would match? Or is this the business about only counting the presidential race as in Hocking County? That also means the machine/software vendors did something to the machines before the recount.....Hmmm :wtf:

[KaliTracy]

6. makes no sense...

[righteous1]

7. I don't really see your point

These are punch card ballots? If so the tabulator would more likely be more accurate than hand counting I would think. It's easy to miss one little punch hole when your looking at several hundred, and if the tabulator was some how jury rigged, wouldn't it be off by more than 1 vote?

[berniew1]

9. Why weren't there any observers in this county? sounds fishy

Sounds like there did it in secret to avoid having the process watched.

[kuozzman]

10. Did you just come out of a coma?

Did you say that you think the tabulator would be more accurate than a hand count???