Saturday 1/8/05 Election/Fraud/Recount Thread

[MelissaB]

In order to organize and document I thought it would be a good idea to have a daily thread to place items related to the recounts/fraud. This also make it easier to "catch up" when we are away from the computer for a while.

Please help us. If you see something that isn't here post it with a link to the thread and a thanks to the author. Thanks to everyone who is helping with this project.

Link to the thread from yesterday: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x261690

[MelissaB]

1. Letter from Michael Moore

January 7, 2005

Dear Friends,

Something historic happened yesterday. For the first time since 1877 a member of the House and a member of the Senate stood up together to object to the outcome of a presidential election.

This is the first step on a necessary road toward making sure that everyone is allowed to vote and that every vote is counted (something we did not see in 2000 or 2004) so the next time around ALL of us can be confident, when the election results come in, that they reflect the will of the people, not the whim of mechanical error and human obstruction.

Unlike 2000, when the black members of Congress were told to sit down and shut up, this time a senator had the courage to stand with them, as the law requires, to force Congress to go back to their separate chambers to discuss and debate the issues surrounding the vote count. Senator Barbara Boxer rose to the occasion and stood with Ohio Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones and 29 other Representatives "to cast the light of truth on a flawed system which must be fixed now." The ensuing debate, at times, became a debate over me and all of you and the fact that we would dare make the attempt to protect our democracy.

I was blown away when Representative Maxine Waters took to the floor and said, "Mr. Speaker and members, I dedicate my objection to Ohio's electoral votes to Mr. Michael Moore, the producer of the documentary '9/11' and I thank him for educating the world on the threats to our democracy and the proceedings of this house on the acceptance of the electoral college votes for the 2000 presidential election."

I am honored to the point of embarrassment because it is Maxine Waters who deserves thanks for defending our most basic right, not once, but twice.

Coming out of the gates like this in the very first week of session sent a strong message that we are not going to be pushed around. If the Republicans think the next four years are going to be a cakewalk, they've got another thing coming. With Michigan Representative John Conyers leading the charge, we showed them something not seen in over 120 years. And we're just getting started!

Congratulations to the tens of thousands of you who called, faxed, and e-mailed Barbara Boxer and other senators. You have shown the world, with the strength of your convictions, that the movement toward a truly representative democracy will not be stopped in its tracks. Yesterday's actions will be marked by history books as a turning point for the electoral process and for a Democratic Party that has for too long sat back and taken it on the chin.

Your voices have echoed all the way up to the hallowed halls of Congress and for that, you deserve thanks more than anyone.

Yours,

Michael Moore
[e-mail]
www.michaelmoore.com

P.S. If you want to see portions of what took place, check out the video clips and transcripts on the website.


Link to discussion here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x268574

[dzika]

45. "In the clearing stands a Boxer"

Thanks to the title of Michael Moores' letter I can't get this tune out of my head.


From Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water...

THE BOXER

In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
’til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains

MP3:
THE BOXER

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon-and-garfunkel/124664.html">Lyrics

[MelissaB]

2. From the Free Press: Together we moved three mountains

Together, we moved three mountains
by Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
January 8, 2005

Together, grassroots/Internet activists have just moved three major American mountains.

On January 6, we forced an angry Republican-dominated Congress into an unprecedented confrontation with the Truth about Ohio's stolen election, about dubious vote counts nationwide, and ultimately about an electoral process worthy of zero public trust.

America's progressive grassroots further showed it could prompt the "democratic wing" of the Democratic Party to finally stand up for its constituents' right to vote, even in the face of the usual withering slander from Karl Rove's dirty tricksters.

And those of us who work the Internet showed we could spark a mass movement by exposing a national travesty despite relentless abuse from the mainstream media, which did absolutely nothing to uncover the systematic corruption of our electoral process.

Article: http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1073


Thanks to liam97 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x268499

[MelissaB]

3. more...

Who will organize or turn out for a party that won't stand for the sacred voting rights of its core constituencies?

The abuses leveled at Ohio's Democratic core black, young and working-class constituencies have now been thoroughly documented. But the party's corporate elite still slavishly mimics the GOP attack on "conspiracy theorists" who dare explain what really happened here. Kerry's lead Ohio attorney, Dan Hoffheimer -- a high-roller in the Republican Taft, Stettinius & Hollister law firm -- dishes out Rovian contempt for those of us who expose this crime.

Likewise fake "Democrats" like William Anthony of the Franklin County Board of Elections are an endless fount of GOP sound bites. Anthony symbolizes a party with no apparent principles or convictions. All "bi-partisan" appointments to Ohio's boards of elections are made by the GOP Secretary of State. As chair of the Franklin County Democratic Party, Anthony has led joint Democrat-Republican campaigns against grassroots independent candidates for local offices. He epitomizes the listless elite that's driven the once-powerful state party into near oblivion.

In precisely that spirit, Team Kerry ducked out with the phony dodge that the Ohio fraud was not numerically large enough to give it the presidency.

Just a few weeks' research could have shown otherwise. Or they could've looked on the web. Or they could've listened to their supporters' sworn testimony on being cheated out of their vote.


The bolding is my own for emphasis.

[dzika]

4. Kerry should have embraced evidence of election fraud, supported protest

Saturday 8th January 2005 (03h56) :

Spineless Kerry should have embraced evidence of election fraud, supported protests

John Kerry, like Al Gore before him, does not deserve the presidency of the United States.

This is not because they are incompetent politicians. This is not because they lost their elections. No. It’s because despite winning, Gore and Kerry refused to claim what was rightfully theirs.

Yesterday, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio), along with a dozen other House members, formally objected to the choice of Ohio’s electors. There is ample evidence that this election was just as crooked as the 2000 election, and Bush has once again stolen the presidency.

Let me repeat: there is evidence.

This is not a conspiracy theory; there are concrete, cold, hard facts that Republicans have stolen massive numbers of votes in another contested election. And once again, Democrats have rolled over and let them do it.




continued
http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=4996

[dzika]

5. GOP suit doesn't ask to prevent swearing-in

Saturday, January 08, 2005

GOP suit doesn't ask to prevent swearing-in

By David Postman, Susan Gilmore and Keith Ervin
Seattle Times staff reporters


Dino Rossi and the Republican Party asked a court yesterday to throw out the governor's election, claiming that a long list of errors deprived voters of their constitutional right to a "free and fair election" and that a new vote should be held.

