http://www.cleveland.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1100169336227680.xmlKerry campaign scrutinizes Ohio
Checks provisional ballots, other issues
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Scott Hiaasen
Plain Dealer Reporter
Lawyers with John Kerry's presidential campaign are gathering information from Ohio election boards about uncounted ballots and other unresolved issues from last week's election. Attorneys say they are not trying to challenge the election but are only carrying out Kerry's promise to make sure that all the votes in Ohio are counted. They describe this effort, which began this week, as a "fact-finding mission."
<>Dan Hoffheimer, the statewide counsel for the Kerry campaign, said the goal is to identify any voting problems to prevent them in the future - and quell doubts about the legitimacy of the Ohio election being raised on the Internet.
"We're not expecting to change the outcome of the election," Hoffheimer said. "We want to be sure that the public knows what really happened." "There were enough problems reported around the state that undermined people's confidence," Hoffheimer said.
The Kerry campaign has compiled a list of more than 30 questions for local election officials, asking about the number of absentee and provisional ballots, any reports of equipment malfunctions on election night, and any ballots that still listed third-party challenger Ralph Nader as a candidate. (Nader was removed from the ballot by Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.)
As of yesterday, the attorneys had not yet contacted the Cuyahoga County's elections director, Michael Vu. Election officials cannot begin to officially canvass the ballots until Saturday.
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To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
shiaasen@plaind.com, 216-999-4927
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