Blackwell to decide if opponent Strickland stays in the race

[Ms. Toad]

It's up to Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell to decide whether a challenge to the voter registration of his Democratic opponent for Ohio governor will move forward.

<snip>

At a meeting of the Columbiana County elections board on Thursday, Democratic member Dennis Johnson moved to dismiss the challenge. The four-member board voted along party lines, creating a tie: Democrats voting in favor of dismissal, and Republicans against it, according to John Payne, deputy director.

Republican member Al Fricano, meanwhile, moved to postpone action on the challenge. That motion also resulted in a tie vote, this time with Republicans voting yes and Democrats no.

Both votes will be sent to Blackwell's office to break the ties.

<snip>

But Strickland's campaign rejected the validity of a decision by the office in the new dispute. ``I think any fair-minded person would recognize that Mr. Blackwell is incapable of serving as an impartial judge in this instance, and I think that also would apply to his employees,'' said Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman.

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/politics/15748349.htm

For those new to this story, Strickland maintains two residences, one in Columbus and the other in Columbiana County. He is registered to vote from his Columbiana County address, but does other things (like filing tax returns) from his Columbus address. If Strickland is not properly registered he cannot be a candidate for governor, so Blackwell's decision on these tie votes will essentially determine whether Blackwell has an opponnent in a November or not.

[apnu]

1. damn, OH is f'ed up.

I put my money on Blackewell nixing Strickland cuz as the Pretzeldent says: 'he's a nut'

[C_U_L8R]

2. oh that's rich

lets see if Blackwell is as f'd up as everyone fears.
My guess is that he'll be forcefully removed from
offiice if he pulls a dirty trick like that.

[robinlynne]

46. oh that he is. have no doubt.

[davidinalameda]

3. would this affect his ability to hold office though

[Ms. Toad]

4. Yes

(although there are probably a lot of appeals in the process).

To be a candidate for public office in Ohio, you have to be an elector - someone registered to vote.

The deadline for changing registration has passed, so if Strickland is found not to be registered in the correct location he will not be a registered voter at the time of the election.

His contention is that this is a bogus claim, and even though he had time to change registration at the time the complaint was filed he declined to do so and now that deadline has passed. Lets hope he did some good research to back up his decision to leave his registration in Columbiana County once it was challenged - given the stakes I don't know that I would have made the same decision.

[OnTheOtherHand]

23. when was the complaint filed?

The story says "last week." So I assume that Strickland didn't have much time to do research between the time the complaint was filed and his last opportunity to register. Am I right? or has this been floating around for a while?

[Ms. Toad]

28. It hit the news with 2-3 days left for registration

I don't know if it was floating around before that or not.

[OnTheOtherHand]

33. thanks -- yeah, probably not before

The timing makes me doubt that the folks who instigated the filing feel certain of a favorable ruling -- otherwise they would not even have given Strickland a chance -- but they are trying to get the maximum feasible attention to the 'controversy.' But what they feel certain of doesn't really matter regardless.

Interestingly, the Plain Dealer story this morning says flatly that the outcome wouldn't affect Strickland's ballot standing -- but I have no idea why it says that, and the legal opinions of Plain Dealer reporters are not binding. In the other camp, so far I have found only the chair of the Columbiana County Republican Party, and his legal opinions aren't binding either. Hmm.

Apparently Blackwell's assistant SoS has been making decisions in his absence.

[robinlynne]

47. Interesting. A similar complaint was filed by the dems about Brian Bilbray

in CA-50. No quick results on that one....

[Febble]

5. This is unbelievable

Of course Blackwell can't have the casting vote. If he thinks he can, that alone is enough to disqualify HIM as a candidate IMO. Why the hell does he think he's trailing Strickland at 38% in the polls? The guy seems to have no ethical clue.

And this is a technicality, surely? Has Strickland actually done anything wrong?

[INdemo]

6. Republican propaganda at work ,.

this is a Republican rag that printed this article..A paper owned by Knight Rider and they have the reputation of stretching the truth so far that facts become lost in the ink.Its Republican propaganda at its best...

[drm604]

7. Are you saying the facts are incorrect?

Will Blackwell be deciding this or not? Is there any way Strickland can fight this?