The suit, filed in Chelan County, does not ask the court to stop the scheduled certification of Democrat Christine Gregoire's victory or her swearing-in set for Wednesday.

"It is clear this election is a mess," said Rossi, who won the initial vote and a machine recount, but lost in a hand recount. "The only remedy is a revote. It will help us cleanse the process."

The GOP suit sets up the likelihood that Gregoire will move into the governor's mansion, while across the mountains a small-town judge considers whether she should be tossed from the post.


more
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=recount08m&date=20050108

[dzika]

6. GOP should back probe of Ohio vote

Saturday, January 8, 2005

GOP should back probe of Ohio vote


I believe that there were not enough apparent voting irregularities in Ohio to alter the outcome of the 2004 presidential election. I also believe that Rep. John Conyers Jrs.' proposed objection to the Ohio vote is based on very technical grounds.

However, the continued success of American democracy depends on American voters continuing to believe in the accuracy and transparency of elections. At the moment, a significant portion of them are no longer completely confident in the credibility of the process, regardless of their party affiliation.

Conyers' proposed objection, as thin as its basis may be, represents the only legal opportunity to require an open and public debate in Congress regarding the conduct of elections. It also represents the only opportunity for Congress to launch a real, impartial study of voting procedures, using the Ohio vote as its test case. Only a serious investigation of Ohio's problems, especially when it reveals (as I believe it will) that these irregularities were merely procedural and had no material effect on any contest, can serve to restore the American people's confidence in the system. Such an investigation might also produce recommendations as to how best to avoid such irregularities in the future.


continued
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/letters/1269722.shtml

[dzika]

7. Voting postmortem in Washington

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Voting postmortem in Washington

Dino Rossi and his supporters have a right to go to court, but it's hard to see the governor's election being voided


Sixteen days ago, in commenting on Washington state's tight governor's race, we cautiously opined that it looked like time for Dino Rossi to concede -- barring any convincing evidence of election fraud or procedural error.

Today, amid widespread claims of procedural error, it appears caution was warranted. Rossi and his Washington State Republican Party said Friday they will take one more shot by exercising their right to challenge the vote results on legal grounds.

Next it will be up to the state Supreme Court to decide whether the election will stand or be voided and done over again.

Democrat Christine Gregoire was certified as governor-elect on Dec. 30, winning by a scant 129 votes in a second recount by hand. But since then Rossi and his backers have raised a ruckus about alleged irregularities in the election, and their outcry received a boost Friday from reports in Seattle's two daily newspapers.


http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/110518928484020.xml

[dzika]

8. Electoral Vote Challenge Meets Venomous Response in Congress

January 08, 2005

Electoral Vote Challenge Meets Venomous Response in Congress

by Brian Dominick and Ariella Cohen
The NewStandard


Last month, the Washington Post reported that "in Franklin County, '27 of the 30 wards with the most machines per registered voter showed majorities for Bush... six of the seven wards with the fewest machines delivered large margins for Kerry.'" Quoting this data, House Democrats say that patterns of machine deployment in the state violate legal codes.

"A conscious failure to provide sufficient voting machinery violates the Ohio Revised Code which requires the Board of Elections 'to provide adequate facilities at each polling place for conducting the election,'" the report states.

Committee investigation also found the process surrounding the casting and counting of provisional ballots deeply problematic.

In the report's analysis, Blackwell's decision to restrict the use of provisional ballots was "critical in the election," and the restriction may have resulted in the "disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of voters." The report mentions that one polling place in Hamilton County could not count more than 1,100 votes because of Blackwell's choice to interpret federal election law narrowly and only count provisional ballots cast at the right precinct, even in cases where poll workers gave voters incorrect information and instructions.


more
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=90&ItemID=6979

[MelissaB]

9. Electoral Vote Challenge Meets Venomous Response in Congress

......... by Brian Dominick January 08, 2005
......... and Ariella Cohen
The NewStandard Printer

In special sessions of both chambers of Congress Thursday, Republican lawmakers met a handful of Democratic colleagues with vitriolic diatribes when the latter raised concerns about electoral irregularities that took place during Ohio's controversial November 2 election process. The Democrats' challenge came on the heals of a congressional report detailing numerous allegations of disenfranchisement in Ohio.

In a departure from traditional procedure, the joint session of Congress convened to certify the electoral vote count and officially recognize George W. Bush as president elect broke up for two hours of separate debate among senators and representatives. The special session was activated when Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) joined Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) and other House members in challenging the certification of Ohio's 20 crucial electoral votes.

Rather than an attempt to overturn the outcome of the 2004 election, Democratic legislators said they wished to use their protest as a means of highlighting what they consider ongoing election problems that stand little chance of correction unless the status quo is confronted.

"This objection," Tubbs Jones said on the House floor, "does not have at its root the hope or even the hint of overturning the victory of the president but it is a necessary, timely and appropriate opportunity to review and remedy the most precious process in our democracy. I raise this objection neither to put the nation in the turmoil of a proposed overturned election nor to provide cannon fodder or partisan demagoguery for my fellow members of Congress."


Link: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=90&ItemID=6979

[MelissaB]

10. Since we posted different parts of this article,

I'm going to leave it. I just copied the 1st 4 paragraphs.

Melissa

[dzika]

12. That's funny. n/t

[dzika]

11. Dems' challenge for good reasons

January 8, 2005

Dems' challenge for good reasons
By The Sentinel


Poll workers reported that representatives of the private corporations that sold Ohio its voting machinery turned up unannounced in a number of places and made uninspected software changes to voting machines while recounts were going on.

And Ohio's Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell resisted all calls to investigate these incidents as they were uncovered, which you would not find surprising once you discover he was also chairman of Ohio's committee to re-elect Bush and Cheney. This marks the second election in a row in which a contested state's chief election officer doubled as chairman of that state's Republican presidential campaign committee.

