 |
Thu Jul 24 2008 | |||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
Departments Election Issues Another third rate burglary by Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D. December 25, 2004 On December 9, 2004, I posted an article on Lucas County. I noted with deep suspicion the voter turnout data for the City of Toledo. Of the 495 precincts in Lucas County, the 88 precincts with the lowest turnout, all in the City of Toledo, were won by John Kerry. Of the 8 precincts with less than 50% reported turnout, 4 are located in 2 wards. Of the 29 precincts with less than 55% reported turnout, 20 are located in 4 wards. Of the 63 precincts with less than 60% reported turnout, 34 are located in 4 wards, 39 are located in 5 wards, and 43 are located in 6 wards. When the precinct numbers are combined into totals for each ward, a clear and unmistakable pattern emerges. The 14 wards with the highest reported turnout were won by John Kerry by a margin of 11 to 7 in the aggregate. The 10 wards with the lowest reported turnout were won by John Kerry by a margin of 6 to 1 in the aggregate. The more competitive the ward, the higher the reported turnout. Conversely, the less competitive the ward, the lower the reported turnout. It was, and still is, my professional opinion that the election in Lucas County was rigged. I speculated that someone may have gained access to the central counting devices for the optical scanners without anybody at the precinct level knowing about it. The vote totals for candidates could be altered in this manner. But at each precinct there is supposed to be a count of total ballots cast, and it was difficult to imagine how access to a computer could have altered or affected the reported voter turnout without serious risk of exposure. Shortly after I posted my article I received a phone call from Toledo. My source, who had been an observer at polling stations on Election Day, told me of insecure and chaotic conditions there. I was also referred to a newspaper article in the Toledo Blade, posted online at http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= 2004410130378. The article, written by Robin Erb, published October 13, 2004, is entitled: “Thieves hit Democratic Party offices; computers containing sensitive data removed.” I take the liberty of abbreviating it here: Thieves shattered a side window overnight at Lucas County Democratic headquarters in Toledo, stealing computers with sensitive campaign information and jeopardizing the party's ability to deliver crucial votes on Election Day. Among the data on the stolen computer of the party's office manager were: e-mails discussing campaign strategy, candidates' schedules, financial information, and phone numbers of party members, candidates, donors, and volunteers. Also taken were computers belonging to a Lucas County Commissioner and to a Texas attorney working with the Kerry campaign to ensure election security. “This puts us behind the eight ball,” party spokesman Jerry Chabler said. “This can affect our entire get-out-the-vote operation.” Barbara Koonce, the office manager, said information on her computer had not been backed up since August. “I try to do it at least once a month, but we've been so extremely busy here, it's not the first thing on our minds,” she said. At Democratic headquarters, officials stopped short of publicly blaming partisan politics, but at the same time, they all but ruled out run-of-the-mill criminals. Two other computers, holding less sensitive information, were untouched, as were a petty cash box that usually holds $80 to $100, televisions, portable radios, and other electronics. Moreover, other offices inside the building, 1817 Madison Avenue, were not entered. Files, papers, and pamphlets remained in neat piles, and campaign signs leaned, apparently undisturbed, against a wall. “They knew what they wanted,” Mr. Chabler said, calling the incident a “third-rate burglary,” a not-so-subtle reference to the break-in at National Democratic Committee offices in 1972 that began the Watergate scandal that eventually led to the President Nixon's resignation. The burglary gave the thieves exclusive possession of two months’ worth of Democratic voter canvass records. It allowed them to target specific wards and precincts for voter suppression operations, and left the Democrats unable to prevent it. The reader will