FreePress: Another third rate burglary - at Ohio Dem Offices [View All]

Another third rate burglary

by Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
December 25, 2004

On December 9, 2004, I posted an article on Lucas County. I noted with deep suspicion the voter turnout data for the City of Toledo. Of the 495 precincts in Lucas County, the 88 precincts with the lowest turnout, all in the City of Toledo, were won by John Kerry. Of the 8 precincts with less than 50% reported turnout, 4 are located in 2 wards. Of the 29 precincts with less than 55% reported turnout, 20 are located in 4 wards. Of the 63 precincts with less than 60% reported turnout, 34 are located in 4 wards, 39 are located in 5 wards, and 43 are located in 6 wards.

When the precinct numbers are combined into totals for each ward, a clear and unmistakable pattern emerges. The 14 wards with the highest reported turnout were won by John Kerry by a margin of 11 to 7 in the aggregate. The 10 wards with the lowest reported turnout were won by John Kerry by a margin of 6 to 1 in the aggregate. The more competitive the ward, the higher the reported turnout. Conversely, the less competitive the ward, the lower the reported turnout.

It was, and still is, my professional opinion that the election in Lucas County was rigged. I speculated that someone may have gained access to the central counting devices for the optical scanners without anybody at the precinct level knowing about it. The vote totals for candidates could be altered in this manner. But at each precinct there is supposed to be a count of total ballots cast, and it was difficult to imagine how access to a computer could have altered or affected the reported voter turnout without serious risk of exposure.

Shortly after I posted my article I received a phone call from Toledo. My source, who had been an observer at polling stations on Election Day, told me of insecure and chaotic conditions there. I was also referred to a newspaper article in the Toledo Blade, posted online at:
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2004410130378


The article, written by Robin Erb, published October 13, 2004, is entitled: “Thieves hit Democratic Party offices; computers containing sensitive data removed.” I take the liberty of abbreviating it here:

continued...
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/1037

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