Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News Sunday, Jan 29

[MelissaB]

All members welcome and encouraged to participate.

Link to previous Election Reform, Fraud, & Related News thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x411091

All previous daily threads are available here:

http://www.independentmediasource.com/DU_archives/du_2004erd_el_ref_fr_thr_calenders.htm

[MelissaB]

1. Pentagon Seeks Power Over Elections in Arizona

Pentagon Seeks Power Over Elections in Arizona

By Michael Shelby, Arizona Citizens for Election Reform

January 27, 2006

The Pentagon has made a written request of the Arizona Secretary of State, Jan Brewer (photo at right), to allow her sole determination in postponing elections. In the event of a natural disaster, a state of emergency, a civil disorder, or any other catastrophic event, the SoS can unilaterally postpone an election. These overly broad circumstances have no definitions in Arizona statutory law.

Given these frightfully ambiguous categories, Ms. Brewer or any Secretray of State, after consultation with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, would have wide latitude to put off an election for up to 14 days. How would a natural disaster or state of emergency be defined? Would an earthquake or a hurricane suffice—how ‘bout a water main break? What would constitute a civil disorder— rioting in the streets, people carrying signs, a Cinco de Mayo parade? Maybe a Quaker meeting (they spy on Quakers don’t they?)?

The letter from the Pentagon, dated January 3, 2006, basically asks that in the event of early deployment of military and National Guard troops that early ballots, including the ability to vote electronically, be provided. Bad enough that the Department of Defense appears to be trying to sneak in internet voting, but HB 2148 seeks provisions that go beyond the Pentagons request.

HB 2148 seems to exploit the Pentagon's request by placing provisions in it that exceed what was asked for by the Department of Defense. In it's current form, HB 2148 seeks provisions that might deliberately complicate early voting–which includes vote-by-mail (VBM)–by requiring the official in charge of elections to provide a specific marking device or a supply of stickers suitable for use with tabulating devices. Since when have we ever used peel off stickers that could be removed and reattached in an election? It also provides for the rejection of ballots that don’t meet the standard “of not being marked according to instructions” by giving over determination of intent of the voter to “The Board.” HB 2148 also seeks to make several various alterations in Arizona voting procedures that might negatively impact the interpretation and counting of provisional ballots, the decision to count ballots that are “stuck together”, and what constitutes acceptable forms of identification. The bill adds language that narrowly defines an expatriate voter, directs elections officials reconcile the number of provisional ballots with the number of ballots cast on only the poll list, and appears to repeal sections of the Arizona Statutes that are designed to catch attempts at ballot stuffing. None of which is asked for by the letter from the Pentagon!

And, who directed the Pentagon to ask for this power in the first place?

More: http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=846&Itemid=113


Thanks to Wilms here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x411187

[MelissaB]

2. Bruce McPherson requests voting system contingency plans

Bruce McPherson requests voting system contingency plans

by Shane Mizer, 1/29/2006

Humboldt County election officials could see longer hours come election night if the Independent Testing Authority decides to issue an unfavorable review of a component found inside Diebold Inc.’s AccuVote-OS voting machine. In anticipation of the results, expected to be received by Secretary of State Bruce McPherson on Tuesday, local election officials are crossing their fingers.

“There’s always hand counts, but I don’t see that, (considering) the time involved, as a desirable alternative at all,” Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich said.

On Tuesday, the day after McPherson paid a visit to Humboldt County election officials and the Board of Supervisors, a memo from the secretary of state’s office was sent to all registrars of voters throughout the state with a questionnaire attached designed to gauge what sort of contingency plans counties will adopt if the ITA does not recommend certifying Diebold’s machine for the upcoming elections.

The request for a contingency plan came as a surprise to election officials, considering that the county is being forced to troubleshoot a problem that the federal and state guidelines have only recently created.


More: http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=7944

[Wilms]

32. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x411216

[texpatriot2004]

3. Thanks MelissaB for this thread. K & R nm

[MelissaB]

4. Warehouse that stores 1,000 voting machines leaking for 2 1/2 yrs.

...snip
The warehouse that the Board of Elections rents in Brooklyn to store more than 1,000 voting machines has been leaking for 21/2 years.

"The situation now become intolerable and dangerous," Jeffrey Kondrat, an assistant commissioner at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, warned in a letter to the landlord Oct. 13.

"Water seeps through light fixtures . . . important archives and other records are drenched, machinery necessary for the upcoming elections has been damaged, ceiling tiles have become discolored and may contain hazardous mold/bacteria."

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nypost/20060129/cm_nypost/bizboosteragencytakescityforaride;_ylt=A86.I13YytxDCZEAdhL9wxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--


(Scroll to the bottom)

[MelissaB]

5. Voters sue officials

Voters sue officials

Tribune-Review
Sunday, January 29, 2006

Butler and Cambria County residents have sued to halt the purchase and use of new electronic touch screen voting machines in those counties.

The suit, a joint complaint filed Friday against Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes, charged that county commissioners in Butler and Cambria that currently use optical scan voting machines, failed to follow proper procedures in the purchase of new voting machines.

Itzi Meztli, of Slippery Rock, lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the plaintiffs in his suit are upset about the pending purchase of iVotronic voting machines. He said the machines do not include a built-in paper trail that could verify votes and have proved costly to maintain and operate elsewhere.