forgive me for not having imagined such a technique for adversely affecting voter turnout. Since learning of the burglary I have examined the Election Day incident reports for Lucas County posted online at https://voteprotect.org/epc/index.php?display. Many of these reports are precinct-specific, and I have obtained from the Board of Elections a list allowing me to correlate the polling places mentioned with the precincts they served. Altogether, 31 of the 88 Kerry precincts with lower turnout than any Bush precinct (62.72%) are identified in the incident reports. The following entries list the polling station, the precincts they served, voter turnout as a percentage in parentheses, and a summation of the incident reports. Lagrange Elementary School: 2-A (47.40%), 2-I (49.91%), 2-G (51.63%), 2-F (52.24%). Elderly voter expressed strong concern that polling place was recently moved to a very dangerous location. He was discouraging his neighbors and friends from voting. He had called the county election officials to complain. Teneyck Towers: 8-J (47.50%). Each time ballot entered machine reads “power failure.” Voter asked if ballot will be counted. Worker told her machine is fine. Precinct 8-J had 6 uncounted ballots (1.64%), further reducing the effective turnout. St. Elizabeth Seton School: 4-N (52.69%), 4-L (64.06%), 4-M (71.73%). Polling place was moved from Caldwell Center, and not even the Ward Chairman was notified. Three precincts voted here, and there was nobody to guide voters to the correct line. Voters who were standing in the correct line were told they were not on the registrar’s list and to fill out a provisional ballot or stand in another line. Included were voters who have never moved or changed names, yet mysteriously were not on voter rolls. Voters were sent home to retrieve yellow card with precinct numbers rather than being directed to precinct map. Some voters were turned away from all three tables and left without voting. A man with a mini DV camera was recording inside and outside the polling place. Cherry Pre-School Annex: 10-A (54.41%). Observer at polls was telling people to vote with a pen, which cannot be read by the optical scanner. Flory Gardens Senior Citizens Center: 6-K (54.48%), 6-M (56.51%), 6-A (74.88%). Many long-time voters were not on the rolls and were forced to vote by provisional ballot. Ballot stubs were not removed, which means that one’s vote is not secret, and the vote count may not be reliable. All Saints Lutheran Church: 24-D (55.12%), 24-I (66.36%). Polling station ran out of ballots and was turning people away. Pickett Elementary School: 14-F (55.42%), 14-B (62.82%), 14-A (69.60%). One machine was not counting properly, which would explain the low turnout at 14-F. Many voters who had lived and voted in the same location for years were told they were not on the rolls, or that they had already voted by absentee ballot. East Toledo Family Center: 18-A (56.22%), 18-I (59.56%), 18-J (61.26%), 18-F (62.22%). Voter forced to fill out provisional ballot despite having identification and a voter registration card. Fulton Elementary School: 8-H (56.47%), 8-L (58.02%). Ran out of ballots and had to wait 30 minutes for more ballots to arrive. Machine that takes the completed ballot was broken for at least 90 minutes. Poll workers told people to put their completed ballots to the side because the machine was broken. Voters were concerned that their votes would not be counted. This is an inner-city precinct in African-American neighborhood. Toledo Community Church: 13-E (58.78%), 13-D (69.57%). Lines were not designated by precinct, so voters waited in the wrong line. Elderly voters having trouble filling in the spaces correctly so that optical scan machine would read their ballots. Poll worker yelling at voters, taking ballots out of privacy folders. Voter turned away who had lived at the same address for 32 years. Glenwood Elementary School: 10-G (59.68%), 10-D (60.67%), 10-H (71.82%). Polling place opened 50 minutes late, with no pencils to fill out ballots. No privacy for voting. Several reports of voters being sent back and forth between here and Kent Branch Library or Mott Branch Library, forced to fill out provisional ballot even though registered here. Disorganized polling location, some voters waited in all three lines, some even brought in identification and utility bills to