In Violation of Federal Law, Ohio's 2004 Presidential Election Records Are Destroyed or Missing

[L. Coyote]

In Violation of Federal Law, Ohio's 2004 Presidential Election Records Are Destroyed or Missing
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted July 30, 2007.
http://www.alternet.org/story/58328 /

In 56 of Ohio's 88 counties, ballots and election records from 2004 have been "accidentally" destroyed, despite a federal order to preserve them -- it was crucial evidence which would have revealed whether the election was stolen.

Two-thirds of Ohio counties have destroyed or lost their 2004 presidential ballots and related election records, according to letters from county election officials to the Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner.

The lost records violate Ohio law, which states federal election records must be kept for 22 months after Election Day, and a U.S. District Court order issued last September that the 2004 ballots be preserved while the court hears a civil rights lawsuit alleging voter suppression of African-American voters in Columbus.

The destruction of the election records also frustrates efforts by the media and historians to determine the accuracy of Ohio's 2004 vote count ......

[lovuian]

1. You know between these and the FAA tapes of 911 and the

Norad tapes of 911 it just is mounting up to too many tapes being destroyed

[acmavm]

2. Wouldn't expect anything else.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. I'm sure it was an innocent accident.

It has nothing to do with hiding criminal acts of election fraud.

Is this even needed? :sarcasm:

[Exiled in America]

4. It's just absolutely unbelievable. And we aren't even outraged anymore.

Well... DU may be outraged, but I mean there is this malaise that has settled in over the country where we can't even get riled up about the the fact that there are significant and serious indications of the possibility that democracy was subverted in America, and that an illegitimate government now rules in violation of the Constitution of the United States.

Ho hum.

Back to football.

[L. Coyote]

5. I do not see the same world you describe. Never have the People been more

in tune to the "situation." Check the recent media polls. The malaise is being propagated on discussion fora for all the obvious reasons, but the People know what is going on and are ready to throw the bums out!!

[Exiled in America]

7. I hope you are right, but don't think you are.

I'm not looking to forums or media for my impressions on this matter. I am looking to my friends and neighbors and local community. In times of crisis there are always small percentages of people who act. Whether or not their action translates into sweeping change depends on their ability to rouse the public to join their action and work together.

We are not seeing anything remotely close to the level of unity and mass public action necessary to affect meaningful change. Polls on impeachment still show a majority of Americans not in favor, despite our wishes to the contrary.

I would love to see a poll that asked if Americans think the 2004 election was stolen. I bet it would show that a majority say no. And even if you said yes, I bet if you asked each person who said yes that they personally intended to do about it, the answer would be very little.

The corporate oligarchy has finally perfected its tactics of isolating and alienating individuals. The people's sense of outrage has been dulled, they have been successfully implanted with "manufactured wants," i.e. the feeling that they need all kinds of material things they don't actually want, and they have been turned into essentially mindless consumers. Nothing has come close to truly rousing the public from its propaganda induced coma.

It's so easy for people on DU, existing in a subculture of activists and in a minority of the politically aware, to start thinking that somehow their experiences within this narrow context are reflective of the broader culture. They are not. As a former community organizer, activist, and campaign manager I can tell you that even within the field of activism there is a certain level at which one can be "tricked" into feeling like there is a more sweeping momentum building for change, simply because you more commonly happen to encounter the very tiny percentage of people who actually are awake. But that often does not truly correlate with actuality.

I don't think it does now.

[PDJane]

6. It's f*** up and outrage fatigue.......eom

[L. Coyote]

8. Think Conyers, think Leahy ... How do they do it, day after day?

Part of the answer has top be staff and organization.

It really helps to be part of a larger effort to keep the chin up. For instance, the Dem Party!!

[mopinko]

9. don't see st dennis's name in this long story.

my #1 beef with dk- he is almost silent on what happened in his state. he has issued a couple of press releases. period.

[L. Coyote]

10. Parallel thread here, from yesterday.

In Violation of Federal Law, Ohio's 2004 Presidential Election Records Are Destroyed or Missing
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1475387&mesg_id=1475387

Hey, I went fishing yesterday!

[Wilms]

11. K & R n/t