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Departments Election Issues Ohio 2008 opens with a subpoena, a surge and calls for election protection by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman October 1, 2008 Ohio 2008 has opened with a surge of first-time voters and the subpoena of a shadowy Bush electronic operative who may have helped steal the White House, a subpoena that may be followed by one for Karl Rove. The presidency could again be decided here by how well what’s left of the American democratic process can be protected. So election activists are asking concerned citizens everywhere to become registration volunteers, poll workers and judges, Video the Vote observers and to conduct post-election hearings with legal standing. In-person balloting began Tuesday, September 30, as new Ohio voters registered and voted simultaneously. Thousands crammed into county facilities throughout the state. Set to continue until October 6, the innovation came by accident in an otherwise repressive piece of legislation foisted on the state by Republican legislators after the theft of the 2004 election. The GOP has since sued to stop this simultaneous register-and-vote process, but lost 4-3 in the Republican-dominated Ohio Supreme Court. Thousands of new Buckeye voters have now surged into election centers, and may do so through October 6. Election officials predict as many as a third of Ohio voters---around 2 million---will vote absentee this year. But the GOP now appears to be mailing to Democratic voters fake absentee ballots with bogus return addresses and features that could result in their being discarded. The Republicans are also using caging techniques, such as fake mailings, to eliminate likely Democratic voters from the registration rolls. Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has tried to make paper ballots available at every polling station for those who don’t trust electronic touchscreen machines. But GOP legislators intervened, claiming “cost problems,” and Brunner so far has limited availability to just a quarter of the potential demand. Pro-democracy activists are suing to make them universally available. While that fight proceeds, Attorneys Bob Fitrakis and Cliff Arnebeck have subpoenaed IT specialist Michael Connell, a shadowy operative who managed the Bush-Cheney 2000 web site. Connell has a checkered history in highly partisan behind-the scenes information manipulation (http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2008/1665). In 2004, Connell was paid with state funds by GOP Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell to shunt the Ohio vote count was shunted to the same basement in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which housed the servers for the Republican National Committee. In the wee morning hours of election day, vote counts mysteriously shifted from John Kerry to give George W. Bush his second term in the White House. Connell has since been fingered by Stephen Spoonamore, a McCain supporter and GOP computer operative who has charged that Connell may have manipulated the Ohio 2004 vote count. As a Repubican insider, Spoonamore’s sworn testimony is being given legal credence by Federal Judge Algernon Marbley, who certified the subpoena against Connell. Connell and the GOP are certain to continue fighting demands for public testimony. But as the case escalates, it becomes increasingly likely that Connell’s close associate, former White House advisor Karl Rove, could also be subpoenaed as part of the on-going King-Lincoln-Bronzeville civil rights lawsuit. The final outcome of the case is not likely to be settled until long after the 2008 election. Amidst what is likely to be the largest voter turnout in US history, election protection activists are recruiting and training thousands of democracy advocates to register new voters and to check the registrations of those who may be knocked off the rolls without their knowledge. More than 300,000 Ohio voters were disenfranchised in the run-up to 2004, and at least 170,000 have since been eliminated in Franklin County alone. Many citizens who believe they are registered may not be. Democracy advocates are also asking citizens throughout the nation to serve as poll workers, poll judges and Video-the-Vote observers, and to organize post-election pubic hearings. With thousands of new voters already surging to the polls, with millions of absentee ballots beginning to pour in, and with an energized electorate expected to overwhelm the precincts on November 4, the difference between what happened in 2004 and who next enters the White House will likely be determined by how well the 2008 electoral process can be protected. -- Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman have co-authored four books on election protection, including AS GOES OHIO, now at www.freepress.org, where they are publisher and senior editor. They are attorney and plaintiff in the King-Lincoln-Bronzeville federal lawsuit. Email this article to a friend |
Don't forget to check out articles from 2007 and 2008
"What happened this year in Ohio"
December 1, 2008
Pete Johnson
"The GOP attack on democracy continues in Ohio"
November 19, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"The 2008 Presidential election: a preliminary analysis"
November 19, 2008
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Election protection in Ohio (and America) isn't over"
November 17, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Recount fictions in Virginia's Fifth"
November 9, 2008
David Swanson
"The Pits: Georgia's GOP swipes the Peach State"
November 6, 2008
Greg Palast
"Grant Park on Election Night"
November 5, 2008
Joan Brunwasser
"Can the grassroots Internet-based election protection movement win the White House?"
November 3, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"How and why I just voted"
November 2, 2008
David Swanson
"No time for Nader: A letter to Nader McKinney voters"
November 2, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"'Vote stealing imperils democracy': former Montague resident charges election manipulation"
November 2, 2008
Richie Davis
"Will this Presidential election be stolen? It didn’t happen by chance..."
November 2, 2008
Channing Redditt and Amy Maldonado
"The time has come"
October 30, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"Beware the Twin Towers of electronic election theft "
October 30, 2008
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Sarah Palin and the new Apostolic reformation"
October 28, 2008
Russ Bellant
"Antidotes to complacency: four reasons to act"
October 28, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Redesigning democracy"
October 22, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"A McCain "win" will be theft: resistance is planned"
October 21, 2008
David Swanson
"Critical US Supreme Court ruling against Rovian GOP vote meddling may prove temporary"
October 20, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Our national juncture"
October 17, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"Suppression"
October 17, 2008
Joe Rothstein
"Cuyahoga's witch hunt"
October 13, 2008
Victoria Lovegren, Ph.D.