None of this changes the result of the 2004 election, of course, but all of it undermines confidence in the electoral process. In a time when we are committing troops to establish democracy in Iraq, is it really acceptable for Americans to assume that their own close elections are being determined by whoever is the party in power in a particular jurisdiction rather than the will of the people?


more
http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/01/08/editorial/editorial/daily01.txt

[dzika]

13. Blackwell Sends Letter Asking for Illegal Contributions

January 8, 2005

Blackwell Sends Letter Asking for Illegal Contributions


COLUMBUS (AP) -- The state's chief elections officer, already accused of mishandling the presidential vote in Ohio and criticized for backing President Bush, sent a fund-raising letter for his 2006 gubernatorial campaign in which he asks for illegal corporate contributions.

Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican who co-chaired the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio, said the request for corporate checks in a letter to GOP donors and activists was an oversight. His spokesman, Carlo LoParo, said on Saturday that any corporate donations would be returned.

The letter said "corporate & personal checks are welcome." Corporate donations are illegal in Ohio. Jeff Ledbetter, fund-raising coordinator for Blackwell's gubernatorial campaign, blamed a printer for using a template for an issue committee, which is allowed to accept corporate donations.


more
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=2783219

[dzika]

14. New standards for elections necessary

Article Published: Saturday, January 08, 2005
editorial


New standards for elections necessary

A few members of Congress challenged Ohio's electoral vote, a rare and mostly symbolic gesture that underscores the need for election reforms.

By challenging the electoral vote this week, a small group of Democrats in Congress wanted to call attention to irregularities in Ohio that might have tainted November's presidential elections. They did not contend that the problems cost John Kerry the election, nor did they expect to stop George W. Bush from being certified as the winner. But it was a worthwhile gesture that underscores the need for new election standards.

Bush won nationwide, with 286 electoral votes to Kerry's 251, and Ohio was pivotal to his victory. Bush won the state by 118,000 votes amid questions about the allocation of voting machines, handling of provisional ballots, reports of voter intimidation and a slew of alleged irregularities. For example, more than 92,600 votes for president weren't counted, disproportionately affecting minority and Democratic voters, because either no vote was recorded for the race, or too many. In one county, improperly calibrated electronic machines transferred an unknown number of Kerry votes to Bush. Election officials say the problem was fixed, but there was no indication of how many votes were affected.

Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell initially directed that voter registrations not printed on paper with a certain thickness be rejected. The number of registrations rejected before Blackwell reversed this order was not disclosed.


more
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E417%7E2641222,00.html#

[dzika]

15. The 2004 Election: Certify and Verify (3 Letters)

Published: January 8, 2005


The 2004 Election: Certify and Verify (3 Letters)


To the Editor:

Re "Congress Ratifies Bush Victory After a Rare Challenge" (news article, Jan. 7):

We cannot certify what we cannot verify. Voting anomalies are evidence of voter fraud. If one vote can be stolen, then my vote can be stolen.

I doubt that any Republican would be satisfied after losing the Ohio vote count if a Democrat were in charge of the election and conservative voters had to wait hours to cast their votes.

One person one vote, verified and certified.

If we do not hold open, equal and nonpartisan elections, then we are not a free people. It is like health: if you don't have it, nothing else matters.

Scott Wilson
Centerport, N.Y., Jan. 7, 2005


continued
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/08/opinion/l08elect.html?ex=1105851600&en=d7cd84a55cd3408d&ei=5040&partner=MOREOVERFEATURES

[dzika]

16. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta

Politics — January 8, 2005


Democracy in America officially died on January 6, 2005. That’s the day that serious questions about vote fraud were shut down in the Senate 74-1. That one who stood up to the stolen Bush election of 2004 was Barbara Boxer. Remember the scene in the movie Fahrenheit 911 that showed Al Gore presiding over the House procedure for recognising the electoral votes? Many House representatives brought objections, accurately noting the extreme voter fraud in Florida, only to have Al Gore dismiss their objections because there was no senator to agree with the objections.

Fast forward 4 years, and this time, there was official Senate objection to the authorisation of Ohio’s electoral votes. At that point, there was a little bit of talking, then the vote came down, 74-1 against agreeing to the objection. 74 senators said there was no fraud. One (woman) had the balls to stand up and say “Enough.”

And where was John Kerry? In Iraq. If I had voted for Kerry, I’d be triply pissed-off. First, he “lost.” Second, he conceded before all the votes were counted. And third, he’s not even interested enough to show his face and vote in the single biggest test of democracy since the civil war.

Why did so many senators vote against the objection? One reason is they are afraid that it might open up scrutiny to their own elections. And Tom DeLay had the gall to say that the “Democrat party” (a term of derision by not correctly saying “Democratic Party”) was crying wolf and “what would happen if there really was vote fraud in the future?” Hmmm. I’m not sure, Tom. Say, what did you have in mind?

link
http://www.unbounded.org/archive/2005/01/08/damn-it-feels-good-to-be-a-gangsta

[banishbush]

40. DeLay

I watched DeLay give this so called speech. The whole time I kept thinking that he should use his analogy and apply it to Iraq. Iraq never was was a threat. What will I believe the next time they tell me America in in danger???

[dzika]

17. Democrats shine light on voting irregularities

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Democrats shine light on voting irregularities


House Majority Leader Tom Delay said Tubbs Jones and Boxer represented the "'X-Files' wing" of the Democratic Party.

Are the Democrats sore losers?

The Democrats would be sore losers if they were only refighting past elections, but Tubbs Jones and Boxer did the nation a favor by shining a spotlight on voting irregularities in Ohio and elsewhere.

-snip-

The irregularities in Ohio were not extensive enough to change the result of the election, but there is something terribly wrong when this nation is unable to conduct elections without a hitch after more than 200 years of elections.

If we cannot guarantee the right to vote here in the United States, we dishonor the men and women who have lost their lives so that Iraqi citizens will have the right to vote.

Sore losers? Maybe just sore.


link
http://www.masslive.com/editorials/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1105174027177461.xml

[Wilms]

18. The DLC’s Plan for Destroying the Democratic Party

The DLC’s Plan for Destroying the Democratic Party
by Craig Axford
www.dissidentvoice.org
January 6, 2005

-snip-

But really, any damage Mr. Marshall, Al From and their ilk do to the left and future Democratic prospects does not stem from the merits, or lack thereof of their attacks on the left, Michael Moore, or so called “Hollywood values”. The DLC is dangerous to the continued survival of our party because it validates the right’s claims we are elitists that don’t respect working class values, that Michael Moore is the left’s official or unofficial spokesperson, that respect for the First Amendment amounts to an embrace of “Hollywood values”, that there is such a thing as a “war on terrorism” in the first place (as if we can fight a war against a tactic as opposed to a group or nation or Congress ever fulfilled its duty to declare war), and that the anti-war movement essentially amounts to an anti-American movement which the Democrats would do well to dismiss. These men are not the Democrat’s answer to Ann Coulter, they are the Democrat’s version of her.