[INdemo]

13. Im sying that Knight Rider is Republican rag

and that perhaps they aren't giving us all the facts. I remember back in the 2004 election they were publishing all sorts of stuff to discredit Democrats..they are the swift boaters with a direct news outlet....maybe even worse than Faux if thats possible..I question their credibility

[Ms. Toad]

21. Aside from tarring all Knight Ridder papers

with the same brush - Knight Ridder doesn't own the Beacon Journal anymore.

It wasn't clear from your first post whether you were specifically condemning the BJ or generally condemning on Knight Ridder (and the Beacon Journal by extension), or I would have mentioned the change in ownership in my first response.

One of the negative changes in the past several years due to staff cuts was a greater proportion of wire stories v. home grown/researched. The BJ has fairly consistently been a shining star with its home grown coverage (it has won more than one Pulitzer prize for its in depth reports). It has never done as well with its wire stories.

This particular story is written by a local staff person.

[INdemo]

29. Deleted

[Ms. Toad]

11. You're reading a different paper than I am.

Their endorsements are fairly consistently Democratic, and Republican candidates for judge have recently refused even to be interviewed by the BJ in connection with their judicial races. In a fairly well publicized spat last year the BJ published an editorial every day for weeks, asking the question "Who's Your Daddy?" of two Republican representatives blocking legislation that would have assigned badly needed additional judges to the local court system. "Daddy" refers to Alex Arshinkoff - the Republican county leader who reportedly forbid these two to withhold their consent to the judicial appointments.

I'm not saying the paper is perfect - it has suffered greatly in recent years due to staffing cuts (a lot more press release journalism rather than in depth research, for example), and they are a main stream paper, but characterizing it as a "Republican rag" is inaccurate.

[LTR]

25. Knight-Ridder is no longer in business

They sold off all of their papers to McClatchey earlier this year.

I don't know much about McClatchey, but I do know they've owned the Minneapolis Star Tribune for years and that is a pretty liberal paper. And a good one too.


Here's an account of the issue from the Plain Dealer (a Republican rag):

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1160728880111540.xml?nohio&coll=2

(snip)

The fun began when an East Liverpool woman, Jacquelyn Long, filed a complaint recently asking that the Columbiana County Board of Elections determine whether Strickland lives in an apartment above one of his congressional offices, in Lisbon. Long's prime piece of evidence: a homestead exemption form signed by the Stricklands that lists a Columbus condo they own as their primary home.

(Oh, by the way, Long's son is a supporter of Strickland's gubernatorial opponent, Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, according to Long's attorney, Heather Heidelbaugh.)

The issue doesn't affect Strickland's run for governor, but if Long is successful, she could keep him from voting. The Board of Elections shows his Lisbon apartment as his voting address.

A hearing was set for Saturday at 11 a.m. and subpoenas for the Stricklands were issued, but the county board met Thursday to determine whether to go forward. A tie vote - along party lines - sent the matter to Blackwell's office for a tie-breaking vote, according to county elections director Lois Gall.

[Ms. Toad]

50. McClatchey sold off the BJ

to another company (based in Canada, I believe) - it is the largest newspaper owned by the company. Not enough experience yet to know how it will shake out.

[MsMagnificent]

57. 0perative Sentence:

The issue doesn't affect Strickland's run for governor, but if Long is successful, she could keep him from voting. The Board of Elections shows his Lisbon apartment as his voting address.

0n edit (hit wrong button, sorry)

Seems to refute the title of the Akron article.

Can anyone explain this? Is the Plain Dealer wrong? Does it mean Strickland WILL stay on ballot or not?

[krispos42]

64. The Strib is liberal? Locals say "no"

I listen to "Minnesota Matters" on AM950 here in the Cities, and they are of the opinion that it's a two-faced newspaper. Mark Heaney has stated on several occasions that the editoral/opinion page is liberal, but the news portions are biased towards Republicans, mainly in story placement, headlines and taglines, and photos. For example, despite a plethora of imagary available photos of Mike Hatch, apparently the only photo the Strib used for a while was one taken while Hatch was shouting, while Pawlenty had a nice stock posed photo used.

I don't know; I get the PiPress on weekends. But that's the complain about it on Air America Minnesota.

