Nader on Ohio Ballot?

He's turned in his petition with more than 14,000 signatures; 5,000 VALID signatures are needed.

Link here:

http://tinyurl.com/49272

Let's hope there are enough discrepancies that he doesn't make it!

...on how the gay marriage petition is doing? I've only heard one case where a petitioner came to someone's door, and she was politely told to go away.

That issue will bring 'em out of the woodwork as well, and it won't necessarily be good news for Kerry.

Gay marriage petitions face legal challenges

By JIM SIEGEL
Gannett News Service

COLUMBUS -- After reviewing petitions from four rural counties, an attorney representing opponents to a proposed gay marriage amendment already predicts the issue will not get on the November ballot.

Donald McTigue said Thursday he plans to file his first legal challenges to those petitions by Monday, beginning what could be a lengthy legal process designed to tie up the issue in court long enough to keep it away from voters.

McTigue said he has reviewed petitions certified in Marion, Morrow, Fulton and Sandusky counties and has found "numerous errors."

These include improperly filling out paperwork that show how much petitioners were paid, and improper changes in the number of signatures witnessed by each petitioner, he said.

more
http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/news/stories/20040820/localnews/1082407.html

There are about 30 people currently sifting through the Nader petitions and entering the names on a spreadsheet to look for duplicates. I just left for a few hours to handle some real life matters, but I plan to work into the night and all day tomorrow. There are several legal issues that have already arisen. It's really going to come down to how lax the standards are going to be.

I should know more information by tomorrow and I'll post about our progress.

Can't wait to hear.

As usual, DU will get the info first.

We talked about it, and they're still verifying his Hamilton County petition....

I ended up spending most of Sun. working on this project and there is still no concrete news. I'm very impressed with the intensity of the Ohio Dems. There were several law professors determining where to file complaints, handwriting analysts were coming in today to check for duplicate sigs, and people are looking at every name on a massive spreadsheet.

Here are a few of the last things I heard discussed. First, how to handle the media. Teresa Heinz-Kerry spoke at an AFL-CIO meeting this afternoon (wonderful, by the way) and they don't want the news to fall through the cracks. Second, the Party may request having a Rep., Dem., and Nader observer look a every petition with the individual county BOE. It would be like the three person team doing the Fla. recount. This way if the BOE lets something slide, we'll have a record of it. Third, what to do with Ken Blackwell. County BOEs have to follow his guidelines, even if they think they're too lax. Personally, I think Blackwell will be our undoing.

Some of the common problems: A few of the people circulating the petitions are not register voters or haven't change their voting address after a move. All of these petitions should be thrown out. Some of people who were most likely paid by the signature wrote that every petition had the maximum number of 22 people, regardless of the actual number. These should be thrown out because the circulators obviously didn't witness the signatures. There are countless illegible signatures and addresses, so we can't verify if the person is registered.

Bottom line is it will all depend on whether Blackwell actually follows Ohio's election laws. I think it will end up in court. I hope I'm wrong, but I think he'll get on the ballot. :(

What can we, DUers, do to get on Blackwell's back? Or to make this newsworthy?

Just give us a challenge, post in our forum (and other forums as well), and we'll be there.

We're waiting for more news from you . . .