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, led a similar complaint to halt the purchase of touch screen voting machines in Westmoreland County. Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court is scheduled to hear arguments in that case Feb. 7.

Counties across Pennsylvania are scrambling to update voting systems in time to meet the 2006 deadline established for upgrading voting systems in the wake of controversy over narrow margins in the 2000 presidential elections.


Link: http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/regional/s_418348.html

[MelissaB]

6. Election classes draw 500 N.O. voters

Election classes draw 500 N.O. voters

By ALLEN JOHNSON JR.
Special to The Advocate
Published: Jan 29, 2006

NEW ORLEANS — They came in droves, everyday New Orleanians — black and white, young and old — crowding into a makeshift classroom of the Jewish Community Center on Saturday morning.

By noon, more than 500 New Orleans residents had responded to a citywide plea for election commissioners to ensure voting efficiency for the April 22 municipal primary — the first election since Hurricane Katrina shattered the city five months ago.

A standing-room only crowd of applicants filled out forms, saw a training video, and received instructions on how to handle computerized voting machines.

...snip


By the end of Saturday’s seminar, Butler said the city had 498 new commissioners and 16 commissioners-in-charge. Sanchez said she is confident she passed. “I’ve been taking those tests for a long time.”


More: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/2248921.html

[MelissaB]

7. Lay attorney won't shy away from fight

Lay attorney won't shy away from fight

By JOHN C. ROPER
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Mike Ramsey sees plenty of value in being a high-profile criminal defense attorney, but it's not the money and status that fuel his passions for the job.

"Somebody needs to stand up and tell the government to go to hell now and then," Ramsey said. "If there's any redeeming social value to a criminal defense lawyer, it is that he has the God-given right to do that, not only the right but the duty to call the government to task when they get out of line."

That's something Ramsey is expected to do a lot of in the Enron trial that begins Monday, when he has the task of defending Ken Lay, the company's former chairman.

...snip

Ramsey credits much of his courtroom toughness to a case he lost shortly after he graduated with a law degree in 1965 from Southern Methodist University. In the case, he was representing his father, V.V. "Red" Ramsey, then a Harris County commissioner accused of taking kickbacks from the company that supplied the county's voting machines.

His father went to prison in the mid-1970s for a year and a day, breaking Ramsey's heart but strengthening his resolve to fight injustice, of which he felt his father was a victim.


Link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/3619918.html

[MelissaB]

8. Challenges Ahead For New Voting Law

Challenges Ahead For New Voting Law


Provided by: The Associated Press
Last Modified: 1/28/2006 10:46:32 PM


ByDOUG GROSS
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) - With its second vote in just over a year, Georgia's Legislature last week made the state's voting laws some of the toughest in the nation.

The new policy makes Georgia one of only seven states that require a photo ID to cast a ballot and only allows one of five government-issued cards to be used to meet that standard. But the plan - which is being mirrored in several states and has begun making waves at the federal level -has a few more hurdles to clear before it becomes law.

Critics, who say the plan unfairly targets the poor, the elderly and minorities, have already begun crafting their complaints to the U.S. Justice Department, which must endorse the new law before it can be enforced.


More crap at the end of this article about Jimmy Carter: http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=75309

[MelissaB]

9. PA: Kudos for Litz and Stohler

Kudos for Litz and Stohler

Lebanon Daily News

It must have been hard for Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz to stifle the “I-told-you-so.”
It was over Litz’s objections that her fellow-commissioners, Bill Carpenter and Larry Stohler, last month voted to order touch-screen voting machines from a company called AccuPoll. Whether acting more on intuition or insight — all she said was that she had concerns about the company’s financial status — Litz supplied the dissenting vote in a mid-December split decision in favor of Accupoll.

It turned out to be a bad decision. This week, the commissioners learned that Accupoll had decided to back out of the deal.

Accupoll was a little wafty about the whole affair, and Lord knows when the commissioners would have found out about the problem but for Litz, who heard somewhere about a county in Texas that had been left hanging by Accupoll. That was earlier this month, and it prompted county officials to begin asking questions. The answers were not good.

...snip

No harm done, as it turns out. On Thursday, the commissioners voted to give the contract to a different vendor, Nebraska-based Electronic Systems & Software. The vote was unanimous.


More: http://www.ldnews.com/editorials/ci_3448683

[Wilms]

33. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x411221

[MelissaB]

10. BOWEN ANNOUNCES DATES ON 'OPEN SOURCE VOTING' CONCEPT AND HOW VOTING EQUIP

BOWEN ANNOUNCES DATES ON 'OPEN SOURCE VOTING' CONCEPT AND HOW VOTING EQUIPMENT IS CERTIFIED

By California Political Desk
January 28, 2006

SACRAMENTO – Questions about whether California should move toward using electronic voting systems that rely on “open source software” and how exactly voting systems are tested and certified for use will be the subject of two hearings scheduled today by Senator Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach), the chairwoman of the Senate Elections, Reapportionment & Constitutional Amendments Committee.


“If we want people to have confidence that their votes are being counted accurately, the process we use to certify machines for use in this state and the systems themselves need to be open, accessible, and completely transparent,” said Bowen, a long-time open government advocate and the author of the 1993 measure that put all of the Legislature’s bills, analyses, and voting records on the Internet. “Nationwide, only 48% of the people are confident their votes are actually being counted correctly or being counted at all and you don’t build confidence in our electoral system by leaving people in the dark. To restore people’s faith in the system and ensure ballots are tallied accurately, we need to turn on the lights and let people see the nuts and bolts of how the technology works and how it’s tested for accuracy.”