[LTR]

70. Partisan groups always bitch about newspapers being too partisan

Hell, how often do you see people here calling the NYT a right-wing rag?

I believe most papers (well, probably not the WashTimes or that Scaife rag) try to go right down the middle, and try to balance their coverage. Here in Milwaukee, the Journal Sentinel (or "Urinal Sentinel") overdoes this, to the point that they run really bad RW opinion writers (Goldberg, Krauthammer, etc.) and even worse RW cartoonists. The free weekly here, the Shepherd Express (which is DEFINITELY left-leaning) rips on them all the time. I'm glad we also get The Onion here.

I lived in Minnesota for 15 years, and it seemed to me that the Strib was a bit more palatable to my opinions, while the PiPress was geared toward the wingnuts. But no matter what, you'll always find someone bitching about it.

[krispos42]

75. We have the City Pages here for the left

They just ripped wingnut Michele Bachmann a new one :-)

[Ms. Toad]

9. I haven't checked registration laws...

What has been reported is that Strickland owns a home in Columbus and rents a home in Lisbon. He has been registered to vote (and has voted) in Lisbon for a long time, and represents that district in Congress. He files his tax returns from the Columbus home, and apparently spends most of his time there when he is not on the campaign trail, and has listed it as his permanent address in order to take advantage of tax benefits associated with owning a permanent home in Columbus.

Folk have multiple residences all of the time, and have to register to vote in one of them. I registered in Ohio when I was in college here, even though at that time I always listed my permanent address as Nebraska. That was a legal option at that time (the townies had challenged college registration (and lost) since their perception was that the college students were only registering to vote at our college residence in order to the town "wet"). I haven't specifically checked anything since then (~30 years ago).

Strickland's campaign and legal staff have presumably reviewed the laws to ensure that there are no overriding considerations that would require him to register in Columbus rather than Lisbon, and feel it is a non-issue.

Non-issue or not - it does keep his name in the news with allegations of wrongdoing and presumably may require legal costs and time to fight this between now and election day.

You are correct - Blackwell has no ethical clue.

[Hav]

14. .

So if Blackwell decided the way we all expect, is that the end of it? Or can it still be challenged. And is there no chance to have at least another candidate?
It would be a desaster as it could affect the other races as well.

And when you start running for Governor, why isn't it made sure from the beginning that you are allowed to do so instead of making it an issue that late in the race when the Dems might not be allowed to field another candidate? Oh yeah, the Repubs are crooks.

[Ms. Toad]

22. I'm sure there are appeals...

Strickland's position is that he is properly registered (and the challenge was at least made when he could still have changed his registration). He is a registered voter - the challenge is just an allegation that he is registered in the wrong district. Unfortunately, if it is decided that he is not eligible to vote in Columbiana County his registration would be dropped there and it is too late to change his registration to Columbus.

Presumably his people have researched the laws, as they say his position is solid.

[apnu]

18. Yeah, well look at PA and Ricky....

He's the senator, but lives in VA. How weird (and stupid) is that?

[LynneSin]

26. If Blackwell tosses Strickland then we need to go after Santorum

This is all bullshit!

[JimDandy]

37. Is the wording used to be eligible for the tax benefit

"permanent home" or "primary residence"? Some residential tax benefits or interest rate reductions even require that the residence be "owner occupied" and for a specific number of years. All these terms have different interpretations. (My questions were answered in post #36.)

Voter residency attacks on candidates are perennial favorites of both parties, but lately there seems to be more publicity about them nationwide.

I hope Strickland made the right decision, because Ohio with Blackwell as Governor will be so much worse than Ohio was with Blackwell as SOS.

edit: added note

[Hav]

8. .

Oh shit, I hope the Dems didn't fuck this one up. That would be too stupid.

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. Stupid things have been known to happen.

I'm amazed how basic things like this slip through, unless Strickland really believed there wasn't an issue, and has court cases to back him up.

[Hav]

15. .

I really hope that the Dems in Ohio knew what they were doing. If not then they were all incompetent.
I heard that Governors are important for the elections and if that's the case, Blackwell is the last person we would want to have as the Governor in Ohio.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Very sad development, indeed.

