 |
Tue Feb 09 2010 | |||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Departments Election Issues What happened this year in Ohio by Pete Johnson December 1, 2008 The November presidential election was a historic landslide victory for Barack Obama. A closer election would have magnified some very troubling aspects of our election systems, despite the improvements made by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism, in conjunction with the Ohio Green Party deployed a team of observers on Election Day. Observers monitored the opening of precincts, activities throughout the day, and the closing of polls. Other observers spent election night watching the activities at county board of elections (BOE) offices. Our observers noted an outrageous number provisional ballots, up to 20% in some inner city precincts. Over 180,000 provisional votes were cast in the state of Ohio. Voters were sometimes forced to vote provisionally due to improper interpretation of voter ID rules. Many Franklin County voters were forced to vote provisionally due to “data entry” errors, which resulted in voters marked in the poll book as a “designation 3” based on returned mail. These angry voters were allowed to vote a regular ballot if they first went home to get a utility bill or other alternate ID proving their residency. Since Provisional Ballots are often uncounted, excessive provisional voting leads to voter suppression. In Union county, “an unidentified BOE representative who was at BOE in the evening said that it was “a cluster****” (this is verbatim) at the polling site he watched. They had machine problems initially and were late getting started, and at the end of the day, they took tapes out of the machines before closing them out properly with the downloading process. So, when they did download the data, the machine printed some more, and they ended up taping this last printing to the paper that had already been removed. One precinct did not reconcile correctly but the presiding judge for that precinct had already gone home. While others celebrated the Obama victory, dedicated election observers spent the evening at the BOE offices in twenty counties. The county observers found multiple problems that may have affected close elections for down ticket candidates. In Hamilton County, observer Jane Schiff was met with serious resistance and was threatened with arrest. In Belmont County, John Morgan was prevented from seeing where electronic votes were tallied. In Montgomery county, Observer Barbara was denied reasonable access, and was unable to closely observe the “helter skelter” activity where high school students were returning bags of materials from the precincts. Considering the importance of election day, one might expect a precise operation rather than one that is more appropriately described as chaotic. Technical problems occurred in several counties. In Union County, observer Mark Loux reported that: “at 9:45, when the computer showed a message stating that it already had data for a precinct from which they were downloading. They had apparently loaded in early voting data, and this messed things up – the software did not know how to handle it. So, they cleared out all of the data (I think) and started loading precincts again. They were evidently loading from both flash cards and PBE modules, and things stopped again at 10:50, when they received the same message – that they were trying to download data for a precinct that had already been updated. It took a full hour to remedy this, with the S&S representative on the phone most of the time. They eventually concluded that the problem was that they were downloading from both flash card and PBE’s, rather than downloading from all of the flash cards first, and then from all of the PBE’s. So, at 11:50 they cleared data again, loaded data from flash cards, and then from PBE’s, and then added absentee data. This apparently worked.” Similarly, in Summit County, Terry Grimm reported that the process was delayed 35 minutes while the materials from the city of Barberton were sorted and organized, including a lack of security seals and missing supply bags. In Portage County, Kevin Egler noted that the optical scan machine scanned 2800 ballots, but the memory card was corrupted, forcing BOE personnel to rescan these ballots, delaying the process 30 minutes and demoralizing the staff. At least 9 of 50 observed precincts returned materials which lacked security seals. Observer Katie Barns reports that in Delaware County, security for the memory cards is completely inadequate. The “security” tape over the memory card is a piece of plastic tape that could easily be removed and reapplied, with no way to tell if it had been disturbed, so a memory card could be switched without detection. Warren County, site of the suspicious 2004 homeland security lockdown, observer Marilyn Welker found the staff to be very accommodating. Similarly, Adele Eisner found the staff receptive in Cuyahoga County. Lauren Anderson was well received in Licking County, and wrote a detailed report as a result of BOE cooperation. The stolen elections of 2000 and 2004 motivated election activists to involve themselves in election protection activities. The public overwhelming rejected the disaster that is the Bush administration, but this one victory does not permanently protect against future stolen elections. Close elections occurred in congressional and senate races, such as Franken vs. Coleman in Minnesota. We must continue to work to reduce provisional voting and to apply voter ID laws fairly and uniformly. On Election Day, end of day processes should reflect best practices, and avoid the confusion and chaos that was observed on this Election Day. The collective experience of the 2008 observer program tells us that our work is not yet done. --- Pete Johnson organized the Election Observer project, with Joe Parenteau, in Columbus, Ohio and is the president of the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism. Email this article to a friend |
Don't forget to check out articles from 2009 and 2010
"Why Al Franken should NOT be riding private planes"
December 23, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"The suspicious, disturbing death of election rigger Michael Connell"
December 20, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Last US House seat filled on grave of stolen 2004 election"
December 9, 2008
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"What happened this year in Ohio"
December 1, 2008
Pete Johnson
"Imaginary numbers persist in our presidential elections"
November 22, 2008
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"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
Read Articles by Year:
2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
All content © 1970-2009
The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer