Kerry was right again! Blackwell still stealing democracy

John Kerry spoke the truth in the fundraising email sent out to his massive email list.  He said: 

"Since 2004, he has twisted the election process even more, adding new voting regulations that have created confusion and controversy. His legacy as Secretary of State? Putting partisanship ahead of the electorates’ fundamental right to vote. That’s not just a reason not to promote him as Governor; it demands a grassroots mission to stop Ken Blackwell from getting a further grip on power in Ohio.  

That is why I am asking you to act right now to help Ted Strickland wage an all-out effort in this tough race.  It is a contest in which every Ohio citizen has a stake."

So here's my list from Ohio of NEW and improved (gag..  cough... gag!!! ) suppression methods that were not widely known as of Nov. 2, 2004 which is also supported by the nonpartison GAO report released in October 2005.

1.  Ohio moves to criminalize voter registration drives by 3rd party groups.

2.  Ohio moves to make contesting an election ILLEGAL.

3.  The district that Paul Hackett ran in had an "unusual" loss of  power in the middle of vote tabulation.  Suddenly 15 minutes later, the votes switched from Hackett winning to Scmidt winning.  This was the same area that had the false 'terror alert'.

4.  Lucas County/Toledo Board of Elections (Ohio) took the longest time to complete the vote counting on in Ohio for the November 8, 2005  election. They took 11.5 hours after the close of the polls using  Diebold DRE voting machines. They are in the same group as Clermont County Board of Elections, which took the longest for the Second  Congressional District August 2, 2005 election

5.   The Lucas County Board of Elections in the November 8, 2005 election, evicted TOLEDO BLADE reporters from the Board of Elections and blocked  all reporters from going up the escalator to view the counting.  They are in the same group as Warren County, which blocked reporters from viewing the counting in November 2004.

6.  Lucas County also used "rovers" to pick up the memory cards (which contain all the votes) from the precincts instead of the customary procedure of having the precinct head bring them into the county. Some of these "rovers" were people who held elected or appointed positions  for a particular political party such as a councilman and Board members of the Lucas County Board of Elections.

7.  The Lucas County (Ohio) Board of Elections’ last reply to Jo Anne Karasek for a date to inspect public records referred to a date, which  they refused, that was not requested. They keep the ballots requested for inspection in the same room as the ballots for the most recent election, refuse to move them, and claim that they cannot be examined there for security reasons. They refuse to consider allowing another inspection until about December 20. Only two inspections have been  permitted since the first public records request on May 2005. Legal action may be necessary.CLERMONT COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS PUBLIC  
   RECORDS REQUESTS.  The Clermont County (Ohio) Board of Elections response for a first request by Jo Anne Karasek to inspect public records (of the Hackett/Schmidt election on August 2, 2005) included a refusal in  
   October to allow inspection for more than one hour, a demand of eight to ten cents a page for copying, when Office Depot only charges six  cents a page including profits. The Clermont County Prosecutor  
   threatened arrest and refused to allow videotaping of the inspection.  Legal action may be necessary. RECOUNTS AND POSSIBLE AUDITS OF NOVEMBER  
   8, 2005 ELECTION

8.  The election reform movement, especially in Ohio, is concerned about the outcome of the statewide issues, Issues #1 thru #5, in the November 8, 2005 election. The biggest concern is because a COLUMBUS DISPATCH  poll reported on November 6, 2005, indicated that Issues #2 and #3  would be won with a substantial margin, but they both lost with a  substantial margin. There are plans to do recounts and audits of the  
   November 8 election in parts of Ohio.
   (surprise surprise!  Another election with questionable results...)

THis information is from the Ohio Election Reform group and constitutes the information from ONE update alone!

But all of this is NEW shinanigans from Blackwell and his Republican cohorts in Ohio.  

So as you see,  Kerry's letter was 100% accurate!

"Since 2004, he has twisted the election process even more, adding new voting regulations that have created confusion and controversy. His legacy as Secretary of State? Putting partisanship ahead of the electorates’ fundamental right to vote. That’s not just a reason not to promote him as Governor; it demands a grassroots mission to stop Ken Blackwell from getting a further grip on power in Ohio."