[texpatriot2004]

10. Unbelievable nm

[Land Shark]

16. this is PRECISELY why the "bipartisan" boards were NEVER ANY

protection at all against any real election chicanery, because even if the Dems got up the courage to mount a futile fight, the tie vote would ultimately end up in front of Blackwell for the final decision....

[iconoclastic cat]

19. Why can't Ohio and Florida get it together? Seriously.

Aren't people sick enough of being a laughing stock yet?

[Amaryllis]

59. Actiivists in both states are working their butts off but the corruption

they are up against is unbelievable.

[Selteri]

71. I've already announced and will again

There is no such thing as fair boting in Ohio. I wouldn't put anything past Blackwell in his desperate bid for power, the least of which is kicking his opponent out of the election.

Anyone who trusts this man who gave the state over to rampant cheating is completely F-ing Nuts.

[mod mom]

81. Thank you. We were out in the streets in Nov '04 but w/o the Dem Party

backing us and even dismissing us as kooks-it did little good.

[liberalhistorian]

79. I sure was, which is why, after being a lifelong

resident of Ohio (born and raised, with the exception of a few years in Aberdeen, SD, as a child), I moved to Rapid City, SD, last summer, at the age of 40. I LOVE it here and NEVER EVER want to go back to that cesspool of idiotic, corrupt, "values"-obsessed repubs who've been destroying that once-great state for over a decade now, and the idiots who keep voting them in because they are allegedly so "moral" and "pro-family", etc., etc., blahblahblah. I miss my son and parents and family and friends, but that is IT.

I couldn't wait to leave and I don't ever intend to go back. And if Blackwell somehow DOES manage to get his corrupt, ignorant, idiotic, clueless, amoral, fascist hands on the governor's mansion, my parents, also lifelong residents, are gonna get the hell out of there; that will be the final straw for them.

And I'm not alone, either, people are leaving the state in droves, especially college graduates and young families. I personally know of four couples and families, myself, who happily left (family and friends) and don't ever intend to return. We're all tired of fighting it and tired of the state being run into the ground by the repubs, only to be surrounded by idiots who keep voting them in in the first goddamned place. You can only beat your head against a brick wall so many times.

[ruiner4u]

20. Oh why couldn't I have read this AFTER my morning coffee...

I can't handle the thought of blackwell for 4 years after 8 of taft.. Well,if he does that I will write in Strickland as my little one person protest..

[LynneSin]

24. Clearly Blackwell is too far behind to steal the election by voter fraud

I mean with all the tampering out there, Blackwell really only has about 10% of the votes that he could fudge without it looking too suspicious. Clearly Strickland is ahead from what I've seen like 20pts. Plus with all the recently publicity about the Ohio fraud in Rolling Stones (2 articles) and the upcoming HBO special - well, Blackwell is pretty much not going to be able to steal this one.

[iconoclastic cat]

30. Yeah, well, it kinda looks possible from that article!

These bastards come from the "If you have a problem with a man--no man, no problem" school of politics. They don't play by our goddamn pieces of paper.

[PegDAC]

38. That's basically what I was thinking.

Blackwell is running scared and is grasping at anything.

[LTR]

27. This is the kind of thing that happens in Third World countries

Freedom, my ass!

[LynneSin]

31. What do you think has been happening to this country the last 5 years

:shrug:

The rich getting richer, the poor getting poor and for those of us in the middle we can't cut a break and we're getting poorer too

[EnviroBat]

32. Just got off the phone with Stricklands Campaign Office.

Seems that they aren't even aware of this. I was told not to worry about it and they are looking into the matter. I am waiting on a call from their media spokesperson at the moment. I encouraged them to get this to the press so that people here in Ohio are aware of the shit that Blacksmell is trying to pull.

[JimDandy]

39. So Keith Dailey, Strickland's spokesman

isn't from his campaign office? He was quoted in the article. Maybe whoever answered the phone is a volunteer peon who missed the daily morning briefing.

[berni_mccoy]

34. OH FOR F*#&@S SAKE!

Why does it always come down to stolen elections?!!?!

[galloglas]

77. Why does it always come down to stolen elections?!!?!

Uhhh....

Usually...

Usually, because it DOES come down to stolen elections... or the attempts to steal them.


PS. re: "OH FOR F*#&@S SAKE!"