The first hearing on February 8th will focus on the open source software issue. “Open source software” has been around for several decades, but it’s become more popular in recent years. Some of the more well-known names in the open source software world are Firefox (an Internet browser), Linux (an operating system), and Red Hat (which sells and supports a version of Linux for businesses). Witnesses will include experts on the benefits and shortcomings of open source software in general, businesses and government agencies that rely on open source software, experts on the challenges of using open source software in an electoral setting, and voting machine vendors. The hearing will be in Room 112 at the State Capitol and will begin at 9:00 a.m.


“We’ve worked hard to make elections more transparent over the years by, for example, making it easier for voters to track campaign contributions, but when it comes to the fundamental issue of how the accuracy of the election results are ensured, voters are left completely in the dark,” continued Bowen. “We’re in the middle of an intense discussion over whether Diebold’s voting machines should be re-certified for use here in California for the 2006 elections. I want to look further ahead at what alternatives there are to relying on proprietary software that can’t be examined and has turned out to be fatally flawed.”


More: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=5227

[Wilms]

34. Discussion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x411172

[MelissaB]

11. Texas: State targets election fraud

State targets election fraud
Attorney general calls problem an epidemic in Texas

12:00 AM CST on Sunday, January 29, 2006
By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News


Attorney General Greg Abbott has directed his office to work with law enforcement officials in 48 counties to stamp out voter fraud.

In announcing the effort last week, Mr. Abbott called voter fraud a Texas epidemic and said the "integrity of our democratic election process must be protected."

The initiative includes counties with populations over 100,000, including Dallas County. And it will focus on 14 counties where Mr. Abbott has previously investigated or prosecuted violations of the state's election code. Dallas County is not among those.

"We're trying to get the word out that this has been a problem in our state," said Tom Kelley, a spokesman for Mr. Abbott.

Election and law enforcement officials from various counties had not heard about Mr. Abbott's initiative or from his office when the plan was announced Wednesday.


More: http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-votefraud_29tex.ART.State.Edition2.3f473e2.html

[MelissaB]

12. Absentee voter fraud untouched by ID law

Absentee voter fraud untouched by ID law
Most frequent form of cheating may be eased by recent rules

By ALAN JUDD
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/29/06
Bunnis Williams left nothing to chance.

Determined to win a fifth term on Valdosta's City Council in 2001, Williams falsified voters' applications for absentee ballots. He filled out some ballots himself. Then, records show, he mailed them in — unwittingly including his fingerprints and sealing his fate as a convicted felon.

Williams pleaded guilty in 2003 in a case that epitomizes the most common form of election fraud in Georgia: the manipulation of absentee ballots.

The case underscores what's missing in a new state law requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification at the polls.

The law is designed to ensure voters are who they say they are. It does nothing, however, to address widespread irregularities in absentee voting, the subject of more allegations filed with the State Election Board than all other abuses combined. Since the beginning of 2004, 16 of 27 cases brought before the board involved absentee balloting.

If anything, critics say, the new measure may enable more fraud.

It does not change a law enacted in 2005 allowing voters to request an absentee ballot without saying why they want one. Even some supporters of the law say such "no-fault" or "no-excuse" voting assists schemes to cast ballots for the dead, the infirm or those who simply choose not to exercise their franchise.


More: http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/0129voterid.html

[MelissaB]

13. Blackwell watch

[MelissaB]

14. GOP poll shows Blackwell leads by 10 points in primary race

GOP poll shows Blackwell leads by 10 points in primary race
But Petro says he’s better general-election candidate

Sunday, January 29, 2006
Joe Hallett
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

GOP gubernatorial candidates J. Kenneth Blackwell, left, and Jim Petro may pick running mates in the next two weeks.

A new Ohio Republican Party poll in the race for governor shows that Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell has opened a 10-point lead over Attorney General Jim Petro among likely GOP primary-election voters.

State party Chairman Robert T. Bennett, who still hopes to avoid a costly and rancorous battle between two of his party’s stars, shared the results with Blackwell and Petro yesterday before a Columbus meeting of the party’s state central committee meeting.

"I’m smiling," Blackwell said as he left the meeting.

The poll of 800 likely general-election voters included 400 likely GOP primary voters who favored Blackwell by 40 percent against Petro’s 30 percent. Another 29 percent said they were undecided. The poll was conducted last week after state Auditor Betty D. Montgomery dropped out of the GOP governor’s race to run for attorney general.

Lara Mastin, chairwoman of Blackwell’s campaign, said that Blackwell held the 10-point advantage even after Petro’s estimated $1.5 million.


More: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/01/29/20060129-C1-03.html

[MelissaB]

15. GOP candidates for governor stay in despite poll

GOP candidates for governor stay in despite poll

Sunday, January 29, 2006
Associated Press
Columbus

-- Ohio's Republican Party chairman, still trying to avoid a contested primary in the governor's race, on Saturday shared the results of a long- awaited poll with the remaining candidates, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and Attorney General Jim Petro.

The poll shows Blackwell 10 points ahead of Petro in the primary race, but notes that Petro has a better chance to beat a Democrat in November.

Party Chairman Bob Bennett wants to persuade one of the candidates to drop out to avoid a Repub lican primary battle.