prove residency for as long as 34 years, and still were forced to use provisional ballots. No help in filling out ballots, voters told that if they erased their ballots they would not be counted. Gesu Catholic School: 13-G (59.83%), 14-K (61.87%). Voters told at 2:15 P.M. and 3:47 P.M. to come back later because there were no more ballots. Board of Elections staff members came and found ballots that had been at the polling site all along. Some ballots had no paper sleeves and poll workers could view the ballots. Machine jammed at 7:30 PM, and poll official opened privacy folder and exposed voter’s ballot. Precinct 14-K had 7 uncounted ballots (1.53%), further reducing the effective turnout. TORCH: 13-M (60.02%), 13-F (71.33%). Machines broken, ballots got stuck, ballots not scanned, voters concerned they would not be counted. Long lines. Kent Branch Library: 10-F (60.14%), 10-E (61.73%). Sent voters to Glenwood Elementary School even though they were not registered there. Sanger Branch Library: 12-J (61.52%), 12-B (75.00%). No plug for optical scanner. The machine was in a separate room unsupervised. Ballots were entered manually. There were no Democratic observers, only Republicans. University of Toledo Community Tech: 14-G (61.93%), 14-H (63.43%), 14-J (64.91%). Ran out of ballots. Mott Branch Library: 8-B (62.11%), 14-D (64.34%): Precinct lines were not separated. Registered voters not listed on rolls, turned away even with proof of residency, told to go to Board of Elections. One voter who has lived in the same house for 55 years was forced to fill out a provisional ballot. There were three other polling places where optical scanners were broken. These precincts enjoyed relatively high turnout in spite of the breakdowns, or perhaps the machines broke down because of the high turnout. Again, all these precincts were won by John Kerry: Keyser Elementary School: 6-H (64.30%), 6-N (74.75%), 6-G (76.25%). Machine was not working. Scanner did not read vote. Toledo Iron Workers Local 55: 16-F (70.82%), 16-O (73.01%), 16-P (74.54%). Machine was not reading ballots. Poll workers were putting ballots aside to be scanned later. Voters were concerned about privacy and accuracy. Precinct 16-F had 7 uncounted ballots. Washington Church: 22-C (79.91%), 22-B (82.28%). Optical scanner was broken. Emergency slot on machine in which to store ballots was full. Poll workers were removing ballots from machine and storing them in a brown cardboard box, telling voters that the ballots would be scanned and counted later. Precinct 22-C had 7 uncounted ballots (1.92%), further reducing the effective turnout. There were four other polling places with multiple precincts, all of which had very low turnout. There are no incident reports for these polling places, but there may have been no election observers there. Again, all these precincts were won by John Kerry: Spieker Terrace: 18-C (44.01%), 18-B (52.32%). Precinct 18-C had 14 uncounted ballots, the highest percentage in the county (4.53%). Waite High School: 19-C (49.07%), 19-D (50.35%), 20-A (57.48%). Boys’ and Girls’ Club: 17-I (50.63%), 17-J (53.15%), 17-H (54.22%). East Side Central School: 19-B (54.57%), 19-A (54.89%), 19-F (55.82%), 19-E (56.25%), 18-G (58.67%). I have no way of knowing if the burglary at the Democratic headquarters was directly connected to voter suppression activities. But I cannot imagine another motive. Email this article to a friend |
Don't forget to check out articles from 2007 and 2008
"Ohio's official non-recount ends amidst new evidence of fraud, theft and judicial contempt mirrored in New Mexico"
December 31, 2004
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Impossible Phantom Votes in New Mexico
"
December 30, 2004
Warren Stewart
"The 2004 Presidential Election: Who Won The Popular Vote? An Examination of the Comparative Validity of Exit Poll and Vote Count Data"
December 29, 2004
Jonathan D. Simon, J.D. and Ron P. Baiman, Ph.D.
"Ohio GOP election officials ducking notices of deposition as Kerry enters stolen vote fray"
December 28, 2004
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Another third rate burglary"
December 25, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Hacking the vote in Miami County"
December 25, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Update from the Ohio Frontlines"
December 24, 2004
Cynthia L. Butler, Esq.
