Brunner doubts prosecution of crossover voting

At least in Cuyahoga County.

http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/03/brunner_2.html

<<<About 17,100 Republicans and 3,000 Democrats in Cuyahoga County switched parties in the March 4 primary, the county Board of Elections found during an investigation of whether voters lied when they signed affidavits pledging allegiance to their new party.

But Ohio's elections chief warned Tuesday against prosecuting any of these 20,119 crossover voters because doing so could be a violation of free-speech rights.

"I would be very hesitant to move forward in a criminal investigation," Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said before giving a speech at John Carroll University. "At what point are you going to start getting into censorship?"<<<

Then just get rid of the law.

If people can say point-blank on the form that they're "Rep but want Dem" or "one time only," that is a blatant disregard for the law and I would think it would be punishable as such. To me a breach of freedom of speech would be giving a **cogent** reason for wanting to switch parties, along with the pledge to stay with the new party, but then being denied the right to do so. Flimsy reasons like the above just make the case even harder for closed primaries. Otherwise, they become a joke and a corruption of the whole process.

Brunner says the legislature may look at this. Let's hope.

I would think that the Ohio public would be supportive because we have not been happy living in a banana republic of staged elections. How's that for a talking point?