More: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1138534309201680.xml&coll=2

[MelissaB]

16. Hot Corner

Hot Corner
Nipping at the heels of the newsmakers
REPUBLICANS NEED HUGS, TOO

Wednesday's public-sector display of affection by three top Ohio Republicans may have been the most awkward group hug since Lou, Ted, Murray and the rest of the WJM gang did an embrace-locked shuffle out the studio door to end the final episode of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" in 1977.

As Gov. Bob Taft was about to deliver his final State of the State address in Columbus, three GOP officeholders who would simply love to be giving that speech next year did their impromptu "party unity" embrace on the Statehouse floor.

Secretary of State Ken Blackwell corralled rival gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Jim Petro, along with Auditor Betty Montgomery - who dropped out of the race just the day before because of poor polling numbers - for the three-way clinch.

...snip

The trio insisted the hug was spontaneous, and there's little reason to doubt that. If it had been planned, Montgomery might have been tempted to bring along her "I'm With Stupid x 2" T-shirt - a sentiment that at least reflects what Montgomery has been saying about rival tax- and spending-limitation amendments being floated by Blackwell and Petro.

But they all made nice for a few moments, then separated, felt their backs for knife wounds and checked their wallets. At least we imagine they did.



More: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/EDIT03/601290309/1023/EDIT

[MelissaB]

17. Voting machines raise ireDemocrats say Blackwell selections strictly polit

Voting machines raise ire
Democrats say Blackwell selections strictly political

By Lisa A. Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer
Democrats in two counties are complaining that Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell appears to be talking out of both sides of his mouth in order to justify the preference of fellow Republicans when it comes to new voting machines.

In December, Blackwell broke a tie vote of the Summit County Board of Elections, picking optical-scan voting machines by Election Systems & Software as the county's new voting system.

In making the decision, Blackwell cited the lower cost of the optical-scan machines compared with the Diebold touch-screen voting machines favored by Democrats on the board of elections.

In September, however, Blackwell broke a tie vote of the Licking County Board of Elections, choosing Diebold touch-screens machines for that county, arguing they would ``better suit the needs of Licking County.''

In both cases, Blackwell picked the choice preferred by Republican boards of elections members.

More: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/community/13734888.htm

[MelissaB]

18. The bully pulpit

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060128/NEWS02/601280303/1003/EDIT

The bully pulpit

These days it is fashionable for politicians to wear their religion on their sleeves. On their web sites. On granite tablets inside public buildings.

But this week highlighted two incidents - one involving the governor of Kentucky, the other a Republican who wants to become governor of Ohio - that moved even religious leaders to publicly complain.

Neither event is earth-shaking. But both illustrate why there is such ingrained - and justified - uneasiness when politicians start fudging the line between church and state.

...snip

The Ohio example is a bit more complicated.

This week, according to reports by the Associated Press and the Columbus Dispatch, 22 pastors from central Ohio participated in a press conference to defend their call for an IRS investigation of two evangelical mega-churches that they say are trying to help J. Kenneth Blackwell win the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Their complaint alleges that the leaders of the two churches have promoted Blackwell through a voter registration drive, at religious events and through educational materials. Because they are engaging in overtly partisan activity, the complaint says, the IRS should investigate whether the two churches deserve to keep their tax-exempt status.

But the leaders of the two churches - one in Columbus, the other in Lancaster - argued that they're doing nothing wrong. The events cited in the complaint, they noted, generally happened off church premises, and involved activities done in a personal realm, not on behalf of their congregations. They also noted that invitations to visit their churches were extended to Blackwell's competitors.

To be sure, there is a long tradition in this country of preaching politics from the pulpit - and of visits by candidates of various political parties to churches. But such activity generally stops short of raw partisan advocacy.

It takes guts for religious leaders to stand up and openly question colleagues whom they believe are improperly blending their ministry with their politics. Certainly the IRS owes it to those who filed the complaint - and to Blackwell and the two churches named in it - to conduct a prompt investigation.

In each of these incidents we see a cautionary tale. And political leaders, we submit, would do well to respect the practical wisdom that has accumulated through the years regarding the separation of church and state. No one is saying that politicians should repress the expression of their religious beliefs. But they must be extraordinarily careful to avoid the appearance of trying to impose those beliefs on the people they were elected to represent.

More: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060128/NEWS02/601280303/1003/EDIT

[MelissaB]

23. Ohio Secretary of State Candidate Tim Kettler Asks Why Blackwell Appoints

Ohio Secretary of State Candidate Tim Kettler Asks Why Blackwell Appoints Election Law Violator to BOE?

Green Party of Ohio
www.ohiogreens.org

January 25, 2006

Tim Kettler, Green Party member and candidate for the office of Ohio Secretary of State said today "It comes as no surprise that Kenneth Blackwell would consider the appointment of a fellow GOP member to the Warren County Board of Election. "

"What is disturbing is that David Fornshell of Lebanon was found to have violated Ohio Election Law during the 2004 election. As reported in the Dayton Daily News, the Ohio Election Commission found clear and convincing evidence that he made a false statement during the 2004 primary race. Given that Mr. Blackwell is the subject of a federal lawsuit brought by myself and fellow Green Party members David Cobb, Anita Rios and others over federal and state voting rights violations during the 2004 Presidential Vote Recount, I would hope he would consider his appointments carefully."

