NYT: Ohio to Delay Destruction of Presidential Ballots

With paper ballots from the 2004 presidential election in Ohio scheduled to be destroyed next week, the secretary of state in Columbus, under pressure from critics, said yesterday that he would move to delay the destruction at least for several months.

Since the election, questions have been raised about how votes were tallied in Ohio, a battleground state that helped deliver the election to President Bush over Senator John Kerry.

The critics, including an independent candidate for governor and a team of statisticians and lawyers, say preliminary results from their ballot inspections show signs of more widespread irregularities than previously known.

The critics say the ballots should be saved pending an investigation. They also say the secretary of state’s proposal to delay the destruction does not go far enough, and they intend to sue to preserve the ballots.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/31/washington/31ohio.html?hp&ex=1156996800&en=24bc6b6a59183170&ei=5094&partner=homepage

They're just beginning to figure out what happened during that election. Federal law doesn't required destruction of the ballots, and there certainly doesn't seem to be a compelling reason to destroy them.

pending positive results.

I am certain there's widespread corruption, I hope they can figure something out.

send olbermann a thank you for tonight - he was A*M*A*Z*I*N*G
see the footage http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2804644

The ballots are not the only or the worst of the problems. Until everyone gets enough voting machines and an equal opportunity to vote, the problem of stolen elections will still be there.

And I DO mean FIX.

enough voting machines in poor precincts so people stood in line for hours to vote. Many left because they could not afford to stay away from their jobs that long. Just take a guess who they were probably going to vote for.

It was cold and rainy and truly nasty weather. I stuck it out, but I saw many people leave. Some were just physically unable to stand for that length of time.

must be available to everyone in case the power goes out, not enough machines available, etc.

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Census takers update the census shortly before the election, mostly door to door, some by phone.

We get sent a voting card at our mailing address and take it to our polling stations, mostly manned by locals - either volunteers or temporarily hired for the election.

We hand them our card, our name is checked on a master list - then marked as "in" and our registration card (half of it which is the ballot) is torn off -

We then walk behind a curtain, make our mark - fold it in half, then walk back to the registration desk where the ballot box is and we put it in the box in front of the workers who mark us off again as having voted.

That's it

No electronic gadgets - well,

there's heat and lights!

But y'all got hoodwinked down there that it would be cheaper to do it by machines . .

Think again

It just cost you the Worlds' respect

and your own freedoms.

Put a price tag on THAT!!

placed in the care of the Historical Society for further study if needed. It is against the law to destroy evidence.

As in the silver-faced mad scientist/Cobra Commander's partner in G.I. Joe? Just thought I should bring that up :)

Keep the faith. NGU.
Kick & Recommend!:kick:

:kick:

this is great news. (or at least it's the beginning of good news)

at the end of the article:
"In March 2005, the Democratic National Committee issued a report that said 2 percent of the Ohio electorate, or “approximately 129,543 voters,” had intended to vote but did not do so because of long lines and other problems at polling stations.

But the report said those and other frustrated voters “would not have erased Bush’s 118,000 vote margin in the state.” "

hum..i didn't know they had long lines in repuke areas. somehow i kinda doubt they did. and the "other problems at polling stations"? i don't remember hearing a lot of bush voters saying they weren't allowed to vote.