RIP: Ohio Election Reform - It's OUR Fault.

note: RON= Reform Ohio Now. Measures 2-5 were on the ballot and could have dramatically remedied the awful situation we have here. www.reformohionow.org did a great job writing the measures, but the fell asleep on the job when it came to promoting them:

You won't believe the run-around I got when I tried to Volunteer
my emails started two months ago: a call to the local party office and two emails to RON, saying I'm ready to volunteer.

I never once got a response, other than some sporadic mass emails asking for cash. I obliged, but I was ready to canvas, coordinate, call, pepper the landscape with signs, posters, flyers, greeting cards - and whatever.

TWO NIGHTS before the election, RON sent a special mailer out asking when people were available to volunteer. I checked the boxes and eagerly awaited my phone list and/or further instructions.

Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Maybe their strategy was to raise cash and run ads, but they could've coordinated their ground troops much better. Hell, I was ready to: with my infant daughte in-tow.

If the RON folks were going to fight a media war, they were soundly outspent by the cabal who brought us Coingate:

Ads saying that a "NO" vote would stop corruption (HA!) were running nonstop in Cinci-Dayton area.

The message actually said "Fight corruption in Ohio - vote no on 2-5"

they were counting on nobody actually reading the measures. They won again.

and we vote with punch cards.

we didn't need Diebold to lose it for us this time. we did a fine job all by ourselves.

we had to use diebold machines for the first time.

:cry: :cry: :cry: :grr: :grr: :grr:

at the county offices.

That's where I learned about election ballots, audit process, "chain of custody" for ballot boxes, etc.

I'm sorry it didn't happen. I thought there was a good chance that a state finally would "see the light".

But then, Ohio is Diebold HQ so I suppose that gives them the "home court advantage".

Electronic tabulators can be rigged and hacked, too. It's not the voting, it's the counting. You may be right that voters defeated the levies (is that what they're called?) but you may not. Educate yourself about the tabulators, please. You can search in DU archives for "tabulator" and you'll come up with quite a bit. I seem to remember a thread called "It's the tabulators, stupid," or something like that.

(edited for weird grammar error that's a result of my 15 hours working in the polls today in California)

That's what I'm posting about. There's a hunded other threads and articles that address the machines, but being powerless and penniless in the face of large-scale fraud does not mean we stop trying to educate the voters. I had time to volunteer, and spent more time trying to sign up than actually volunteering.

And just something I know from experience. People don't read. They got their info on the measures from the TV ads.

associated the Reform Ohio with out of staters. I wasn't sure if that was true or not, but apparently the repubs were pushing that mantra. Were Ohio dems involved in setting this up and promoting it?

Party chair a couple of months ago. I'm new in town & was just checking in and letting them know I was ready to get involved. When the conversation turned to measures 2-5, she said she wasn't really involved with it and gave me RON's website.

since it is so pivotal.

i.e., to ensure that such offers as yours weren't wasted.