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OH SoS rejecting election observers

Perfect vehicle for election fraud and it could be happening now

By: Soren Dayton (Diary)  |  October 1st, 2008 at 04:33 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Early voting is taking place in Ohio. Through the end of the week, people can register and vote on the same day. The Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner argues that they are merely "casting their ballot" rather than "voting" so the fact that Ohio statute requires 30 days between registering and voting would not interfere.

 So here is what is happening today. People are showing up to register and vote. There is no affirmative evidence that these people have not registered or voted somewhere else. There is no control. Normally in an election, partisan election monitors are allowed into polling places so that they can police each other. But not in two counties, Franklin and Montgomery, in Ohio. Brunner also issued an advisory opinion to counties saying that they are not required to allow election monitors. Watch an election observer be turned away.

Now if you want to see what is actually happening on the ground? This video shows interviews with people who are voting in Franklin County, where Republican election monitors are not being allowed into polling places.

 My favorite is the quote:

It’s a perfect opportunity for them to come in, register at a temporary address like a homeless shelter or a YMCA or something like that. They can register at that address because they don’t know where they’re going to be tomorrow or next week."

The registrar also doesn’t know where they will be. And there is nothing stopping that person from registering at a different location tomorrow (or later today).

Note that Brunner cannot be said to be simply trying to protect the franchise. After all, she directed county officials to discard absentee ballot applications. These are just partisan hacks interested in winning elections. If that means stealing votes… I wonder how much that bothers her?

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  • izoneguy

    So let’s say McCain loses Ohio….
    Loses the election by a handful of electorial votes.
    Where if he won Ohio…
    he would have won the election.
    Then couldn’t they contest the entire election?
    When someone votes in Ohio is it recorded that
    someone showed up and you can see who they
    voted for?
    Just the fact they are dragging in people off the street
    the same day is disturbing.

    • Shibby

      As an Ohio citizen I am wondering if anyone knows where I can find some more information on the incidence of voter fraud in my state. I’m also curious about the outcomes of any sort of legal action that took place as a result. My attempts at searching the internet on my own were unsuccessful but I’m not really sure where to look.

      • CroakerNorge

        Doesn’t Ohio have election laws? Are they being violated?

        Sounds like. So why aren’t lawyers parachuting into Ohio to get a handle on this thing?

        If the Republican party lays down and plays dead, we deserve to lose.

        • izoneguy

          The longer they hold out the longer the fraud continues.
          They are probably watching and waiting to see how
          many are voting. They could probably throw out all those
          one day wonder votes.

          • DavidSage

            I still believe the White House is in Ohio’s hands.

            I don’t know much about monitoring these sort of things, but couldn’t the Republican Party have some volunteers in the parking lot videotaping everyone that goes in and out? At least have some sort of record if fraud is occuring?

            An open, unmonitored voting station a month before the election in the most important state in this election is just asking for a Florida-type scenario.

            The Republican Party needs to file lawsuits and court orders to make sure this process is honest and transparent.

          • OhioDonnaOhio

            I received the email from the McCain campaign asking us to vote early. I vote every year so I didn’t need to register but did go down to the site to vote. I certainly was a minority. There were a lot more people than I thought. There was one trailer in the parking lot (far enough from the doors) and they must have been passing out Democraty sheets as I saw people coming in with their list of who to vote for. I had thought they they would need to see my picture ID but they didn’t ask for it. I only needed to know the last 4 digits of my social security number and complete and sign two forms.

            Donna

          • BuckeyesforMcCainPalin

            What’s going on here in Ohio is beyond the pale. It’s just absurd.

          • buckeye

            News piece from the Cleveland Plain Dealer
            here. Note, the Ohio Supreme Court has backed this and Brunner’s legal mumbo jumbo that this is not “voting” but “casting ballets” and thus the 30 day requirement is not being violated.

            *Early voting survived court challenges on Monday and Tuesday from the Ohio Republican Party. A federal district court, federal appeals court and the Ohio Supreme Court have now ruled in favor of early voting. *

            We’ve run our legal course in the state. It will take something from the federal level at this point. Basically, the Ohio court agrees it is casting a ballot because the voter can be validated between now and election day. If they don’t validate the ballot is discarded and the vote portion doesn’t take place. Their reasoning is because its ballot casting the 30 day law isn’t violated, their vote happens on election day 30 days after the registration. The 30 day law is still on the books and not violated.

            But everyone is calling it voting, so the reasonable person would probably see it as voting. Due process grounds? What do the attorneys out here think? Can the state of Ohio make up its own definition of what the “act of voting” is? Can one state call this voting but Ohio not? It’s clearly voting and conflicting with the intent of the Ohio law, but the kangaroo court says it’s not voting and thus no conflict.

            In addition, how do you validate it was that person that registered and “casted their ballot” at the same time, not some ACORN buddy of Obama’s? The act of voting is suppose to take place after the validation so they have to show up a second time as that same person and with an ID. There’s less authentication here that violates the intent of the 30 days. I think there’s federal due process all over this, but I’m not an attorney.

            Might need to do my first diary entry. God knows I’ve been out here long enough.

  • ikaikafoster

    Between shady voter registration practices and the media, McCain/Palin don’t stand a chance of winning. The only bright beam of hope is that God is still in control.

  • SeanH90050

    The firestorm is this were Democrats somehow being kept from voting or as poll observers. Or if the GOP calls for a recount, how we’ll suddenly be even more “evil and unfair” too.

    This is all just sick to read. I hope McCain has some viable ground game there, or we’ll need to buck the Ohio GOP tradition for the white house.

    • Doug_A

      http://uncountedthemovie.com/

  • 29Victor

    a press almost completely in the tank for one party, that same party attempting to use the State to limit the speach of opponents.

    This is beginning to sound awfully familiar.

  • maggiethurber

    Ohio has a statewide voter database so if a person registers and casts a ballot in one place and then tries to register and cast a ballot in another, the check of the registration will show the previous registration and ballot being issued. Person has then violated the law and should be prosecuted…ballot thrown out.

    The problem is the change in the law that allows the homeless to register listing the address where the ‘usually’ stay. You could go in, register and vote and then VOTE IN ANOTHER STATE. The same with college students. They can register and vote in Ohio, but still get absentee ballots from their ‘home’ state and vote there as well.

  • Harod

    These are the same people who will at the same time sue to block military absentee ballots..

  • Dave_in_Fla

    They picked me up and took me up to Ohio, and they showed me how I can vote every day until Novemeber! I’m so stoked!

    I’m voting 30 times for McCain! Koool!

  • Dave_in_Fla

    Go vote multiple times for McCain, then go on Fox and tell how it was done.

    • gclaghorn
  • Harod

    Sometimes i think stories like these are some kind of Tsung Tsu tactic to defeat you in your mind before you ever vote, its not over til its over. Remember the polls are ALWAYS padded democrat if McCain is even with Obama that means McCain will win by a landslide..

    • scottbomb

      Is ther eany control over identity? Can someone just walk up, say his name is John Smith (without having to show ID) and say he lives at 123 Main St. (without having to show anything to prove it)? If so, what’s to stop him from just driving a couple miles to another polling station and pretending to be Tom Jones of 22 Acacia Ave? No voter ID, no problem!

  • JWhitacre

    I have tried for weeks to get involved in Ohio. I am an attorney and a member of the NRLA (one of 23 in Ohio). I have filled out the forms on the Ohio GOP website and the Lawyers for McCain website.

    Only now have I started to get asked to do something. So, with no notice whatsoever, I provided my information and was signed up to work shifts tonight, tomorrow morning, Saturday and Sunday. I am really trying to help here… so I leave work early (and mind you that my wife is stuck at home with two young children with the flu), head down to the polling location.

    I call the county hq contact person, as the materials instruct me to do, and I feel like I’m speaking Chinese. After I explain myself, I’m instructed to go inside. I go inside, and am turned away because the proper forms weren’t filed with the county board of elections.

    I go to the county GOP hq and the necessary paperwork is sitting on a desk. There was knowledge that the papers needed filled out, but they were not.

    I’m getting burned out and I’m still just trying to volunteer! I have a degree in political science, a law degree, and both litigation and appellate experience and I feel like I am begging for the GOP to give me something to do as McCain’s poll numbers continue to drop in Ohio…

  • cwilson

    refuse to seat the electors from Ohio. There must be a bare minimum of honesty in the election, and if this stands, Ohio will have none.

  • bags64

    these kind of stories really depress me.

    • Harod

      thanks for trying but if the polls are too close on the big day they will need a few good lawyers.

      I found some pics from ohio it looks like Mac drew a nice crowd..

      http://ohio.johnmccain.com/content/sitecontentmain.aspx?guid=4350ec30-3d6b-4603-8459-1ee430f12c6a

      • clevergael

        As an Ohioan, I want to extend my personal thanks to you for volunteering your services.

        Too bad the party in the county you’re in isn’t organized enough or professional enough to take advantage of your generosity. It sounds suspiciously just like the GOP HQ in my county.

        Again, sincere thanks for being willing to help save this country from certain doom.

        • JWhitacre

          I grew up in Trumbull County.
          I live in Cuyahoga County.
          I work in Summit County.
          I regularly visit Stark County.

          My sense is that the organizational issues permeate all of Ohio.

          We will continue to fight the good fight no matter who gets in the way.

          • JWhitacre

            I have been told by various people who know some of the people working these polling locations that the boards of elections have been disappointed in the turnout (in Northeast Ohio anyway).

            So that is encouraging. If you are unfamiliar, Obama (and any Dem trying to win statewide or national office) must turnout the vote in huge numbers in NE Ohio to win Ohio.

          • IJB

            That’s exactly where they’re trying to head with this.

            At the heart of the Democrat Party is the stone fist of the totalitarian. If they think they can finally take absolute power, you can rest assured they’ll do away with even the pretense of elections.

          • whileone

            Once the commissioner certifies the vote it’s a done deal.

            This makes it more important than ever to challenge every lib registration in Ohio. I’m sure there’s a crew out there voting dozens of times each.

            Honestly, how else could obama be catching up in Ohio?

  • OccamsRazor

    Cashed/abused on his horde by writing a book titled ‘[Make Me Some Money]‘.

    Again, in order to beat the enemy, it’s best to know thy enemy.

    They use words like vitriol and hate. They barricade votes. This is modern day gunpoint ballet enforcement.

    It is the epitome of hypocrisy. Don’t let them get away with this.