Wednesday, October 27
GOP challenges blowing up in the GOP's face
I read the news today, oh boy…
From The Columbus Dispatch:
New voters in Licking County ruled eligibleEmpahsis (and editorial note) mine.
GOP resident had challenged 52 whose paperwork was returned
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Seth Seymour
NEWARK, Ohio — A frustrated Licking County Board of Elections last night dropped charges against 52 voters who had been accused of illegally registering to vote.
"I’m not striking anybody off these rolls," said board Chairman Mike King after receiving proof from at least 46 of the newly registered voters that they live in the precincts in which they are registered.
That was enough for the four-member board to also dismiss charges against the remaining six voters in question.
With no problems found, board member Steve Harrington lashed out at the Granville resident who filed the charges last week.
"You said you did not want to burden our office, but you did," Harrington told James B. Barton.
Barton had said the 52 voters, including some military personnel, were illegally registered according to data from the Board of Elections that identified specific voters whose registration confirmations were returned to the board as undeliverable.
Ironically, the contested voters did receive notification in the mail this week — required by Ohio law — about their registrations being challenged.
No one could explain the mishap.
"I thought they would have a difficult time trying to reach them, considering the possibility of false addresses," said Barton’s attorney, Wes Untied. "I’m delighted most of the voters provided proof."
On Monday, the Ohio Republican Party announced it is threatening to sue county elections boards that reject GOP voter challenges because they were not properly filed, even as Democrats are saying all the challenges should be dismissed.
The GOP suspects fraud; the Democrats accuse Republicans of trying to suppress votes.
Republicans filed 35,427 challenges in 65 counties last week, though all of the 4,219 challenges filed in Hamilton County have been withdrawn because of mistakes made on those forms.
Barton, a registered Republican, apologized for the inconvenience in Licking County, but said he only wanted "to protect the integrity of the voting system."
The Republican Party, he added, did not ask him to file the charges. [Editor's note: Bullshit!]
Though only two contested voters attended the special hearing last night, others contacted the elections board earlier this week. They proved their addresses with documentation such as drivers licenses or utility bills showing the addresses.
Sherry Perfect was shocked to receive the letter yesterday.
"At first, it didn’t make sense," the Kirkersville resident said at the hearing. "Then I thought it was someone who was trying to stop me from voting."
King, also the head of the Licking County Democratic Party, said the challenge was a distraction from preparations for next week.
"We could have been getting better prepared for the election."
This is from the county that I grew up in, just east of Columbus. A rural county, with farming making up most of the industry there.
These tactics that the Republicans are trying to assert in this election are going to cost them plenty. Considerably more than they are truly wanting to give up. Relevant Link Permanent link posted by bytehead @ 10/27/2004 09:56:00 AM
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