Are things going badly at Verified Voting ("The machines are all right. We'll fix those 'sonsuvglitches' NEXT election!" organization)?

Maybe they should try selling the electorate on better, open-sourced "Crystal Balls".

PPS. Sorry about the last sentence above. Didn't mean to drag the GOP Representatives of the House into this discussion.

[mod mom]

35. UFB!! Even if Blackwell attempts this,it will go to court & there are 3rd

party candidates like FITRAKIS in the race!

[JimDandy]

40. Or a write-in campaign. n/t

[Torgo Johnson]

36. Time to debunk this shit.

The article also establishes that Strickland, in fact, frequently stays at the Lisbon apartment:

Dennis Johnson said the elections board will give the complaint a fair hearing, but he said anyone who lives in Lisbon can tell you that Strickland stays at his apartment when in this part of the district, especially the employees at the Steel Trolley Diner, which he frequents.

“You can talk to the people at the diner who would see him late at night” when Strickland stopped in for a piece of pie, he said.

WARNING: BORING LEGAL CONTENT AHEAD

Matt then asserts, with no legal authority, that Strickland is guilty either of voting fraud or tax fraud simply because Strickland applied for a tax credit for the condo as an owner-occupied home. Dole asserts that the form shows that the Franklin County property is Strickland's primary residence. However, Ohio election law doesn't require you to vote from your "primary residence." In fact, there's nothing in the Ohio Revised Code that comes anywhere near the term "primary residence" for voting purposes.

More info at the below link:

http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/after_two_months_republican_bloggers_recycle_discredited_story_about_stricklands_voting_residence_as_news

All of this is just political garbage. It would not have gone this far if any of the two Repug board of elections officials had an ethical bone in their body. Any impartial official would easily rule in Strickland's favor.

Believe me, if the assclown Blackwell or any of his cronies tries to kick Strickland off the ballot, he will be facing a shitstorm so deep, he will regret ever going into politics. I have no doubt the asshole will try though. It has been obvious in the past that Ken will do anything to help himself and his rotting, festering, excuse of a political party.

I dare you to pull this shit,Kenny. If you won't try to win this race fair and square, you are even more of a fucking coward then even I could have possibly imagined.

[iconoclastic cat]

42. But he could still pull it, and he could still win by pulling it.

And seriously, what sort of shitstorm could stop him? A storm of whining and gnashing of teeth?

[mongo]

45. If Blackwell tries to subvert the democratic process in such an

obvious way, there will be people in the streets.

[iconoclastic cat]

54. Do you really think the Republicans will give a damn?

I fully expect that Blackwell to do it, to have people in the streets, and for nothing at all to be done to actually stop him. If I had ten bucks, I'd bet you ten bucks. Right here. He will pull the trigger, that punk ass chump.

[JimDandy]

43. Thanks for link to the legalese.

The author makes a good case for Strickland.

[mod mom]

78. Blackwell's comments:

-snip

"Those issues are normally determined at the local level," Blackwell said. "I would hope that they can get beyond partisanship and make a decision down there. I have not looked at the merits of the argument, so I will let the process play its way out."

Complicating matters, state ethics laws prohibit officials from voting on issues affecting their own interests. Jennifer Hardin, chief advisory attorney for the Ohio Ethics Commission, said it is unclear whether conflict-of-interest statutes apply in this case.

Assistant Secretary of State Monty Lobb has been assigned during the governor’s race to perform duties in the office that might conflict with Blackwell’s candidacy.

more at:

http://www.ohioelects.com/?story=dispatch/2006/10/14/20061014-C3-03.html




so it sounds like he'll allow one of his minions to do the dirty work!

[nascar55]

41. The Strickland's Condo In Columbus

is in he and his wifes name. They bought it in 4/2003 for $135,000 bucks.....they payed $1662.00 in taxes in 2005.......they get a 2.5% Reduction like most who owen a home or condo in Franklin co. Nether he or his wife vote here. Anyone can look this up at the Franklin County auditors web page...........here is the link......

http://franklin.governmaxa.com/propertymax/rover30.asp

[civildisoBDence]

44. Chrissy Hynds must be hating what's happening there

First Rush coopts "Back to Ohio" for his show, then the coin scandal, then Bob Ney, now this???

