dianeh
01-14-2008, 04:00 PM
They want to cheat again !
Republican election officials to discuss Brunner's ballot changes
Monday, January 14, 2008 2:10 PM
By Stephen Majors
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Republican Party has invited Republican elections board members from around the state to gather at a private meeting Tuesday to discuss “the party's response to the secretary of state's voting proposals,” according to an e-mail from a party official obtained today by the Associated Press.
The e-mail, which said, “your efforts to keep the information above confidential are appreciated,” comes at a time when Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has directed and recommended widespread changes to touch-screen voting systems across the state.
Elections officials in at least three counties have balked at Brunner's directive that counties with touch-screen machines make a certain number of paper ballots available during the March primary for voters who don't want to use the machines.
The counties have also said they will have trouble complying with Brunner's recommendation that the 57 counties that use touch-screen machines scrap them in favor of an optical-scan system, in which ballots filled out by hand are tabulated by computer scanners.
The private Republican meeting injects partisanship into a debate over voting technology that shouldn't be political, Brunner said today.
“This is not about political gamesmanship,” Brunner said. “It's about doing what's right for the voters of Ohio of both parties.”
The meeting is an effort to gather feedback from Republican elections board members, said Jason Mauk, executive director of the Ohio Republican Party, who sent the e-mail. With Republican and Democratic members evenly making up each elections board, the process is partisan in nature, he said.
“I don't think it's any secret that Ohio has election boards made up of partisan members and we believe it's important to communicate with those people on the boards who are affiliated with the Republican Party,” Mauk said.
“Our board members would not argue that this is a partisan decision.”
When asked whether Democrats were holding a similar meeting, Brunner said, “ Absolutely not.”
While issuing the directive on the paper ballots for the March primary, Brunner is taking a host of recommendations — including scrapping touch-screen machines across the state in favor of optical-scan systems — to the legislature. Brunner made the proposals after a study found that touch-screen machines were insecure and vulnerable to hacking, despite no evidence that a hacking attempt had been made in previous elections.
During a news conference today, Brunner said she couldn't stand idly by once the study revealed the machines' flaws.
Fulton County announced last week it would not comply with Brunner's recommendation that counties with touch-screen machines make the switch by the November election.
And officials in Union County have reached a tie vote on whether to comply with Brunner's directive for the March primary. County commissioners have so far declined to pay to make the ballots available, setting up a potential court battle over funding the directive.
Franklin County has also expressed concern over the paper ballot directive.
Late last year, Brunner was forced to break a tie vote of the elections board to require the switch from touch-screen machines to an optical-scan system in Cuyahoga County — the state's most populated — and is now exploring ways to help the county with the $31 million it will take to change the system.
Keith Cunningham, the director of the Allen County Board of Elections and immediate past president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, predicted there would be “ widespread balking” to Brunner's directive and recommendations.
“The changes being proposed by Brunner are at such a late date, and so abrupt that all of the counties that these decisions affect are struggling with them,” he said. “You simply can't turn the election system on a dime.”
County election officials from across the state are meeting in Columbus this week to discuss Brunner's directive and recommendations.
Brunner is exploring the possibility of using federal money from the Help America Vote Act to fund the change. House Speaker Jon Husted, a Kettering Republican, has suggested using the state's so-called “rainy day” fund.
Brunner said that the federal money would not cover all the changes she feels need to be made.
Republican election officials to discuss Brunner's ballot changes
Monday, January 14, 2008 2:10 PM
By Stephen Majors
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Republican Party has invited Republican elections board members from around the state to gather at a private meeting Tuesday to discuss “the party's response to the secretary of state's voting proposals,” according to an e-mail from a party official obtained today by the Associated Press.
The e-mail, which said, “your efforts to keep the information above confidential are appreciated,” comes at a time when Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has directed and recommended widespread changes to touch-screen voting systems across the state.
Elections officials in at least three counties have balked at Brunner's directive that counties with touch-screen machines make a certain number of paper ballots available during the March primary for voters who don't want to use the machines.
The counties have also said they will have trouble complying with Brunner's recommendation that the 57 counties that use touch-screen machines scrap them in favor of an optical-scan system, in which ballots filled out by hand are tabulated by computer scanners.
The private Republican meeting injects partisanship into a debate over voting technology that shouldn't be political, Brunner said today.
“This is not about political gamesmanship,” Brunner said. “It's about doing what's right for the voters of Ohio of both parties.”
The meeting is an effort to gather feedback from Republican elections board members, said Jason Mauk, executive director of the Ohio Republican Party, who sent the e-mail. With Republican and Democratic members evenly making up each elections board, the process is partisan in nature, he said.
“I don't think it's any secret that Ohio has election boards made up of partisan members and we believe it's important to communicate with those people on the boards who are affiliated with the Republican Party,” Mauk said.
“Our board members would not argue that this is a partisan decision.”
When asked whether Democrats were holding a similar meeting, Brunner said, “ Absolutely not.”
While issuing the directive on the paper ballots for the March primary, Brunner is taking a host of recommendations — including scrapping touch-screen machines across the state in favor of optical-scan systems — to the legislature. Brunner made the proposals after a study found that touch-screen machines were insecure and vulnerable to hacking, despite no evidence that a hacking attempt had been made in previous elections.
During a news conference today, Brunner said she couldn't stand idly by once the study revealed the machines' flaws.
Fulton County announced last week it would not comply with Brunner's recommendation that counties with touch-screen machines make the switch by the November election.
And officials in Union County have reached a tie vote on whether to comply with Brunner's directive for the March primary. County commissioners have so far declined to pay to make the ballots available, setting up a potential court battle over funding the directive.
Franklin County has also expressed concern over the paper ballot directive.
Late last year, Brunner was forced to break a tie vote of the elections board to require the switch from touch-screen machines to an optical-scan system in Cuyahoga County — the state's most populated — and is now exploring ways to help the county with the $31 million it will take to change the system.
Keith Cunningham, the director of the Allen County Board of Elections and immediate past president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, predicted there would be “ widespread balking” to Brunner's directive and recommendations.
“The changes being proposed by Brunner are at such a late date, and so abrupt that all of the counties that these decisions affect are struggling with them,” he said. “You simply can't turn the election system on a dime.”
County election officials from across the state are meeting in Columbus this week to discuss Brunner's directive and recommendations.
Brunner is exploring the possibility of using federal money from the Help America Vote Act to fund the change. House Speaker Jon Husted, a Kettering Republican, has suggested using the state's so-called “rainy day” fund.
Brunner said that the federal money would not cover all the changes she feels need to be made.