-snip-

-more-

<http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Jan05/Axford0106.htm>

[EFerrari]

19. OH Election and Recount: Congress/Legal Experts Weigh In

(Note: the reporter's email address is at the end of the article. If you have a minute, drop him a line. EF)


Ohio Election and Recount: Congress/Legal Experts weigh in
on Ohio Election
& Lawsuits

http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2005/Jan/EEN41defee5accf6.html

by Steven Leser
1/7/05

Yesterday's unprecedented action by congressional Democrats
may not have
changed the ultimate outcome of the Electoral College, but
it halted the
process for four hours and forced the spotlight on glaring
issues with the
vote in Ohio and perhaps throughout the nation. "We're here
today, not as
partisans for one presidential candidate or another, but
because we want to
do our duty under the Constitution to protect our
Democracy," Rep. John
Conyers (D-Mich.) said before the House Judiciary
committee. Conyers seemed
to sum up well the overall position of Democrats, whether
or not they voted
to object to Ohio's electoral votes, they all agree that
the process of
voting in this country has a long way to go before it can
stand up to
scrutiny. Conyers went on to discuss "numerous, serious
election
irregularities in the Ohio presidential election"
particularly voter
disenfranchisement in predominantly Black areas, the
transfer of voting
machines from Black neighborhoods to suburban
neighborhoods, and many
instances where voters spent as much as 10 hours in the
rain.

[MelissaB]

20. Will Pitt: The Voting Rights kit

Saturday 08 January 2005 @ 02:10
A lot of people have written me after the Thursday objection and said "Yeah, great, it was good theater, but what do we do now?" Well, some heroes have prepared an answer.

In my article 'Heroes' from yesterday, I highlighted the excellent work of Tim Carpenter, Kevin Spidel and the organization Progressive Democrats of America.

They have prepared a Voting Rights Kit that has everything you'll need to carry this struggle forward at the grassroots level. You will need Adobe Acrobat to read it, and if you don't have it, a free version can be downloaded here. Do it. You need to read this, put it to use, and pass it along.

Go to the article for clickable links.
Link: http://truthout.org/fyi/

Thanks to WilliamPitt here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x269434

[MelissaB]

21. This isn't an article,

but it is important. this blog is full of great links and information. I want to put it here just to document.

Is everyone aware of this great blog about Ohio Fraud?


http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com

Ray Beckerman is actually a New York lawyer who volunteered to monitor the 2004 election in Ohio, and immediately realized something terrible had gone wrong.

The way Beckerman pulls together evidence, Blackwell the Bogus could end up behind bars!


Thanks to Dancing_Dave here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x270545

Ohio Election Fraud (Formerly "Fairness")

Before the Ohio Election Fraud, this blog was entitled "Fairness". Since November 2, 2004, a day that will live in infamy, this blog has been devoted exclusively to fighting the crimes committed against the citizens of Ohio, and against our American way of life, in the 2004 "election".

January 8, 2005

Evidence of Fraud and Disenfranchisement in Ohio, 2004 : A Partial List
Evidence of Fraud and Disenfranchisement in Ohio, 2004
A partial list

This post is intended as a resource tool for those doing factual research on the Ohio election 2004, specifically relating to issues of (a) fraud, (b) disenfranchisment, (c) voter suppression, (d) recount obstruction, and (e) vote machine tampering. It makes no pretense at comprehensiveness, but is merely an attempt to compile links which have been posted on this site which either (1) are themselves primary sources of evidence, or (2) summarize, analyze, or point to, such sources.

The links are listed in reverse chronological order of posting.

[MelissaB]

22. Another blog full of information

Thanks to Carolab in the same thread as the post above.

2004 Election Fraud and Irregularity Headlines

http://www.jqjacobs.net/bush/

[MelissaB]

23. We made the German Press! Women Leave Bush Waiting!

Here is the link to an article in the German Press:

http://www.blick.ch/news/uswahlen/artikel16291




Frauen lassen Bush warten
WASHINGTON – George W. Bush hat etwas geschafft, was bisher nur zwei US-Präsidenten vor ihm fertig gebracht haben. Stolz kann er darauf allerdings nicht sein.



Translation thanks to herbster and google.

"the beautiful sex took two hours"

Women let Bush wait

WASHINGTON - George W. Bush created something, which so far only two US presidents before him brought finished. Proudly it cannot be on it however.

Some years ago is it that it came with the ceremony come in the congress to the choice of the US president to protest actions. That was 1877 and 1969 the case * - and now also 2005. Although the official counting of the Elektorenstimmen is by the senate and the Lower House of purely symbolic nature (the electors already gave their Voten in December off), has two democratic representative of the people inside the end of the procedure retarded.

When the result from Ohio was proclaimed, the delegate Stephanie Tubbs Jones rose, in order to raise objection. The re-election of George W. Bush did not doubt it. But with the action it wants to refer to irregularities in the Federal State, which decided the exit of the choice. So too few choice machines are to have been set up in areas with democratic constituency. Jones ' example followed Senatorin Barbara boxer from California.

Rearing up the beautiful sex took two hours against the most powerful man of the world - the two chambers had to the regulations to respond and for separate consultation withdraw themselves. Then one announced the final result of the urn course from 2 November 2004. Bush: 268 voices, Kerry 252.

* 1877 required the choice controversy over Rutherford Hayes and Samuel tildes a separate consultation of the two chambers. 1969 refused a delegate accepting the choice victory Richard Nixons.

Thanks to JoMama49 here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x270523

[MelissaB]

24. Made a Dutch paper but so far I've seen nothing on Dutch TV about 12/6

'Fraude bij stembusgang in Ohio'
Protest Democraten VS tegen verloop presidentsverkiezingen
door Frank Kools
2005-01-07

NEW YORK - Democratische afgevaardigden die boos zijn over het verloop van de Amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen in de staat Ohio hebben gisteren daarover een debat afgedwongen in het Congres. Zo hielden ze de officiële bevestiging van de zege van president Bush op.