Makes me proud to be from the Third World nation of Georgia!

Newsprism

[galloglas]

48. If Blackwell has his way, then Hello Gov. Fitrakis!! n/t

[farmbo]

49. I'm calling Bulls**t!!!... Read. The. Law. Blackwell...

http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=PORC

Ohio Revised Code § 3503.02 (G). Rules for determining residence.

All registrars and judges of elections, in determining the residence of a person offering to register or vote, shall be governed by the following rules:...

(G) If a person removes from this state to engage in the services of the United States government, the person shall not be considered to have lost the person's residence in this state during the period of such service, and likewise should the person enter the employment of the state, the place where such person resided at the time of the person's removal shall be considered to be the person's place of residence.<snip>


OK...we have to assume that SOMEONE in the Blackwell campaign can read a statute, so my thinking is that he will "magnanimously" allow Strickland to stay on the ballot and try to score some points and get back into the race.

I shutter to think of what will happen if he actually rules him off.

:grr:

[Ms. Toad]

62. I think their argument is slightly different

Their challenge seems to be based not on Strickland having moved to DC for service in Congress, but having moved within Ohio (not for reasons of employment by the state).

Strickland's position seems to be that he hasn't moved - he just maintains two residences and is free to choose which residence within the state he uses for purposes of voting.

[farmbo]

68. We can rattle off a dozen GOPers who have moved within Ohio...

Many other Congressional districts have arguably the same claim if you use their interpretation.

Look for twenty new challenges if Blackwell upholds this...most of them against Republicans.

[mod mom]

82. but farmbo, we know that blackwell is a conniving thug opportunist who

believes he is among the "chosen". I don't think this guys understands playing fair. Don't put it past him!

:hi:

[Counciltucky]

51. Ohio should have its statehood retracted...

...if Strickland's pulled off.

That'd be partisan politics at its worst.

[Ms. Toad]

52. May be too late for this election...

Subject: Perhaps they've gotten a clarification, but
Message:
the early report was that "if Strickland is not a qualified elector, state law prohibits him from running for office."

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/community/15693255....

Looks as if it may be too late for their trick to work for the Nov election:

Protests against the candidacy of any person . . . may be filed by any qualified elector who is a member of the same political party as the candidate and who is eligible to vote at the primary election for the candidate whose declaration of candidacy the elector objects to. . . The protest . . . shall be filed not later than four p.m. of the sixty-fourth day before the day of the primary election, or if the primary election is a presidential primary election, not later than four p.m. of the forty-ninth day before the day of the presidential primary election. . . . If they find that such candidate is not an elector of the state, district, county, or political subdivision in which the candidate seeks a party nomination or election to an office or position . . . the candidate's declaration of candidacy and petition shall be determined to be invalid and shall be rejected; otherwise, it shall be determined to be valid. That determination shall be final.

There may be separate rules for the regular election, but I didn't find them in a quick look.

[MsMagnificent]

58. Do you have a link for that paragraph?

Thanks

[Ms. Toad]

60. Sorry

ORC. § 3513.05. Filing of declaration of candidacy and petition; protests; certification of ballot forms.

Deep linking doesn't seem to work - but here's a shot: http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=PORC

If all you get is the general Anderson's page, in the left frame select 35 Elections, then look for 3513.05 in the right frame.

I still haven't had time to do a thorough search - the disqualification I have found so far is relevant only to the primary election. There may be a separate process for the general election - or it may just be too late for Blackwell to play this particular card (except for its mudslinging value).

[mcg]

72. Here's a direct link that works, it's too late for the Repubs to protest.

http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll/PORC/16b26/16f0d/16f28?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm&2.0#JD_351305

"The protest shall be in writing, and shall be filed not later than four p.m. of the sixty-fourth day before the day of the primary election"

[Time for change]

53. I'm confused

The title to this thread says that Blackwell will decide if Strickland stays in the race, but the article seems to deal only with where he can be allowed to vote? Is there really any danger of Strickland being ruled ineligible to run for Governor?