Signed: Tim Kettler, Secretary, Green Party of Ohio Candidate for Ohio
Secretary of State [e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]>
740-502-6453

Media Contact Green Party of Ohio, Russell Buckbee, 330-562-4637 [e-mail]


Link: http://www.gp.org/press/states/oh_2006_01_25.shtml

[MelissaB]

31. Warren Co. pick has baggage

Warren Co. pick has baggage

Elections board candidate had violation in '04 run
BY JANICE MORSE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
LEBANON - The Warren County Republican Party's choice for an elections board seat carries some baggage: a previous election law violation.

But nominee David Fornshell and some officials doubt that the blemish on his record will deter Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell from appointing Fornshell to serve on the four-member, bipartisan elections board.

Blackwell "relies heavily" on party recommendations when he decides who will fill election board vacancies, said James Lee, a spokesman for Blackwell's office.

Fornshell, 32, of Lebanon, said he disclosed his 2004 election law violation on a form that Blackwell's office requires potential board members to complete.


More: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/NEWS01/601240364/1077

[MelissaB]

24. LTTE: Parsley doesn't preach for politicians

Parsley doesn't preach for politicians

by Letter to the Editor

I am writing in response to The Post's "Thou Shalt Not" editorial on Monday. I understand that a lot of your opinions on different issues (the war, Iraq, politicians, and etc.) come from ignorance of the truth.

But this editorial hit home for me because I am a member of the World Harvest Church. I can say from experience - unlike The Post, which talks from speculation - that my pastor, Rod Parsley, only preaches one thing from the pulpit, and that is Jesus Christ.

He doesn't endorse any candidate. Also, Mayor Michael Coleman spoke at our church, and he is a Democrat. Everyone is welcome at our church regardless of political preference. I think it is ridiculous that if a Republican comes to speak, then all of the sudden that church is violating laws and pushing the campaign for Republicans.

What about all the churches that John Kerry spoke in? Or more recently, Hillary Clinton?

...snip

Pastor Parsley will always preach that there is a heaven and there is a hell, homosexuality is an abomination and abortion is murder. If there are certain candidates who believe the same thing they will get the Christians' vote whether or not they ever step foot in a church.

By the way, the separation of church and state is not a base ideal for the United States. It was a catchy phrase in a closing argument of a court case, and people quote it now as if it were a part of the U.S. Constitution.


Link: http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/E.php?article=E6&date=012606

[MelissaB]

25. LTTE: Ohio Restoration Project is guilty of false advertising

Ohio Restoration Project is guilty of false advertising

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Regarding “Blackwell urges Christians to be politically active” (Jan. 18): The Ohio Restoration Project is guilty of false advertising. They should call themselves what they really are, Shills For The Republican Party.

Who does Ken Blackwell think he’s fooling with his little cross lapel pin? This career politician who is on the make presumes to be the moral conscience of Ohio? Yeah, him and nutty Jerry Falwell and extra-nutty Pat Robertson. I have no doubt that Ken Blackwell would shave his head, don a saffron robe and join Hare Krishna if he thought it would gain him the governor’s mansion. These guys make me wonder if one of the requirements for becoming born again is to buy into whatever con job comes along.

The Republicans have been stringing Christians along for 30-plus years with empty promises of their bringing an end to legalized abortion. Last time I checked, abortion was still legal and readily available. But why shouldn’t politicians such as Blackwell profit from the gullibility of faith-based voters who will support anyone who bills himself as a “culture warrior”?

Certainly, selling this phony “cultural war” takes much less effort than balancing a state budget or making sure that our schools are adequately funded. And anyone who is naive enough to vote “pro-life” for 30 years without any results surely is good for another 20 or 30 years of support for the so-called Christian (Republican) Party.

Go ahead, all you Christian warriors. Put Blackwell in the governor’s mansion. Four years later, when abortion is still legal, I’ll remind you that I told you so.

DON CIRELLI, CANTON


Link: http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=265606

[MelissaB]

26. Pastors questioning churches' politics say their actions different

Pastors questioning churches' politics say their actions different

COLUMBUS, Ohio Religious leaders seeking to revoke the tax-exempt status of two Ohio churches today released the names of those behind the complaint and defended their position.

Thirty-one ministers and rabbis signed a complaint to the I-R-S seeking an investigation into the Reverend Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church in Columbus and the Reverend Russell Johnson of Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster.

The complaint says the two and their outreach groups have crossed the line into illegally endorsing a candidate for governor.

Supporters say the pastors shouldn't complain because Democrats appear in their churches.

The pastors say the difference is those candidates ask to appear. They say Parsley has invited only Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell to speak at rallies.


Link: http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=4411505

[MelissaB]

27. Experts: Churches under fire haven't illegally endorsed candidatesCARRIE S

Experts: Churches under fire haven't illegally endorsed candidates

CARRIE SPENCER GHOSE
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A group of religious leaders defended their position Wednesday that the tax-exempt status of two churches should be revoked and repeated allegations that their evangelical pastors have illegally endorsed a political candidate.

At least two dozen ministers from across the country have asked to be added to the group of 31 who signed a complaint to the IRS, said the Rev. Eric Williams of North Congregational United Church of Christ in Columbus. The complaint seeks an investigation into the political activities of the Rev. Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church in Columbus and the Rev. Russell Johnson of Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster.