Volgens Democratische afgevaardigden uit Ohio hebben zich bij de stembusgang in november ,,wijdverspreide onregelmatigheden'' voorgedaan. Ze maken ook bezwaar tegen de wijze waarop herteld werd. De Republikeinse 'minister van binnenlandse zaken' van Ohio, Kenneth Black well, wees eerder al hun klachten fel van de hand.

Om een apart debat over de problemen af te dwingen hadden leden van het Huis de steun van minstens één senator nodig. Vier jaar geleden wisten afgevaardigden uit Florida niemand te vinden die hun protest tegen de stembusgang daar wilde steunen. Gisteren ondertekende Barbara Boxer, net herkozen als senator voor Californië, wel hun bezwaarschrift.

Boxer trok de zege van Bush niet in twijfel. Ze noemde haar protest in een brief aan Stephanie Tubbs Jones, leider van de Democraten uit Ohio ,,de enige directe manier om deze zaken aan het licht te brengen door u toe te staan een twee uur durend debat te hebben om het Amerikaanse volk de feiten te doen kennen over Ohio's verkiezingen.''

Gisteren werd de gezamenlijke sessie gehouden van Senaat en Huis, waarin gisteren de verkiezingsuitslag formeel zou worden vastgesteld. Door het protest moest die worden afgebroken. Het Huis en de Senaat zouden gisternacht onze tijd vervolgens twee uur apart over de zaak vergaderen. Tot woede van de Republikeinen, die riepen dat de Democraten zich verloren in samenzweringstheorieën.

Democratische presidentskandidaat John Kerry sloot zich niet aan bij het protest. Hij zei ,,zeer verontrustende vragen'' over Ohio te hebben en later met een voorstel te komen om de verkiezingsprocedures te hervormen. Kerry kreeg zo'n 118000 stemmen minder dan Bush in Ohio.

Thanks to helderheid here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x270648


(Sorry I can't translate this.) :)

[MelissaB]

25. Connecticut RFP calls for electronic PAPERLESS systems--act NOW

Alert: Connecticut Paperless E-Voting

December 29th, 2004


You have probably heard about the threat to our democracy posed by paperless electronic voting machines. Incredibly, in spite of all the recent controversy, the State of Connecticut is well on its way to spending millions of dollars on these unauditable black boxes.

Connecticut has recently produced an "RFP" (Request for Proposals) that sets the requirements for new voting equipment. In the absence of legislative action by Connecticut or the U.S. Congress to require a voter-verified paper trail, the RFP requirements will result in UNAUDITABLE, PAPERLESS ELECTRONIC VOTING in Connecticut.

Connecticut could have a vastly more trustworthy, less expensive, and more accurate voting system by using precinct-count optical scan systems. These systems allow voters to fill out a paper ballot which is read and counted by computer in the polling place, and recounted by hand if necessary. These machines are already used all over the country.

Equipment now exists that makes optical scan paper ballots accessible to voters who are blind, disabled, or who have difficulty reading.

Please ACT NOW to be heard on this important issue, visit our Action Center today!


http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?id=2379


Thanks to Carolab here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x270675

[Liberty Belle]

44. Did you post in the Connecticut forum, too?

[MelissaB]

26. Report on machine fraud in Snohomish County WA-get this report out!

This needs to be broadcast all over as Rossi is demanding a revote.

http://www.votersunite.org/info/SnohomishElectionFraudInvestigation.pdf

Thanks to Amaryllis here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=203&topic_id=268654&mesg_id=268654


(Sorry I don't know how to copy and paste this.)

[dzika]

27. Eyewitness Accounts, Linda Byrket Documentary, and Blackwell letter

January 8, 2005

House Committee Appendices: Eyewitness Accounts, Linda Byrket Documentary, and Blackwell letter

In submitting their preliminary report, the House Judiciary Democrats submitted three additional appendices :

A list of excerpts from affidavits of eyewitnesses to the Ohio disenfranchisement. http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/ohioquotes.pdf

A copy of Blackwell's illegal fundraising letter on Secretary of State stationery: http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/blackwellfundraisingltr.pdf and

Lynda Byrket's landmark film, Video the Vote. http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/video%20the%20vote.mov


link:
http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2005/01/house-committee-appendices-eyewitness.html

[dzika]

28. "Freedom Winter" Bus Rider Arrested in Congress

January 7, 2005

"Freedom Winter" Bus Rider Arrested in Congress

Reportedly, on Thursday during the Senate debates over the Ohio electoral challenge, Ohio citizen Prof. Tracy Wallach was arrested by Capitol Police upon leaving the public gallery.

The incident apparently triggering the arrest was her alleged spontaneous outcry upon hearing the testimony of Ohio Senator George Voinovich. When Voinovich stated on the Senate floor that Ohio had elected Bush as President, Prof. Wallach allegedly cried out, “No, Ohio didn’t, you lied.” She then rushed from the Senate gallery where she had been seated to observe the debate. She was arrested shortly thereafter outside the gallery, and jailed overnight in the City Jail without bail, pending a hearing today on charges of disruption of Congress. She was told the outburst was a felony offense, and will face up to 6 months of jail time and a fine after a court hearing scheduled for March 2004. Prof. Wallach was told she was banned from the U.S. Capitol area of Washington D.C., forever.

Washington D.C. Police could not specify what penalties might result from her arrest. Wallach is a resident of Ohio and a professor at Kent State University. She had traveled to Washington with the “Freedom Winter Bus” from Columbus. The 50 citizens onboard the bus had started out at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday in Columbus, arriving in Washington, D.C. for a press conference at 2:00, followed by presentations of personal testimony to their elected representatives about their experiences with vote fraud and disenfranchisement in the November election.

