precinct. In this year's primary, poll workers had a nearly perfect record
in a dozen inner city precincts, posting results at the 6:30 opening of the
polls and updating at 11:30am and 4pm. Free Press observers only found one
polling site, the combined 55a and c that failed to post the 4pm results.
Poll workers immediately turned over the poll list to the Free Press upon
request and subsequently posted the results.
The end of the day tallies, which Blackwell failed to mandate, were posted
at all but two of the 12 precincts observed, 5A and 5C.
A small number of problems emerged during primary election day. Poll workers
seemed confused about procedures involving paper ballots versus provisional
ballots. At various polling sites Franklin County voters who asked for a
paper ballot had their ballots placed in a provisional ballot envelope. A
Free Press editor who cast a ballot on paper was told that it "wasn't worth
as much" as the vote on the ES&S computer voting machine.
Some provisional voters were not given a sheet with phone numbers to call
and dates when they could call to see if their vote was counted.
Avenue Elementary School had a note on the door re-directing voters to vote
at the Thompson Recreation Center, both in the same neighborhood in
Columbus' Short North.
Ohio's Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner admitted the obvious on Ohio News
Network - that there needed to be more poll worker training for Ohio's
general election.
Poll workers told a Free Press reporter that they were given six hours of
training, but very little of it was "hands-on."
The improvements in Franklin County's election can be attributed to the
relentless efforts of the election protection movement and new policies
drafted by Secretary of State Brunner's office. Controversial Franklin
County Board of Elections Director Matt Damschroder was forced out by
Brunner two days before the primary. Damschroder openly defied Brunner's
directives, particularly one mandating that voters be allowed to vote on
paper. Nevertheless, the ugly news is that Franklin County Democrats
rewarded Damschroder, the former Republican Party Chair, by voting to keep
him on as a "consultant" for the rest of the year at his full salary.
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