Ohio will not be recounted until the vote is certified in early December

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.cleveland.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/politics-1/1100606343106650.xml&storylist=cleveland

Enough money raised for a statewide recount

The Associated Press
11/16/2004, 6:53 a.m. ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A statewide recount of the presidential vote appears inevitable after a pair of third-party candidates said they have collected enough money to pay for it.

The recount would be conducted after the election results are certified in early December.

Libertarian Michael Badnarik and the Green Party's David Cobb said on Monday they raised more than $150,000 in four days, mostly in small contributions. Ohio law requires payment of $10 per precinct for a recount, or $113,600 statewide.

Badnarik and Cobb said they aren't trying to overturn President Bush's 136,000-vote victory in Ohio, but just want to ensure that all votes were counted properly in the face of concerns about Election Day irregularities. "Our bottom line is to stand up for the integrity of the voting process because the voting process is the heart of the democratic process," said Blair Bobier, spokesman for Cobb.

Bobier said it will be worth the price to ensure the final outcome can be trusted.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[NewYorkerfromMass]

8. Kerry is not "cherry-picking" some counties

He isn't even leading the recount request.
The point is to get every single vote in Ohio counted.

[Eloriel]

14. This isn't about overturning the election -- but saving democracy

I don't care who wins at this point, I don't care if Kerry wins and the courts won't let him take office. I CARE ABOUT THE VOTING MACHINES and the other fraud/ vote suppression. And frankly, you should too:

VOTE FRAUD Links - a DU Compendium
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=201&topic_id=1984#

VOTE FRAUD Links Compendium - Thread #2
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=201x3223

Thanks for the reference re OH Statutes.

[bobbyboucher]

17. Hunter? More like fisherman.

Why come here and get involved in this drama? What have you got to gain? Don't answer that.

What is your favorite fishing tactic?

[Florida_Geek]

2. No matter what they said

if vote fraud is shown, they have to un-certified the results.

I am more hoping the prov. ballots will FORCE a recount before the vote is ceritfied.

[ladjf]

3. You guys are dreamers. But, I love you for it. It's a good dream.

[MrUnderhill]

4. It's worse than that.

I didn't realize the certification wasn't until early December. Doesn't the final slate of electors have to be declared to Congress a week or so later?

If so, there isn't TIME to recount anything. Just remember how long the punch cards in Florida took!

And there's zero chance of the provisional ballots bringing this to within the automatic recount threshold.

[Florida_Geek]

6. 150,000 to get 120,000

votes..

prov ballots where from Dem counties, and with main minority voters... IMHO yes they will trigger a recount

Recount triggers at 19,000 vote differents

[MrUnderhill]

10. I think the SOS site says it's 135,000 provisionals.

And the most wildly optimistic assumptions say that 90% of them will be valid votes. Some counties (including Cuyahoga) are coming in below that figure.

That means that all but a couple thousand of them have to be Kerry votes.

Yes, the majority are in our counties, but that "majority" is only 60/40. And even our best county only went 2-1 for Kerry. A state-wide average of 5-1 for Kerry (including the 40% that are in Republican counties) is impossible.

[Florida_Geek]

11. Who were the Repug Brown Shirts targeting....

I would bet 90-95% of the Prov. Ballots are Kerry's

[MrUnderhill]

13. With all due respect.

And recognizing my low post count.

I think that's wishful thinking. Ohio only has around 30% more provisional ballots than they had in 2000. And those broke nothing like 10-1 or 20-1. They were more in line with the percentages from the reporting county.

So I might buy that the EXTRA 30,000 (or so) provisionals (over and above previous years) might break heavily toward Kerry. But I'd define "heavily" as 3-1.

[truehawk]

15. 155,337 provisional ballots

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041103/ap_on_el_pr/eln_campaign_legal

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041111/ap_on_re_us/provisional_ballots_ohio

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6364144/

[Cheswick2.0]

16. welcome to florida 2000

[renate]

18. only this time nobody's paying any attention

:cry:

[bones_7672]

5. How will that happen ...

as the provisional ballots have no bearing on the regular ballots?

[Florida_Geek]

7. auto recount on a 19,000 voter difference

:)

[flpoljunkie]

20. Plus there are 92,672 "spoiled" punchcard ballots machines did not count

Even though I understand both red and blue counties use the punch card ballots, it would not be at all surprising that the lion's share of these "spoiled" ballots are in minority precincts.

[Riceman1974]

21. Unfortunately

Those 92,000 are also spread throughout the state. Kerry probably has the edge in those ballots, but 60/40 tops. It's just not enough.

[flpoljunkie]

22. Have not seen a list anywhere of "spoiled" punchcard ballots by county

to prove your point. Is there such a list or are you just assuming they are evenly spread?

[malatesta1137]

9. do you actually believe the Bush Cadre

didn't think of the recount possibility and rig that as well?

[Florida_Geek]

12. No I think the left hand did not talk to the right hand

and the repug Brown shirts did not know that they could cause a recount.

[On the Road]

19. Thanks for the Legal Wording, flpoljunkie

It helps tremendously.

So the law only says that a losing candidate can FILE for a recount? Are there any standards for awarding a recount, or is it arbitrary? Could Blackwell be within his legal rights to simply say no? That is scary, because it is entirely possible that he could deny the filing on the grounds that Cobb lost by too great a margin to change the election. (Of course Cobb is not really filing for himself, which is unusual.)

And the law seems to say that the requests have to be filed at the PRECINCT level? That's another hurdle.