Washington Police reportedly confiscated her camera, and other personal belongings. Prof. Wallach described her treatment as “extremely rude, especially in the middle of the night.”


link
http://fairnessbybeckerman.blogspot.com/2005/01/freedom-winter-bus-rider-arrested-in.html

[dzika]

29. LETTER - America, once a representative republic; now a kingdom

Saturday, January 08, 2005

America, once a representative republic; now a kingdom (my letter to my congressmen/women)

You can not take back a vote. Once it is cast, the damage is done. When the War Powers Act was passed, without much of a squeak from Democrats in both houses, I decided it was time to withdraw from the Democratic Party. After all, giving a madman the power to use our military (that’s OUR military, not George Bush’s military), however he wanted was about the same as taking our Constitution and throwing down in the mud of a hog farm and then burning it. For that, all Democrats who voted "yea" should be ashamed. They should also feel guilty. They are just as responsible for sending our young men and women to die in Iraq as the megalomaniac moron at the helm. At that time, I changed my voter registration from Democrat to Independent.

Last year, Dennis Kucinich and then Wes Clark got me inspired and gave me hope once again. I re-registered as a Democrat and felt proud and full of hope. It wasn’t the recent election that killed all my hope for our country. It was the cowardice that most Democrats showed on January 6, 2005. There was a time when I believed that America began dying the day Kennedy was shot down like a clay duck at a shooting range and Americans sat back quietly and believed the lies that were told to us. If that was the day that the soul of our nation began to wither away, what was it that happened on January 6, 2005 that could signal even more, that America is no longer a representative republic?

If you are not familiar with the story of how a democracy was transformed into a kingdom, specifically, the Bush Kingdom, here is a very brief overview:

The stealing of the American election in 2004 was much more elaborate than in Russia. The right wing machine in the US, used a multi-pronged approach. First, they made sure that anyone who voted in a democratic precinct would have to wait on line to vote. I don’t mean 10 minutes; I mean 10 hours. In democratic areas where the voter registration had multiplied by 3 and 4, you would think there would be more voting machines, wouldn’t you? You would be wrong; three or four times as many voters and the same amount of machines equals long, long, voting lines in minority areas.

The second prong was intimidation. In Florida, black voters were told that if they voted, and they had any outstanding parking tickets or if they owed any child support money, they would be arrested. This practice breaks many laws including civil rights violations. This is sick profiling at it’s sickest. Leave it to the right-wingers to think of that. Additional intimidation tactics have included changing the polling place, causing minority voters to drive around looking for the new polling place as well as roadblocks and notices telling minority voters that they would have to present their birth certificate to vote.

We’ve all heard about the registrations that were rejected in Ohio because they were on the wrong weight of paper. Sounds like something that would happen in Burma; but it happened here.

If the first two types of voter fraud were not enough to assure the corporate agent, George Bush another four years to sell America to big business at the expense of US taxpayers, the most effective method of election stealing was electronic vote hacking. In almost every precinct in Ohio, there were many more votes cast than registered voters. In some precincts, the overage was as much as 1000%. So who do you think all those extra votes were cast for? Gee, what a coincidence: in every single case of vote overage, the extra votes were cast for George Bush.

This brings me to the point of this letter. I want you to know that I will never, ever vote again. America is obviously not a representative republic any more. What is the point of voting? On January 6, 2005, our elected congress had an opportunity to save our country. They had an opportunity to restore the most basic right of every American; the right to vote. Our Democrats in congress let us down. Aside from the 31 congressmen/women and one senator, the whole of congress are nothing but self-serving cowards. If you have read this far, I am surprised. You can continue to condone and support this corporate fascist state. I officially give up. The right-wingers win. It’s not my country any more and we have our cowardly Democrats to thank. If there is one spark of hope for the future of our once great nation, it is the hope of our black leaders and a handful of other brave souls. God bless Dennis Kucinich, Barbara Boxer, John Conyers and rest of the true American heroes. The rest of the cowards that voted "nea" on January 6, do not represent us. If you voted "nay" on "On Agreeing to the Objection," you will no longer have my support. Goodbye and thanks for nothing.


link
http://blogs.salon.com/0004228/2005/01/08.html

[dzika]

30. Olver, black caucus vote against certifying electoral college ballots

1/8/2005

Olver, black caucus vote against certifying electoral college ballots

By Evan Lehmann Sentinel & Enterprise Washington Bureau


WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. John W. Olver was the only New England lawmaker to vote against certifying the Electoral College ballots Thursday, the final step in the president's journey to a second term.

Although many Democratic senators and representatives from the region spoke against the certification, none but Olver joined a core group of black legislators in casting dissenting votes.

Some of those black lawmakers, who claim voting irregularities in Ohio and elsewhere disproportionately affected minority voters, asked Olver why he joined them, "Because I was there," Olver told them, according to his chief of staff, Hunter Ridgway.

Olver, who represents the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts, spent Election Day in Youngstown, Ohio, after days of canvassing minority neighborhoods in support of U.S. Sen. John Kerry.


continued
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/Stories/0,1413,106~4992~2642778,00.html

[dzika]

31. Bush Promotes Election Official - "no discrepancies or problems" in Ohio

01/08/2005

Elections observer will oversee changes

By Bill Lambrecht
Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau


WASHINGTON - Paul DeGregorio began Election Day watching Bronx voters manipulate creaky, levered machines that had been around since Franklin Roosevelt was president.


Paul DeGregorio

All of that added up to nearly 24 straight hours of election monitoring for DeGregorio, who was elevated last week to vice-chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

His job as the No. 2 person at the nation's new election watchdog agency will put DeGregorio at the center of election reform during a time of epochal transition in how many Americans vote. In Missouri alone, 65 percent of voters will see new voting equipment in 2006; in Illinois, about 60 percent.

-snip-

One year ago, President George W. Bush appointed DeGregorio, a Republican, to a two-year term on the commission, which pays a salary of $140,000. He commutes weekly to Washington to work, typically catching a 6:50 a.m. flight on Monday and returning home Friday evening.

-snip-

Few voters have heard of the commission, but 7,000 election officials around the county know all about it. Thus far, it has distributed $2.4 billion in federal funds for election reform, including $61 million to Missouri and $45 million to Illinois. (Illinois is in line to receive another $98 million.)

-snip-

DeGregorio agrees with that outcome, saying he has seen "no discrepancies or problems that call into question the fact that President Bush carried Ohio."


more
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/newswatch/story/CE4BAA2728BEFC3786256F830037C80B?OpenDocument&Headline=Elections+observer+will+oversee+changes

[MelissaB]

34. More from this article...

In one key mission, DeGregorio and his colleagues will be leaping into the debate over whether paper records should be required in computerized voting to guard against machines producing false vote totals, accidentally or otherwise.

