2 groups say 4 out of 9,078,728 Ohio votes cast in '02 and '04 fraudulent

[Algorem]

Review: Rampant voter fraud a myth

Still, Ohio lawmakers keep up reform push

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1118827862312460.xml&coll=2

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Julie Carr Smyth
Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus- Of 9,078,728 votes cast in Ohio in 2002 and 2004, only four were fraudulent, according to a new review by a pair of voter advocacy groups.

The review's sponsors - the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio and the League of Women Voters - contended Tuesday that rampant voter fraud in Ohio is a myth that is being used to impose new restrictions on voters in future elections.

"The stories still persist - but we wanted to make the record clear," said coalition director Bill Faith. "There is no evidence to support the stories."

The survey of Ohio's 88 county elections boards turned up only four actual cases of voter fraud - in which one person improperly cast another's ballot - in the past two election cycles. Two were in Madison County, west of Columbus, and one each occurred in Medina and Lorain counties...

[trotsky]

1. It's not voter fraud that's the problem

it's election fraud. Sure, we want to make sure that registered voters vote only once. But more importantly, we want their votes counted accurately.

[Roland99]

2. The problem is votes NOT being counted..not fake ones BEING counted

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. except, of course, the vapor votes being tabulated by Diebold

that were never cast in the first place.

[Roland99]

6. them, too.

[Boredtodeath]

13. Diebold was not in USE in OH in 2004

Except in 2 very small counties -neither of which anyone has alleged had "fraud" allegations.

Let's stay factual, shall we?

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. ES&S then?

And IIRC (though I could be wrong) though Diebold vote machines were sparsely used, Diebold tabulators were standard.

Nicht so?

[Boredtodeath]

19. Not so

Myth perpetuated by activists who don't bother to be factual.

Diebold was not a part of the Ohio election in any way, shape or form except in 2 very small counties.

ES&S Triad was the big machine (punch card) in use in Ohio in 2004; including their tabulators.

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. You are aware of the interlinks between ES&S and Diebold,

aren't you?

They are not competitors -- they share the market. Both RW republican owned. IIRC, the CEO of Deibold is brother of President, or Executive Vice President or some such, of ES&S.

I admit to lazy talk, saying Diebold when I mean the entire vote machine/tabulating industry which has been privatized by partisan interests.

I think such shorthand should be allowed in this forum -- we're not all journalists, here.

And my statement stands. There is much more to election fraud than registering corpses.

[Boredtodeath]

21. I am aware of it

And all I was trying to say is we need to be factual.

And, saying Diebold + Ohio = 2004 election fraud is not factual.

[RaleighNCDUer]

22. But ES&S + Ohio = 2004 election fraud is. nt

[Boredtodeath]

23. Perhaps

While we have very good reason to believe that, we haven't proven it.

If we can move from the unproductive exit poll arguments and onto finding solid proof of fraud, we may be able to bring them down for it.

[orion9941]

4. Good Grief!

I live in "Cow-lump-us" Ohio and can tell you that is a crock of shit. Truth be known I am surprised that many people actually got to vote considering all of the extremely long lines in this city on election day. :mad:

[xchrom]

5. if they're changed in the machines

how would they know?

[GuvWurld]

7. It's a typo

Only four were NOT fraudulent :P

[Peace Patriot]

8. Thanks to these advocacy groups--and thanks for the post!

More Bushite lying--their early prep for when we recover our right to vote (preemptive strike on the poor). But the truth is catching up with them. (Bush approval at 35%!!!).

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Hey, I was born and raised in Madison County. Bet someone's

using my name to vote....I left in 1967 and oh yes, I couldn't vote then since I was too young.

[organik]

10. "voter fraud"

Love that term, "voter fraud" - oh how it distracts from the truth of ELECTION FRAUD.

It's not the voters I'm worried about, sure some of them cheat a few votes here and there. It's the people who COUNT the votes I'm worried about, who cheat hundreds, no, thousands of votes.

[tandem5]

16. I'm not worried about the voters either, but...

"voter fraud" is a term used by neocons in order to leverage strategic voter suppression and it's not a distraction from the topic of election fraud to debunk such claims.

[garybeck]

11. did you all hear Bob Fitrakis on the Brad radio show talk about

how Blackwell has direct access to all the county level election tabulators, right in his OFFICE!?

if there was funny business going on, it would not ever get detected and people could write bogus articles like this without ever realizing the elections are being stolen.

check out the interview, which is now archived at Bradshow.com

gb

[Boredtodeath]

12. Perhaps you could explain then?

How this equates to the Fritakis allegations about "override and overwrite" capabilities? Because this is exactly the press release Fritakis is talking about:

Ohio To Report Election Results Online
Friday, February 27, 2004

COLUMBUS - Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell today announced that results for the March 2 Primary will be reported and continually updated on the secretary of state's Web site, http://www.sos.state.oh.us/ beginning at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

As unofficial results from county boards of elections are reported to the secretary of state's office, returns for the following races will be immediately posted online: party nominations for President, U.S. senator, chief justice of the Ohio supreme court, Ohio supreme court justice, members of congress, state senator, state representative, and court of appeals.

A new feature to this year's online reporting will be an interactive personalized dashboard that allows citizens and media to customize their viewing to specific election results and races. For example, Presidential returns may be paired with a particular congressional or statehouse race; party nominations for U.S. senate may be viewed beside a specific Ohio supreme court race and a court of appeals contest. The dashboard will ultimately allow visitors to the secretary of state's election night Web site to forgo scrolling through numerous lists of candidates and districts.

Also on the Web site is a comprehensive 2004 Ohio Primary Media Guide featuring information about the presidential nominating processes, voter registration totals, candidate lists and historical data.

On Tuesday, polls throughout the state will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Ohioans who have questions about the status of their voter registration or location of their assigned polling location should call their county board of elections. A directory of boards of elections is also available on the secretary of state's Web site.
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/news/release/02-27-04.htm

[Algorem]

14. Ohio Senators considering allowing in-person voting before elections

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-17/11188575266880.xml&storylist=cleveland

Senators considering allowing in-person voting before elections
6/15/2005, 2:56 p.m. ET
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Senators are considering allowing people to vote in person before Election Day to try to eliminate the long lines of November's presidential election, a key Republican said Wednesday.

Senators would have to win the support of House members who rejected the idea as part of a bill to revamp election law, saying they were concerned about the burden on county elections boards.

The Senate also is considering removing a provision of the bill to allow voters to cast absentee ballots by mail without giving a reason why the could not vote in person, said Sen. Kevin Coughlin, a Cuyahoga Falls Republican. He sponsored the Senate's version of the election reform bill...

The Senate version also could require voters to show identification with their photo to vote. Proponents say that will reduce voter fraud, but critics contend there's no proof of widespread fraud and that requiring a photo ID could discourage people from voting...

[Algorem]

15. "Suppressing the vote",Toledo Blade editorial

Suppressing the vote


http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050615/OPINION02/506150318

LEGISLATION being pushed quickly through the General Assembly appears to have one prime motivation - to make it harder rather easier for Ohioans to vote.


In addition to introducing partisan voter registration for the first time in state history, House Bill 3, sponsored by Rep. Kevin DeWine (R., Fairborn), contains a whole slew of provisions that would throw up obstacles to voters and those who wish to register others to vote.

Especially troubling is talk around the Statehouse that Republican leaders intend to amend the bill to require ex-felons to get a court order to restore their right to vote.

Even Florida, no model of election reform, discarded this exclusionary practice after it was used in the contested 2000 presidential election to turn away thousands of voters, including many who were improperly put on a state list of ex-felons...

[Carolab]

17. Good for them. This IS a myth that the Baker Commission is exploiting.

Will lead to greater voter suppression and gives further support for real ID.

I'm glad they are working on this. Actually, LWV is working on the entire "voter registration" front.