August 16, 2006
This document is my personal account of events that occurred prior to, during and subsequent to the official Presidential Vote Recount of the 2004 General Election in Coshocton County, Ohio, November 2, 2004. These events are a direct result of the actions of the Coshocton County Board of Election including members David Burns, Donald K. Andrews, Mary Fritz, and Kenneth Grewe and herein referred to as the Coshocton County Board of Election, Mary Fry, Director, Coshocton County Board of Election, herein referred to as the Director, Kathy Hendricks, Deputy Director, Coshocton County Board of Election, herein referred to as the Deputy Director, Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ms. Patricia Wolfe, Mr. Michael Hernon and Ms. Kathy Malot of the Ohio Secretary of State's Office and other possible unknown and unnamed persons.
The Coshocton County Board of Election, the Director and the Deputy Director willfully violated Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell's Directive No. 2004-58, which included an "Outline for Recount Procedures" (Ohio Revised Code sections 3515.01 -3515.07) which states, "at the time and place fixed for making a recount, the county Board of Election, in the presence of all witnesses who may be in attendance, shall open the sealed containers containing the ballots to be recounted, and shall recount them."
On December 8, 2004, the Coshocton County Board of Election scheduled the Presidential Vote Recount to be conducted December 14, 2004. On December 9, 2004 or December 10, 2004, with no prior notification to the candidates and no candidates' witnesses present, an illegal recount of the Presidential Vote Election Returns certified by the Ohio Secretary of State on December 6,2004, was conducted by the Deputy Director. This deliberate, illegal action was the result of a decision made on December 9,2004 after consultation with and at the direction of, the Coshocton County Board of Election, the Director and Mr. Michael Hernon and Ms. Patricia Wolfe and possible other unnamed and unknown persons. The Election Returns resulting from this illegal recount were then certified by Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell on December 10,2004 as the official totals of the Presidential vote of the 2004 General Election held November 2,2004.
On December 14,2004, the official Presidential Vote Recount of the 2004 General Election in Coshocton County was held. As the candidates' witnesses assembled in the public access area of the Board of Election, prior to being admitted to the recount area, the ballots to be recounted were removed from their unsecured storage boxes and distributed randomly among the various tables to be recounted by the ten counting teams. At no time were the ballots stored in sealed containers, and handling and distribution of the ballots occurred on this date as well as on December 8,2004 or December 9, 2004 or December 10,2004, and other possible dates without the presence of the candidates' witnesses. When the candidates' witnesses were granted access to the recount area it was noted that ballots were already handled and distributed, blank ballots were in view among the haphazardly placed cardboard boxes in which the ballots were stored. Some of the boxes were taped shut with typical packaging tape. During the time candidates' witnesses were waiting in the public access area, volunteers assembled to form counting teams and other volunteers and board members distributed ballots and handled boxes of ballots.