DeGregorio hasn't come down on either side in the debate. He insists that the commission will consult a wide variety of experts. Ushering in the era of computerized voting, he said, "is a major responsibility on our shoulders and we take it seriously."


-----------------------------------------------------------

I'd love to be able to contact DeGregorio. Anybody got an email or snail mail address? He needs some mail!

[dzika]

32. Ohio at the heart of it all

01-08-2005

Ohio at the heart of it all

WASHINGTON -- A nasty presidential election. Charges of voting irregularities and the minority vote being suppressed. Members of Congress contesting the electoral vote.

American democracy in 2005? No, American politics in 1877.

And, just like this week, when a handful of Democrats in Congress challenged some of the electoral votes for George W. Bush, Ohio was in the eye of the storm.

The election of 1876, which eventually put Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House, is regarded by historians as the most hotly contested election in the nation's history.


more
http://www.cincypost.com/2005/01/08/collins010805.html

[dzika]

33. Ohio officers in voter fraud case HQ address listed on records, a felony

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Parma officers in voter fraud case HQ address listed on records, a felony

by Joseph L. Wagner

Parma


Three police officers face possible prosecution because they listed their headquarters as home addresses to register to vote Nov. 2, city officials said.

-snip-

"This floored me," said DePiero, who requested an independent investigation by Cuyahoga County sheriff's detectives. "There is no rationale for it."

The mayor said city officials learned of possible voter registration fraud, a fifth-degree felony, by checking a report from a cam- paign worker about an officer criticizing city officials as he left a polling place.

-snip-

State law permits officers to remove home addresses from driver's licenses but not from voter registration records, which are public, said county elections chief Michael Vu.

Vu said his office takes the case seriously, noting that several county issues were decided by mere handfuls of votes.


link
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1105180287234380.xml

[banishbush]

35. e-voting machines in Western Pa.

I just caught a clip on my local news channel. They said that the electronic voting machines in Beaver, Mercer, and other close by counties here in western Pennsylvania, have been impounded so they can be investigated. Does anybody else know anything about this? I have searched the net and found nothing. I find it hard to believe that I have learned of this from mainstream media and not here. I do not recall the company of these machines but it was not Triad or Diebolt. I live in the area and this conserns me. Any info would be great. I also wonder if they are really investigating or covering tracks yet again. Do I need my tinfoil hat becaues I just retired it?lol!!
Peace
:party:

[dzika]

36. A defeat for voters' rights

January 9, 2005

A defeat for voters' rights

ON JAN. 6 those who tuned in to C-SPAN witnessed something that has only happened three times in American history. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Senator Barbara Boxer interrupted congressional acceptance of the electoral votes by objecting to the Ohio slate of electors based on evidence of massive voting irregularities, forcing the two houses to meet separately for debate.

Courageous Democrats spoke on behalf of voting rights for all citizens. They presented accounts of flaws in a system unable to assure fair and transparent elections. They pointed out that this issue is not about President George W. Bush or Senator John Kerry, but about ensuring that voters' rights are protected.

Ironically, despite their attempts at a revote in Washington, Republicans framed the contest as a conspiracy theory interfering with the business of Congress. Furthermore, Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's secretary of state, functioned as both the head of Ohio's election activity and co-chaired the Bush/Cheney '04 Ohio efforts. Republicans ignored the obvious conflict of interest. One senator said of election reform, "It's a shame we're wasting our time on this today." What is shameful is that any official sworn to uphold and defend our Constitution was brushing aside voters' rights as inconsequential.One hundred percent of our voters should have complete confidence in the process and outcome, yet we failed them in both 2000 and 2004

link
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2005/01/09/a_defeat_for_voters_rights/

[dzika]

37. Voters deserve better from Kerry

January 9, 2005

Voters deserve better from Kerry

CAMERON KERRY'S Jan. 6 op-ed article "Counting every vote" is an unwelcome and weak apology for his brother's decision not to challenge the vote tally in Ohio. Despite Senator John Kerry's assurances that every vote would be counted, in a truly remarkable display of callousness toward those who worked so hard for his campaign, the senator issued a statement stating: "While I am deeply concerned about the issues being highlighted by my colleagues in Congress and citizens across the country and support their efforts to highlight the need to ensure voting rights, I will not be joining their protest of the Ohio electors."

That statement speaks volumes about why Kerry lost the presidential election as much as any voting irregularities.

In what the senator hailed as the most important election of our lifetime, the voters deserve better than vague assurances from Kerry about getting it right next time.

link
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2005/01/09/voters_deserve_better_from_kerry/

[Wilms]

38. Pa. Department of State will review voting problems in three counties

Associated Press

MERCER, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Department of State will open an examination of an electronic voting system that plagued balloting locations in three counties and led to the resignation of an election director, agency officials said.

Voters using the new machines in Mercer, Greene and Beaver counties on Nov. 2 complained that their votes were voided when they tried to review their choice, which led to long lines at some balloting locations.

Eight counties used the same machines made by UniLect, based in Dublin, Calif., but the voting difficulties were limited to the three counties in western Pennsylvania.

-more-

<http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/politics/10599299.htm>

[banishbush]

39. Pennsylvania

Thanks for the link! I intend on keeping all documentation on Pa. and handing it to Senator Rick Santorum when I get my face to face meeting with him. Can you believe that this Senator responded to my letter about voting issues in the 2004 election by saying he was "pleased with the results of this past election"? He better be damn happy that Kerry carried this state or David Cobb would have been justified in getting a recount here too!!

I am asking all concerned Americans, and especially Pennsylvania residents to please e-mail Senator Santorum and let him know how "unpleased" we are about all issues surrounding this past election! This guy has completely pissed me off and needs to know that he represents all Americans, not just Republicans.:grr:

Pennsylvania did not get the attention it deserved concerning all of this. Let's give it too him now, and let him know what happen here in Pennsylvania is a crime and he should be ashamed, not "pleased!" Help me hold our Pennsylvania officials accountable!!! Thanks for your support.

http://santorum.senate.gov/emailrjs.html

[Wilms]

41. Banishbush, why don't you start a seperate thread with this story?

It's a good one, and this thread is for just for posting news items.