The complaint alleges that Parsley and Johnson have featured only Kenneth Blackwell, the secretary of state seeking the Republican nomination for governor, at church-sponsored events. Parsley has donated money to Blackwell, but says that is a personal and not a church matter.

The conservative rallies and voter registration drive Johnson and Parsley are leading don't amount to endorsing a candidate from the pulpit, political scientists who study religion and politics said. Democratic candidates frequently appear at churches, they said.


More: http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/13711442.htm

[MelissaB]

28. The Babes of Bob

The Babes of Bob

...snip

Blackwell's front group

Though Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R-Right Hand of God) is in charge of enforcing election laws, he's not known for following them. In 2004, he tried to use $15.3 million in federal voter-education funds to launch a statewide Ken Blackwell promotional tour. Now an opponent is wondering whether Blackwell is using a political-action committee as a front for his gubernatorial campaign.

Blackwell happens to be chairman of Citizens for Tax Reform, and his face is plastered on its home page. His campaign gave more than $11,300 to the committee last year. The group's Columbus address is the same as his campaign headquarters, and they have the same spokesman. It looks suspiciously like Blackwell's attempt to have two committees raising money at the same time. Bonus round: The tax group can do his dirty work.

It recently conducted a phone survey that seemed less about polling voter opinions than soiling Attorney General Petro's name. Sample question: Do you believe Jim Petro violates small children and grandmas, or just crippled people?

So Petro's campaign sent a letter to the Ohio Elections Commission last week. If its work on cleaning up Ohio thus far is any indication, it's expected to rule that Blackwell can disregard election laws, just as the attorney general doesn't have to enforce laws.

Blackwell spokesman Gene Pierce has assured the press that everything is kosher: "This is perfectly permissible under Ohio law," he said.

That should make us all feel much better.


More: http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2006-01-25/news/firstpunch2.html

[MelissaB]

29. Funds flowed to Ohio for gay-marriage vote

Funds flowed to Ohio for gay-marriage vote

Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Julie Carr Smyth
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus - A national group of Christian conservatives spent more in Ohio to outlaw gay marriage than it spent anywhere else in the nation, a new spending analysis finds.

The report, by the Institute on Money in State Politics, found that $13.3 million was spent nationwide on both sides of the gay marriage issue in 2004, nearly $2.2 million of it in Ohio.

"The proliferation of these marriage-definition ballot measures in a quarter of the states during the same election cycle shows how easily journeyman political organizers, whether conservative or liberal, can manipulate the electorial debate with hot-button issues," said Executive Director Edwin Bender.

The institute's review found that those affiliated with the Arlington Group pumped more than $1 million into the campaign in favor of Ohio's Issue 1, a ballot initiative credited with helping to tip the scales toward President Bush's victory.

Arlington Group affiliates almost single-handedly funded the campaign in favor of the ballot initiative. The committee opposing the amendment - Ohioans Protecting the Constitution/Ohioans for Fairness - raised $942,400, the study found.

The report noted that two key members of the Arlington Group, which is active nationwide in advancing the conservative values agenda, are Ohioans: Phil Burress of Citizens for Community Values and Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.


More: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1138181957163710.xml&coll=2



...snip

[MelissaB]

30. THE JESUS AND KENNY CHAIN … Last week, a group of 31 Ohio pastors filed a

THE JESUS AND KENNY CHAIN … Last week, a group of 31 Ohio pastors filed a complaint with the IRS that the Revs. Rod Parsley, of the World Harvest Church, Center for Moral Clarity and Reformation Ohio, and Russell Johnson, of Fairfield Christian Church and the Ohio Restoration Project, were getting too cozy with Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell.

Among the charges: shilling only for Blackwell and pushing biased voter-education materials, in violation of the IRS’s rules against political activity by nonprofits.

Predictably, Parsley and Johnson foamed at the mouth over a “secular jihad against expressions of faith.” And showing just what kind of governor he’d be, Blackwell egged them on.

“You tell those 31 bullies that you aren’t about to be whupped,” Blackwell told conservative religious leaders three days later, according to the Columbus Dispatch. “Political and social and cultural forces are trying to run God out of the public square.”
Tough talk, but not exactly a bold move. If the IRS were to determine that Parsley and Johnson’s politicking crossed the line, their churches could lose their tax-exempt status. Blackwell would lose … well, nothing. There are no penalties for benefiting from such actions. In this realm, anyway.

— Charu Gupta



Link: http://www.freetimes.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3004

[Algorem]

38. Radical cleric Parsley's selling swords-

"BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ACT NOW, FOR THEY ALSO SHALL RECEIVE THIS STUNNING SWORD … “This past August, I reported that Pastor Rod was raising cash for holy war — I mean, relief work — in Sudan by offering an actual 27-inch sword, in exchange for a gift of $54 or more. Now, Pastor Rod’s got a whole new sword to sell. And this one’s ten inches longer, with a blade of steel and a ‘gold-colored metal’ handle inscribed with the cross. It’s the ‘SWORD OF THE KING,’ promises Pastor Rod. Just like the one Christ didn’t carry? Even better. This ‘beautifully crafted’ blade, writes Rod, is a ‘replica’ of King Arthur’s. As in Excaliber, the magic sword Merlin told him to pull out of a stone. Sound like kid’s stuff? No way. Who’s going to tell a man packing 37 awesome inches of hard steel that he’s lost in a fairy tale? … You get the whole package — magic sword, mount, delusions of potency — for only $41 dollars and ten cents. … That’s almost thirteen dollars less for ten more powerful inches of Christian manhood … You don’t even have to bother with those starving Africans, who’ve vanished from Pastor Rod’s advertisng. This come-on’s about you, and how you can turn 2006 into a ‘year of NO FEAR.’ Send your money directly to Pastor Rod and get your new sword now. No one will ever kick sand in your face again!”

