Ohio-insider contract scandal brewing at Franklin County elections board

[Algorem]

Commissioner questions purchase of voting machine storage carts

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-24/1147763355307380.xml&storylist=cleveland

5/16/2006, 3:01 a.m. ET
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — ...

The county purchased the carts last year from SST Systems in suburban New Albany, a company whose founders include the wife and a friend of then-deputy elections director Michael Hackett Jr.

Hackett had asked the Ohio Ethics Commission for an opinion on his ties to the company, but the elections board approved the purchase in November without waiting for an answer. County commissioners gave final approval in December, but Brooks said commissioners were never told ethics questions had been raised...

Elections Director Matthew Damschroder said the storage carts weren't required for the 900 new voting machines but needed to help keep the 40-pound machines from being stolen...

Damschroder told elections board members in the fall that county Prosecutor Ron O'Brien had approved of the SST Systems purchase. O'Brien said his office had never issued an opinion.




Ethics aside, were carts for voting devices even needed?
As conflict questions swirl, commissioner wonders about merits of purchase

http://www.dispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/05/16/20060516-A1-04.html

Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Robert Vitale
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


With ethics questions surrounding a $785,000 contract for voting-machine storage carts still unresolved, a Franklin County commissioner asked for proof yesterday that the purchase was even necessary.

Commissioner Paula Brooks said she wants county Board of Elections officials to explain whether carts were required under warranties for the machines that they’re designed to hold. She also wants to know whether other counties that purchased the same brand of machines also purchased carts.

Franklin County bought storage carts last year from a fledgling New Albany company whose three founders included the wife and a childhood friend of the elections agency’s then-deputy director.

Michael R. Hackett Jr., who retired from his job in November, asked for an opinion from the Ohio Ethics Commission, but elections officials didn’t wait for an answer about whether his ties to SST Systems were a conflict of interest...

[autorank]

1. Nice one. More theater of the absurd from Ohio Republicans

"Storage carts" ... how about a storage facility or did they store them outside:rofl:

Actually, there was an incident in Ohio where a bunch of machines were sitting outside at the U of Toledo, maybe...

This is going here, on the daily news thead. Thanks.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x428158

[Algorem]

2. 300-pound rolling safes for voting machines.they really want to keep

those things away from someone.

[autorank]

3. Rube Goldberg must have been the consultant. The clean up

of Ohio politics needs a special fund like toxic waste. The Republicans have outdone themselves.

Amazing stuff.

[mod mom]

4. $785,000 sure could have paid for the new Voter IDs needed to prevent

disenfranchised voters, but we must have our priorities here-right?

[nicknameless]

5. K&R