[banishbush]

42. don't know how

This is the first time I have posted and not so sure what to do or where to link it.

[Wilms]

43. Go here...

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=203>


click the "POST" icon near the top of the page. From there it's like filling in a reply. If you have trouble, jump in on a thread and ask for help.

We really should leave this page!!!

[dzika]

46. Democracy dead in Ohio? That's just the half of it

January 9, 2005

Democracy dead in Ohio? That's just the half of it

A fledgling movement decries corporate influence

By David Desjardins, Globe Staff


Last Thursday, when the Electoral College votes were presented for approval in the nation's capital before both houses of Congress, formally proclaiming the winner, Ronnie Dugger of Somerville was watching with particular interest.

Dugger, founder of the Alliance for Democracy, has been vigorously fighting George W. Bush's certification as the nation's newly reelected president, based on alleged vote fraud and discrimination in Ohio last November.

The organization -- which has some 2,000 dues-paying members nationally but claims many more active in chapters around the country -- was founded to challenge the power of large corporations, but in the wake of the recent presidential election has been at the forefront of charges that the vote in Ohio was tainted by fraud.

"The nation is not going to survive unless there is a major reformation of the political process," said Dugger, a journalist who has written on the dangers of fraud in computerized vote counting. "Otherwise, the country is about to disappear as a democracy."


continued
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/01/09/democracy_dead_in_ohio_thats_just_the_half_of_it/

[dzika]

47. Arizona's Rep. Grijalva objects to election

Jan. 9, 2005 12:00 AM

Grijalva objects to election

by Billy House
The Arizona Republic


Arizona's Rep. Raul Grijalva was one of just 31 House members - all Democrats - and the only one from Arizona to vote in favor Thursday of upholding the formal objections to certifying President Bush's victory over Sen. John Kerry in the November election because of reputed voting irregularities in Ohio.

Congress certified Bush as the winner by rejecting the objections on a 74-1 vote in the Senate and 267-31 vote in the house.

-snip-

"This objection is not about an election result, it's about an election system that is broken. It is on behalf of those millions of Americans who believe in and value our democratic process and the right to vote that I put forth this objection," he said.

"I voted for the objection as a means to make sure that issues such as voter irregularities, voter suppression and machines that don't work, does not happen again in future elections."


http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0109azindc09.html

[dzika]

48. Basis for Rossi's Contest of 2004 Washington Gubernatorial Election

(warning: this is news from the dark side)

Basis for Rossi's Contest of 2004 Washington Gubernatorial Election

January 08, 2005

From Rossi campaign:

“he right of suffrage can be denied by a debasement or dilution of the weight of a citizen’s vote just as effectively as by wholly prohibiting the free exercise of the franchise.” Gold Bar Citizens for Good Government v. Whalen, 99 Wn.2d 724, 730 (1983).

“Where appropriate, include the power to order a new election where no other remedy would adequately correct distortions in election results caused by fraud or neglect.” Foulkes v. Hays, 85 Wn.2d 629, 633 (1975).


"The Election Contest Petition sets forth a series of errors, omissions, mistakes, neglect, and other wrongful acts by election officials that make it impossible to determine with certainty who won the 2004 election for Governor of Washington. The specific claims include:

• In many counties, more ballots were counted than there are registered voters identified as voting.
  
• In at least one county, many provisional ballots were placed directly into counting machines on election day rather than being reviewed and validated to ensure that they were cast by eligible voters who did not cast another ballot.
  
• Illegitimate votes were cast by convicted felons whose civil rights were not restored, deceased persons, and persons other than the registered voter whose ballot was voted.
  
• Ballots were “enhanced” and altered in a manner that permanently obscures the original mark of the voter, in violation of state law.
  
• Counties treated voters inconsistently in their decisions whether to count ballots that were incorrectly rejected.
  
• Inconsistent and changing standards were employed in determining when a ballot was an overvote or and undervote.
  
• Military and absentee ballots were mailed too late to be received by election day.
  
• Private information about provisional ballot voters was released, and third parties were allowed to use that private information to procure documents seeking to validate the ballots.

"The Contest Petition seeks an order setting the election aside; declaring that any certification of the results of the election and any certificate of election issued as a result of the election are void; and directing that a new election be conducted as soon as practicable."

Here's a link to this and other resources on the case.


link
http://www.soundpolitics.com/archives/003416.html#003416

[dzika]

49. Ohio elections chief ensnared by misstep

January 09, 2005

Ohio elections chief ensnared by misstep

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state's chief elections officer, accused of mishandling the presidential vote in Ohio, sent a fund-raising letter for his own 2006 gubernatorial campaign that was accompanied by a request for illegal contributions.

A pledge card with the letter from Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican who co-chaired the Bush-Cheney election campaign in Ohio, said "corporate & personal checks are welcome." However, corporate donations are illegal in Ohio.

His spokesman, Carlo LoParo, said yesterday that any corporate donations would be returned.

-snip-

Mr. Blackwell's letter also praises Republicans for helping deliver Ohio to President Bush.

Rep. John Conyers Jr., Michigan Democrat, who prepared a report on election problems in Ohio, said the letter supports suspicions that Mr. Blackwell's actions as secretary of state during the election "stemmed from partisan political motivations" to help Mr. Bush.

Mr. Conyers said the letter "evidences Secretary Blackwell's poor judgment at best, and the manipulation of election administration for partisan purposes at worst."

link
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050109-120807-3294r.htm

[Patsy Stone]

50. Fla. Consultant Gathered Absentee Votes -- Guardian UK

Fla. Consultant Gathered Absentee Votes

Saturday January 8, 2005 10:46 PM

"ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A campaign consultant said he was hired by several Florida politicians over the past seven years to gather absentee ballots during their elections, a violation of state law."

"Ezzie Thomas, who has been granted immunity, told prosecutors that he was paid numerous times since 1998 to gather absentee ballots, most recently by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's campaign last year, his attorney said Friday."

"Thomas told prosecutors four months ago that he was hired to do similar work for U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez when he ran for Orange County chairman in 1998, Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood's 2000 campaign for Orlando mayor, and two other minor campaigns."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4720836,00.html