— A recent post on http://therevealer.org/, by Jeff Sharlet "

http://www.freetimes.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3004&POSTNUKESID=6a5a2614798aa4c714679bfb3ff0dc6a

[MelissaB]

19. Law Could Delay Ohio Vote Results

Law Could Delay Ohio Vote Results

BELLAIRE — New Ohio election laws that were set to go into effect this week will allow no-excuse absentee voting across the state and permit those voting absentee to again cast a provisional ballot at the polls if they believe they incorrectly submitted their absentee ballot.

Local boards of elections also will be banned from adding absentee ballots to election night returns. These won’t be tallied in until the boards do their official count 10 days later. In presidential election years, the board waits 21 days.

“Election night will lose its impact,” said Monroe County Deputy Director of Elections Ann Block. “There could be enough absentee and provisional votes cast to affect the outcome.

“We’ve talked that we might not even need to have an election night count. The fanfare will have to move to when the official count takes place.”


More: http://www.news-register.net/News/articles.asp?articleID=1493

[MelissaB]

20. Pastor’s Holocaust analogy irks Jewish leaders

Pastor’s Holocaust analogy irks Jewish leaders

By: MARILYN H. KARFELD Senior Staff Reporter

The Rev. Russell Johnson brought his “Patriot Pastors” tour to the Canton area last week, with Ohio gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell by his side. Controversy wasn’t far behind.

As the Ten Commandments, prayer and the Bible are removed from public places, Johnson compared Christians standing on the sidelines to churchgoers appeasing the Nazis during the Holocaust, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.

Today’s Christians lead “Neville Chamberlain lives,” Johnson said, a reference to the former prime minister of Britain who signed a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.

Speaking to several hundred people at a Hartville, Ohio, restaurant, Johnson compared the current situation to Holocaust-era church congregations, which sang loudly to block out the sound of trains carrying crying Jews to concentration camps, the Beacon Journal said. As Johnson spoke, pictures of Hitler and Chamberlain appeared on a large screen.


More: http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2006/01/27/news/local/pastor0127.txt

[MelissaB]

21. Discussion

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x411255

[MelissaB]

22. BTW, this should have gone under Blackwell watch.

He's watching this happen alright.

[Jeff Fisher Berkley]

35. Ask Brad Blog to repost all information regarding Election Fraud

I already have already contacted the Democratic House Judiciary Committee and told them I would take a lie detector test regarding the information I didn't give them on December 8, 2004.

Therefore I am going to post the letter I sent out last week with revisions that has people in Washington D.C. nervous.

My name is Jeff Fisher. I am the Democrat that obtained election fraud information on September 27, 2004 from Sean Lennon regarding Bay Point School in 1999, 2000 and 2002. I also obtained hard copy information on individuals who were involved in the financing, programming and manipulation of Elections in 2000, 2002 and 2004.

The information I did obtained contained among other things, an offshore bank account that linked payment to sabotaging a plane with a very important U.S. Senator on board with his family.

Many people are wondering why I didn't reveal this information back in 2004.

Well I was going to until I received a threatening phone call on Dec. 8th, 2004 prior to the public comment after the Ohio Judiciary Hearing regarding the mishaps in Ohio on Election Day throughout many black communities.

The threat was very real. I was told (via a blocked phone call to my cell, this is additional information that I didn't explain earlier last week. I humbly apologize to all of those who read my message and wondered who ordered me to follow their directions or else) to exit the room and stand out in the hallway.

Then I was told to look at a white man dressed in a suit. That man opened up his right side of his coat jacket to reveal he had three firearms.

At that moment the caller began to name off names of individuals who would be harmed. (That male caller said "harmed, terminated, our choice"). (Again I apologize for not putting that in the original message) within the next week if I revealed any damaging information to the Committee or if I were to give them a statement afterwards.

That is why I was acting in such a bad manner when I finally spoke.

If you remembered I screamed at Congressman John Conyers and Congressman Barney Frank.

What's ironic is that both of these men endorsed me in my congressional race. (Again I apologize for not putting that in the original message)

The first person he, (the caller) named off was my traveling companion, whom I never told this about.

I instead had to live a life of hiding a threatening and possibly fatal secret for the next 13 months where she and the nineteen others were not aware of this situation. You see, I fell deeply in love with this person and in the process was blacklisted from getting any form of employment which lead to that person leaving me for another man.

IF I HAD TO DO IT OVER AGAIN,I WOULD DO THE SAME THING.

Her life and the nineteen others took precedent over anything else.

The next two people he named were part of Verified Voting, and then he named three people on my campaign staff.

The list also contained the name of my daughter, whom I miss dearly but I can not jeopardize her life either.

I will not give out any more information on the rest because it took a year to alienate myself from them, to create bitterness toward me so they could live out their lives in peace.

