Ohio Election Officials Obstruct Recount

[MellowOne]

Ohio Election Officials Obstruct Recount

http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2004_12_17.html

December 17, 2004

Contact: Blair Bobier, Media Director at 541.929.5755

Reports from throughout Ohio present a clear and disturbing pattern of state and local election officials obstructing the recount of Ohio’s 2004 presidential vote, according to the Green Party’s presidential campaign which initiated the recount and is monitoring the process.

“Ohio election officials are violating both the spirit and the letter of the law governing the recount,” said Cobb-LaMarche Media Director Blair Bobier.

In two counties, Monroe and Fairfield, election officials have refused to do a full hand recount, as required, when hand and machine tallies don’t match. They have instead opted to get new machines to count the votes.

In the vast majority of counties, election officials have pre-selected precincts to be sampled, rather than choose them randomly as required by law. In Cuyahoga County, the pre-selection of precincts eliminated those which reported the most problems on Election Day, thwarting the intent of the recount and raising serious concerns about the integrity of the process.

“Ohio’s partisan vote-counter and Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, presided over the most error-ridden election in the country and he is now intent on preventing the people of Ohio from scrutinizing those results. We have asked Mr. Blackwell to establish uniform standards and guidelines for the conduct of the recount and he has refused,” said Bobier.

In at least two counties, Montgomery and Coshocton, the recount has discovered that the state certified the wrong vote totals.

Other problems with the recount range from volunteers being told they couldn’t ask questions, to an allegation of tampering with voting machines.

Reports from the recount are being filed by Green Party monitors on a daily basis. They can be found on the Cobb-LaMarche website at http://www.votecobb.org/press/.

[tavalon]

1. I am so shocked!

Shocked, I tell ya. Well, maybe surprised, no, not even that. Cynically unsurprised, ya, that's it!

[The Doctor.]

2. So when do these people get indicted?

This is driving me nuts!

They're breaking the law and not being held accountable.

That can't stand.

[opihimoimoi]

3. And they want to bring this kind of Freedom to other countries...

no wonder they look at us with wierd eyes...... the republicans are using the LIE CHEAT STEAL, DENY DISTORT DIVERT MODE TO WIN AT ANY COSTS.
To Them, winning is everything and they have found, to win, they must cheat. The ends Justify the Means. This is despicible and will cause internal rot among the people of this Nation.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. sounds like they are just plain lazy to me, and i thought midwesterners...

...were supposed to have some kind of work ethic that us southerners were supposed to lack.

[opihimoimoi]

7. could it be THINK ETHIC ????

[TexasChick]

5. Freckin' bastards! Damnit! Can anyone say "coverup" of fraud! n/t

[mrdmk]

6. If anybody is surprised by this, they were not around for the

Florida fiasco in the year of 2000. Here is the tactic, put fourth madness to a very straight forward process. Take a stack of papers (this will not work on DRE voting as we know it here in the United States, other countries with democracies are not so stupid), make one pile for Mr. Bush Jr., another pile for Mr. Kerry and other piles for the other candidates. Then add the separate piles. It starts like this: 1, 2, 3, ...


Edit: left out a word.

[Pithy Cherub]

8. This is beyond the pale and has to end now!

Justice will not be denied!