"Videos from Ohio Election Protection Conference"
October 12, 2008
Free Press Staff
"The Palin-Biden debate: high time to move beyond clichés"
October 11, 2008
Ramzy Baroud
"Struggle: A Documentary"
October 10, 2008
Roger Hill
"GOP attacks on American voters turn desperate, ugly and dangerous"
October 10, 2008
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Warming to Palin"
October 8, 2008
David Swanson
"Brace yourself"
October 8, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"Cindy, Charlotte, and our Constitution"
October 8, 2008
David Swanson
"Rainbow PUSH Coalition registers 2090 new voters this week"
October 6, 2008
Lauren Love
"Big presidential vote count error found and fixed in New Mexico"
October 6, 2008
Steven Rosenfeld
"Ohio 2008 opens with a subpoena, a surge and calls for election protection"
October 1, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"North Carolina: The new Ohio?"
September 30, 2008
Christopher Bifani
"Foreign policy debate all about war"
September 29, 2008
David Swanson
"Be a poll worker and save American democracy"
September 26, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Why hurricane Ike demands paper ballots on November 4"
September 17, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Death becomes her: let's make her our president"
September 15, 2008
Jason Miller
"Ten ways the McCain/Palin GOP is now stealing the Ohio vote"
September 9, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"John McCain: Morally, mentally, and emotionally unfit"
September 8, 2008
Jim Fetzer
"Logical consequences"
September 4, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"Rovian politics chose Sarah Palin"
September 3, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Shocking choice by John McCain "
August 31, 2008
Robert Dewey
"Ron Paul endorsement of Don Young "shocking and disappointing""
August 27, 2008
Richard A. Viguerie
"The DNC platform: belief you can change in"
August 10, 2008
David Swanson
"Obama doesn't sweat. He should."
July 29, 2008
Greg Palast
"Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. applauds Sen. Obama’s speech before the NAACP"
July 16, 2008
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
"Three key ways YOU can help protect the 2008 election"
July 3, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Colleges, voter registration, and a historic opportunity: a more detailed proposal"
June 19, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Obama must learn from Kucinich's election theft impeachment"
June 11, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Clinton only needs 153% of remaining delegates"
June 1, 2008
David Swanson
"The buried Florida story: why campaigning matters"
May 31, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"The myth of Clinton's popular vote lead"
May 29, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Did the Limbaugh effect also flip Michigan?"
May 29, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Edwards just put Obama over the top"
May 15, 2008
David Swanson
"Did the Limbaugh effect also flip Michigan?"
May 14, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Obama-Clinton funny math: Guam update"
May 4, 2008
David Swanson
"Did the US Supreme Court deliver the Indiana Primary to Hillary Clinton?"
May 2, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Did the US Supreme Court just elect John McCain?"
April 30, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"The 2008 election will be stolen"
April 19, 2008
David Swanson
"The done deal"
April 18, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"Letter to Hillary: remember when John McCain slimed your daughter"
April 17, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Fire and race"
April 3, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"Keep the Republic"
March 27, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"What it's all about..."
March 25, 2008
Sheila Samples
"Can SuperDelegates stop the scorched earth campaigning?"
March 24, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"An election without meaning"
March 23, 2008
Peter Phillips
"We have a dream"
March 23, 2008
Phil Tajitsu Nash
"Hope, change, and pissing in the wind: "Of Obama, Democrats, and the Power Elite""
March 19, 2008
Patrice Greanville and Jason Miller
"Ohio's voting machines are now an official crime scene"
March 17, 2008
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Did Republicans give Hillary her victory in Ohio?"
March 8, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Primary day at the polls in Columbus, Ohio"
March 5, 2008
David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor
"Obama & Clinton: who's more likely to confront global warming?"
March 4, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"If you think Karl Rove is evil, make phone calls today"
March 4, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Obama's talking points"
March 1, 2008
Gregg Gordon
"Adventures in inaudible audio with Senator Barack Obama"
February 27, 2008
David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor
"Attention all voters: this is a must-see video"
February 26, 2008
Free Press staff
"On the campaign trail in the Buckeye State stalking the candidates: John McCain"
February 24, 2008
David S. Lewis, National Affairs Editor
"Will Clinton's advisors tell her the hard truths?"
February 22, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"How much damage will Clinton do before she folds?"
February 22, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"The Hillary nutcracker"
February 21, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"Behind Obama's wave of victories: the more they know him….."
February 17, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Hillary's hawks -- How Obama's and Clinton's advisors mirror their stands on the war"
February 11, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb, introducing a Stephen Zunes article
"Poll shows John McCain faces tough road in gaining conservative support"
February 11, 2008
Richard A. Viguerie
"The Obama Factors"
February 11, 2008
Todd Huffman
"Vote against Clinton"
February 4, 2008
David Swanson
"Why this Edwards voter Is now backing Obama"
February 2, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Liveblogging Obama v. Clinton v. CNN"
February 1, 2008
David Swanson
"It's all about Hillary, not her party"
January 29, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"The South Carolina you won't see on CNN - South Carolina primary colors: black and white?"
January 26, 2008
Greg Palast
"The South Carolina you won't see on CNN - South Carolina primary colors: black and white?"
January 26, 2008
Greg Palast
"Conspiracy theorist"
January 24, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"Hillary Clinton's sleaze parade "
January 20, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Bob & Harvey's 3-Step "Ohio Plan" for fair and reliable voting and vote counts"
January 16, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Media misses story: Obedwards wins New Hampshire"
January 11, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Primary concerns"
January 10, 2008
Robert C. Koehler
"Clear evidence of widespread vote fraud in New Hampshire"
January 10, 2008
Paul Joseph Watson
"The Kudzu Effect: The Voting-Industrial Complex chokes our democracy"
January 6, 2008
Sheri Myers, Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Still true to ObEdwards: Why I keep donating to both Edwards and Obama"
January 6, 2008
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Clinton campaign office re-occupied by peace activists on day of Iowa voting"
January 4, 2008
Mike Ferner
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