[iconoclastic cat]

55. Yes, only registered voters can be on the ballot in OH. nt

[Ms. Toad]

61. The first articles (a week ago)

said he could not run for office in Ohio if he was not a valid elector (registered voter). Today's article in the Beacon Journal is silent - and the Plain Dealer article says it will not impact the race - only his ability to vote for himself.

The only applicable law I have found so far would have had to be invoked about 2 months before the primary election - there may be a separate general election law which I have not found yet or whoever the Beacon Journal used as a source (Johnson, Republican chair of the Columbiana County Board of Elections) may have misunderstood that the time for protest had already passed.

[OnTheOtherHand]

65. the article I saw attributed that view to a Republican politico

So, he may just have been wrong. Imagine that. ;)

But it can be hard to tell sometimes, if the case law is ambiguous, or if we don't know it.

[geiger]

56. well, thanks for posting this

I'm from Columbiana County, and my mom still lives there and I didnt know about this.

[melissinha]

63. Is there any law about conflict of interest???

Meaning a person cannot decide on an election matter in whihc he himself would be the beneficiary?

Also my other questions are about homestead exemption and voter registration...

Shouldn't this issue have been settled before with concern to Strickland's candidacy as a Congressman?

[davidinalameda]

66. or during the primary

[Ms. Toad]

74. The only specific law I found

agrees with you. Even though Johnson (the Republican chair of the Columbiana County board of elections - where the complaint was filed) indicated last week that if the board ruled Strickland was not an elector he couldn't be on the ballot, the time appears to have passed (about 2 months before the primary) to challenge his registration for purposes of knocking him out of the governor's race.

I haven't done a thorough search, and the law I found (cite provided earlier in the thread) is specific to primary elections. That may well be the only time to protest that a candidate is not properly registered - and Johnson may have just been blowing smoke.

[MattP]

67. What about man on dog boy?

How could Ricky run in PA and by the way whoever said earlier that Knight Ridder was a republican rag, they owned alot of papers and if anything they were one of the last fair newspaper conglomerates out there and it was another loss when they had to sell.

[west5548]

69. I have a headache from Ohio spinning in circles

I really don't think that we have anything to worry about. Do you think that Blackwell would try this stunt so close to the election without having all these people who are voting for Strickland cause a riot towards Blackwell? There would be alot of pissed off people in this state and they would let Blackwell have it. If something does happen and Strickland can't run, then this state should ban together for one of the biggest protests in this country's history and show Blackwell he means s*&t to us.

[west5548]

73. Re-read everything

Ok, now that it's morning I've read again everything posted and Ms Toad could be right with regards to everything being done before the Primary. I haven't found anything regarding the general election only Primary. Isn't everything hashed out and checked before the Primary Election anyway?? So if this was an issue then it should have been brought up before the Primary Election took place. This is all begining to smell really fishy to me. The dems will have the big guns out on this one so I think it will backfire on Blackwell, it's too late for him to try and gain votes from this and people I don't think are going to pay much attention, over half of Ohio has made up it's mind it wants Strickland.

[mcg]

76. A good discussion of the legalities of this ...

see
http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/after_two_months_republican_bloggers_recycle_discredited_story_about_stricklands_voting_residence_as_news

[liberalhistorian]

80. You've gotta be fucking KIDDING me!

Blackwell should have resigned as SOS the moment he got the repub guv nomination, although we all knew that that was too much to ask of him. He's been a disaster as SOS and will be a far worse disaster as governor, to the point where that might be the final nail in Ohio's coffin.

The fact that the pukes see nothing wrong with his or his office having the deciding vote on this just shows what we've been trying to get across all along, how breathtakingly corrupt, unethical, clueless and arrogant they all are and have been from the moment they gained control of the state. It is beyond my comprehension that his office should even be permitted to make that final determination. I'd feel the same way if it were the other way around, if it were a Dem candidate who was also the SOS who would make the final determination as to the validity of his repub opponent.

This has nothing to do with whether or not Strickland is correctly and legally registered. If he didn't do the correct thing in regard to that, then he should be held accountable (although, from my understanding of OH law when I lived there, he's on solid ground. But that will make no difference to the pukes or Blackwell, it never has). But his opponent should NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT be the one to make that determination, THAT is the major issue.

Good God, I am SOOOO glad I am finally OUT of that state! You know it's bad there when SD is so much better.