Back to my true friend, that I withheld information from for their protection, I am now telling more about how our own government treats its own citizens. (I can never be in touch with her again, her life is in jeopardy if I do so. I love her as if she was Mother Nature herself.) This is not a tangent. I am posting my message because this Administration will destroy, damage, harm anyone who opposes it, big or small.

New information: I never told my friend about being confronted on December 14, 2004 by two FBI agents in a bookstore in Georgetown. These agents showed me their badges and informed me that I said things at the protest in Lafayette Park that were not acceptable to the Administration. They also informed me that they knew I withheld information from Jeff Fativa in the West Palm Beach FBI office the previous month. They then gave me a stern warning that I should remain quiet and not talk anymore, especially to anyone in the Party.

Well, I didn’t take their advice. I did talk to DNC General Counsel, Joe Sandler and had a drink with him. The following day I was rushed to George Washington Hospital because I couldn’t move anything on my left side of my body. They diagnosed me with experiencing Todd’s Paralysis. It took three days to recuperate.

I couldn’t say anything to my friend or Joe Sandler or anyone on my campaign staff because of the threats I received. More importantly, while I was in the emergency room, a stranger (male) came into the room and told me quietly that I should keep quiet or my friend (he said her name) would have acid thrown on her face. I was on my side and unable to see the individual, all I could hear was his deep voice and smell garlic from his breath. If you are asking where was she? She was out in the hallway (I found this out later) talking to some ill person and giving them comfort.


Many people on the net want me to come out with the information all at once. (Additional note: Some people have contacted me from the media and told me that my personal life needs to be kept private. Well, I ran my congressional race in 2004 by being transparent so the people could know the real man and what America and the people he wanted to represent were all about. I wear my heart and soul on my sleeve.)(A Congressman represents his District, his State and his Country)(Again another apology to those who received my letter earlier last week)

Some of the people who claim to be fighting for Election Reform on the Internet are not really patriots. One of them poses as one but has been know for bombing federal facilities. I know who that person is. I met him on December 8th in the hall an hour before I received my life changing phone call.

Additional note: The bomber has contacted me via another person and then directly, both via email stating that he wasn’t the bomber. I smoked him out, yet he prevails on the Internet. He continues to play both sides and is a grave danger to all Americans who want to see Justice prevail. This man even gave me vital information about how they were going to discredit me, specifically because they had turned my original campaign web-site into a pornographic site. I investigated that and contacted the company that managed it, they are in San Francisco, ironic that I ended up in the Bay area. I must have a true higher power, I am not like George Bush, so get it straight, Democrats can believe in God too.

Back to the point of the matter, I spent one hour on my cell phone with this company informing them that my name was being slandered and libeled and that because I was a federal candidate in 2004, I would be in contact with the FBI. I also told them that my phone is being constantly monitored by the Secret Service.

They shut down the pathway within the hour so it can no longer be directed toward that pornographic nonsense.

The pressure of knowing this information has taken its toll on me. My year has been great at times and horrible at times, but the main constant denominator is that I only want America to know the truth and have our Constitution obeyed, respected and loved by those that we vote to represent us.

I have not and will not take money for this cause. I am about the law of the land, not the greed that has temporarily kidnapped the law and her lawmakers.

Sincerely,
Jeff Fisher
An American who will fight and defend the Constitution till my last breath

[MelissaB]

36. Here's a link the Brad Blog regarding Jeff Fisher

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00002251.htm

I have no idea if you are Jeff Fisher or not.

[Jeff Fisher Berkley]

41. SEND ME YOUR PHONE #

Call Al Rogers in West Palm Beach and give him your number. He will contact me through a person in Chicago. 561-210-7042

Call Bill Falkner of Verified Voting and he will verify me also. 850-458-2497

Call Ted Kalo, House Democrat Judiciary Committee Staff Attorney
202-225-6906

[Wilms]

37. Thanks Melissa

[Algorem]

39. U.S. District Judge-American election process "under attack" by fraud

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/politics/13748311.htm

Posted on Mon, Jan. 30, 2006

Two in East St. Louis vote-fraud case sentenced

JIM SUHR

Associated Press

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A former Democratic election worker in this battered city was sentenced Monday to a year and a half in federal prison and a City Hall volunteer got probation for scheming to buy votes in the November 2004 election.

Noting that the case reflected an American election process "under attack" by fraud, U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy ordered former precinct committee member Sheila Thomas' prison sentence to be followed by two years of supervised release.

Murphy rejected a prosecutor's request that Yvette Johnson, 47, get 10 to 16 months in prison and he gave her two years' probation, including five months of home confinement.

"I'm just glad that it's over," Johnson told reporters afterward...

[Algorem]

40. New voting machine requirements create castoff pile

http://www.woio.com/Global/story.asp?S=2510993&nav=menu68_2

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) - Outdated machines that are a testament to the way Americans cast ballots before the 2000 election are collecting dust and waiting for a new life, possibly in an emerging Third World democracy or even a union contract vote.

Election boards around the country are trying to sell, recycle or dispose of countless voting machines rendered obsolete by a new federal law requiring upgrades.

"There is not a secondary market for used equipment at this point," said Keith Cunningham, director of the Allen County elections board in northwest Ohio and immediate past president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials.

The Allen County voting machines, purchased in 1995 for $500,000, are collecting dust in a county-owned building because they didn't meet handicapped accessibility requirements. Since the equipment was 10 years old, the county decided to replace the equipment rather than retrofit it to meet federal requirements, Cunningham said...