On November 7, 2006, eighteen citizens conducted Ohio's fourth Parallel Election (PE) at the Whetstone Recreation Center polling station, which hosts four precincts: Columbus 19C, 19D, 20A and 20D, located at 3923 N. High Street, in Columbus.
At the close of polls, PE ballots were transferred to a warehouse where five teams of nine counters hand-counted the 626 paper ballots, preparing an Audit Report for each precinct. Four teams counted the four precincts, and an additional team was created to count PE ballots from "unknown precincts," where voters misreported or failed to report their precinct number.
Election results on the attached spreadsheet were compiled from three sources: PE Audit Reports, Precinct-posted thermal roll results, and Franklin County Board of Elections web-posted results, accessed on November 9, 2006.
Key results are reproduced below. Full results at http://tinyurl.com/yhj8cf. Although we drew a smaller turnout than prior PEs, this was the largest polling station attempted, and new ideas were tested. Further details, analysis and conclusions will be included in the Final Report.
Key Results:
Total Registered Voters per BOE......... 3,426
Total Parallel Voters................... 626
Total Official Voters per Precinct Post. 1,826
Total Official Voters per BOE........... 1,756
PE% of Precinct Turnout................. 35%
Total Provisional Voters reported to PE.. 71
Total Provisional Voters reported by BOE. 72
PE% of official provisional voters....... 99%
This PE monitored the following races and issues:
Governor
US Rep 15th District
US Senate
Secretary of State
Ohio Supreme Court (O'Donnell vs. O'Neill)
Issue 2 - Minimum Wage
Issue 3 - Gambling
Issue 4 - Limited Smoking in Ohio
Issue 5 - Smoke-free Ohio
Donations provided to the Free Press (Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism) enabled me to prepare for and coordinate this PE effort. Marj Creech (co-coordinator), Len Samuelson, Teresa Blakely, and Mel and Lisa Vallieri provided invaluable support and in-kind donations. Much gratitude to all for this much-needed help, including twelve more volunteers, who all made this Parallel Election possible.
It was very exciting to participate in Election Observance during the Parallel Election. All over the country, we observed, videoed, photographed, polled, and collected public records this election season, mostly volunteer and most with good cheer.
The growing number of the civically engaged bodes well for our democracy.
Shenanigans did occur, so our continued efforts are needed.
· Someone discovered that the Ohio Secretary of State website is transferred to another IP address in Tennessee for at least 24 hours, beginning Election Day eve. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/7/144314/082
· Voters reported to PE workers about screen freezes and being forced to vote provisionally.
· Provisional target maps in Franklin County are posted at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/13/122915/95
· Technicians accessed the voting machines while refusing to disclose their identities, even tho local residents who vote are now required to show ID. http://tinyurl.com/y5y9h7.
Tax-deductible donations for "Election Research" are appreciated, and can be sent to the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism, 341 S. 3rd Street, Ste. 10, Columbus OH 43215, or visit www.FreePress.org.
Elections belong to the people. Let's hand count paper ballots, at the precinct before all who wish to observe.
Rady Ananda
J30 Coalition
Central Ohio Parallel Election Project
Executive Summary posted at http://tinyurl.com/y4lh8l
PE results posted at http://tinyurl.com/yhj8cf
At the close of polls, PE ballots were transferred to a warehouse where five teams of nine counters hand-counted the 626 paper ballots, preparing an Audit Report for each precinct. Four teams counted the four precincts, and an additional team was created to count PE ballots from "unknown precincts," where voters misreported or failed to report their precinct number.
Election results on the attached spreadsheet were compiled from three sources: PE Audit Reports, Precinct-posted thermal roll results, and Franklin County Board of Elections web-posted results, accessed on November 9, 2006.
Key results are reproduced below. Full results at http://tinyurl.com/yhj8cf. Although we drew a smaller turnout than prior PEs, this was the largest polling station attempted, and new ideas were tested. Further details, analysis and conclusions will be included in the Final Report.
Key Results:
Total Registered Voters per BOE......... 3,426
Total Parallel Voters................... 626
Total Official Voters per Precinct Post. 1,826
Total Official Voters per BOE........... 1,756
PE% of Precinct Turnout................. 35%
Total Provisional Voters reported to PE.. 71
Total Provisional Voters reported by BOE. 72
PE% of official provisional voters....... 99%
This PE monitored the following races and issues:
Governor
US Rep 15th District
US Senate
Secretary of State
Ohio Supreme Court (O'Donnell vs. O'Neill)
Issue 2 - Minimum Wage
Issue 3 - Gambling
Issue 4 - Limited Smoking in Ohio
Issue 5 - Smoke-free Ohio
Donations provided to the Free Press (Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism) enabled me to prepare for and coordinate this PE effort. Marj Creech (co-coordinator), Len Samuelson, Teresa Blakely, and Mel and Lisa Vallieri provided invaluable support and in-kind donations. Much gratitude to all for this much-needed help, including twelve more volunteers, who all made this Parallel Election possible.
It was very exciting to participate in Election Observance during the Parallel Election. All over the country, we observed, videoed, photographed, polled, and collected public records this election season, mostly volunteer and most with good cheer.
The growing number of the civically engaged bodes well for our democracy.
Shenanigans did occur, so our continued efforts are needed.
· Someone discovered that the Ohio Secretary of State website is transferred to another IP address in Tennessee for at least 24 hours, beginning Election Day eve. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/7/144314/082
· Voters reported to PE workers about screen freezes and being forced to vote provisionally.
· Provisional target maps in Franklin County are posted at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/13/122915/95
· Technicians accessed the voting machines while refusing to disclose their identities, even tho local residents who vote are now required to show ID. http://tinyurl.com/y5y9h7.
Tax-deductible donations for "Election Research" are appreciated, and can be sent to the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism, 341 S. 3rd Street, Ste. 10, Columbus OH 43215, or visit www.FreePress.org.
Elections belong to the people. Let's hand count paper ballots, at the precinct before all who wish to observe.
Rady Ananda
J30 Coalition
Central Ohio Parallel Election Project
Executive Summary posted at http://tinyurl.com/y4lh8l
PE results posted at http://tinyurl.com/yhj8cf
