Further, the OEJC does not believe the changes made to date address the problems from 2004 or will prevent those problems from occurring again. Current reforms being undertaken in Ohio are, at best, an effort to restore the status quo as it was pre-2004.
In fact, what the 2008 election demonstrated to us was that Ohio, to have any semblance of a fair election, will need an army of election protection attorneys, observers, and volunteers to guarantee the integrity of the vote. For example, many precincts will continue to require upwards of four to six volunteers to guarantee that people can simply cast a vote, which is only one component of the election process.
One Example: Franklin County failed to process approximately 15,000 voter registration cards in 2008. No amount of helpers at the polls on election day will be able to help these people to vote, as these people were not be entered in the voter rolls. The Franklin County Board of Elections voted themselves permission to destroy those registration cards. The record retention schedule appears to suggest these would be kept permanently.
The director stated they have no intention to complete those registration cards. According to OEJC research, they still existed in early spring 2009. Some of those boxes of cards appear in the below documentary, “Democracy Deadlocked.”
The deputy director of the Franklin County Board of Elections has been a named defendant in the King-Lincoln case since 2006. He has never been held accountable for his actions in 2004, when he was director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, in disenfranchising voters. The attorney representing this election official in the King-Lincoln case is a former law associate of Secretary of State Brunner, and he used to work with her private law office.
Without significant action, future federal elections will continue to be seriously compromised.
Further research resources:
Documentary Video (under 20 minutes):
Democracy Deadlocked, Part I, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5WOw1TzImg
Democracy Deadlocked, Part II, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y44dtUCMf2E&feature=related
This documentary was produced by Melissa Cornick, who in her career as a network news television producer has received numerous awards for her groundbreaking original investigative reports, including the prestigious 2006 Edward R. Murrow and the Mongerson Prize for Ethics in Investigative Reporting awards, among others, for her work at 60 Minutes, Dateline, 20/20 and for the legendary Walter Cronkite's former documentary unit.
Investigative Journalism:
Michael Collins’ articles on Ohio election:
Part One: http://www.scoop.co.nz:80/stories/HL0710/S00300.htm
Part Two: http://www.scoop.co.nz:80/stories/HL0711/S00161.htm
Hardball in Ohio & The Lost Ballots: http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/HARDBALL-IN-OHIO--THE-LOS-by-Michael-Collins-090326-39.html
Litigation:
Most of the litigation history of this case is online through O.S.U. law school:
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/index.php
The link to the King Lincoln v. Blackwell case: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/klbna.php
Links to specific filings are under the above link as pdf files:
The OEJC Motion to Intervene: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Intervene-7-7-08.pdf
The OEJC Motion for Criminal Contempt and Special Grand Jury Proceedings: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Intervenor-7-10-08.pdf
The OEJC Motion for Reconsideration:
1. http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Motion-3-24-09.pdf (plus four exhibits, also pdf files on the website).
2. http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/KLNBA-Reply-5-8-09.pdf (plus ten exhibits to this reply brief, also pdf files on website; Ex. K documents the ongoing destruction of records: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/KLNBA-ExhibitK-5-8-09.pdf )
Litigation Exhibits: The exhibits are out-of-order on the website, but the links are below. We can forward to you a more readable copy if you are interested. Because of the extent of the documentation (over 1400 pages), the full evidence is on paper file with the court.
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Exhibit-7-11-08.pdf (99 pages);
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-ExhibitEx1-7-11-08.pdf (101 pages);
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-ExhibitEx2-7-11-08.pdf (51 pages)
Dismissal of Defendant Sam Hogsett. He is an ES&S technician involved in election manipulation in Delaware County and other counties at the recount.
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/NOTICEbyPlaintiffsofVoluntarydismissalofdefendatSamHogsett.pdf
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