"Lawsuit Before the Ohio Supreme Court"
December 24, 2004
Summarized by Mary Anne Saucier, Columbus, Ohio
"Kerry votes switched to Bush and ballots pre-punched for Bush"
December 24, 2004
Dr. Werner Lange
"Uncounted votes in Cuyahoga County"
December 24, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Provisional ballots in Cuyahoga County"
December 24, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Uncounted votes in Summit County"
December 24, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Uncounted votes in Hamilton County"
December 24, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Default settings in Mahoning County"
December 23, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Ohio electoral fight becomes 'biggest deal since Selma' as GOP stonewalls"
December 22, 2004
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Observations from an election observer"
December 22, 2004
M.J. Willow
"TV Networks Officially Refuse to Release Exit Poll Raw Data; Mainstream media finally displays true colors"
December 22, 2004
Gary Beckwith
"Election results in Southwestern Ohio"
December 21, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Voting Rights Groups 'Block' Talk of Machine-Free Elections"
December 20, 2004
Lynn Landes
"Statistics from Warren County"
December 20, 2004
Clint Cooper
"The greatest story never told"
December 20, 2004
Robert Lockwood Mills
"The United States of Ukraine?: Exit Polls Leave Little Doubt that in a Free and Fair Election John Kerry Would Have Won both the Electoral College and the Popular Vote"
December 19, 2004
Ron Baiman
"Certifiable election results"
December 19, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Sinclair Broadcasting's Long History of Journalistic and Corporate Deception"
December 19, 2004
Jason Leopold
"Ohio vote count battles escalate amidst new evidence of potential criminal activity"
December 18, 2004
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"American democracy hangs by a thread in Ohio"
December 15, 2004
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"Startling new revelations highlight rare Congressional hearings on Ohio vote"
December 13, 2004
Bob Fitrakis, Steve Rosenfeld and Harvey Wasserman
"New Ohio voter transcripts"
December 12, 2004
Free Press staff
"The One-Two Punch of Racism: Whitewashing the Voter Fraud Issue"
December 10, 2004
Greg Moses
"Rigging the vote in Lucas County
"
December 10, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Uncounted votes in Montgomery County"
December 10, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Why history demands an Ohio revote"
December 10, 2004
Harvey Wasserman & Bob Fitrakis
"Ohio election fraud uproar blasting to new level"
December 7, 2004
Steve Rosenfeld, Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Dirty work at the Philly polls"
December 3, 2004
Margie Burns
"Voter Suppression: STEALING VOTES IN OHIO URBAN AREAS (full documentation)"
December 3, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"In Ohio 2004, it's the People versus the Party of Hate & Terror and the Party of Duck and Run...but will the Democrats now stand and fight?"
December 1, 2004
Harvey Wasserman & Bob Fitrakis
"Warren County, Ohio: most successful voter registration drive in American political history, or stuffing the ballot box"
December 1, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Jesse Jackson demands Ohio presidential recount, blasts GOP election officials, and says Kerry supports the process"
November 29, 2004
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Kerry Supports Ohio Vote Investigation, Jackson says"
November 28, 2004
Steven Rosenfeld
"Hope for the Homestretch"
November 28, 2004
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Favoritism in the suburbs"
November 27, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"New Ohio voter transcripts feed floodtide of doubt about Republican election manipulation"
November 25, 2004
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Election officials gave wrong information about provisional ballots - revealed in affidavit."
November 25, 2004
Neil F. Schoenwetter, Jr.
"US tells Ukraine to recount votes on fradulent election!"
November 25, 2004
Dr. J. Alva Scruggs
"Not counting the votes"
November 24, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Stealing votes in Columbus"
November 23, 2004
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
"Making every vote count"
November 23, 2004
Christopher T. Hicks
"How a Republican election supervisor manipulated the 2004 central Ohio vote, in black and white"
November 23, 2004
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"More Ohio voter suppression testimony prompts upcoming legal filing for statewide recount"
November 20, 2004
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"Ohio Presidential Results to be Challenged"
November 20, 2004
Steven Rosenfeld
"Franklin County, Ohio voting machine assignments, and other information"
November 20, 2004
Free Press staff
"Coalition's Support of Voting Machines Causes Confusion
"
November 20, 2004
Lynn Landes
"Hearings on Ohio voting put 2004 election in doubt"
November 18, 2004
Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
"Closing the Circle: The Corporatization of Elections"
November 17, 2004
Greg Coleridge
"Subordinating nation's secular values to zealots' will"
November 12, 2004
Pierre Tristam
"The Public Hearings and Rally About Election Fraud in Columbus, OH this weekend, Sat. 11/13-Please pass widely!"
November 12, 2004
Dr. Lora Chamberlain
"Slip-sliding away in Columbus"
November 11, 2004
Carolyn M. Sherman
"Green and Libertarian Presidential Candidates to Demand Ohio Recount"
November 11, 2004
Blair Bobier and Stephen Gordon
"An End To Mourning"
November 9, 2004
Todd Huffman, M.D.
"November 3rd action"
November 6, 2004
Mark Huntress
"The Bible, The Constitution, and the James Carville Experiment"
November 5, 2004
Tom Luffman
"Basic report from Columbus"
November 5, 2004
Ray Beckerman
"Waiting to vote"
November 5, 2004
James K. Galbraith
"Confessions of a political Know-Nothing in the wake of the 2004 elections"
November 4, 2004
Mark Anderson
"Let the spin begin"
November 4, 2004
Free Press staff
"Back Stabbers Cost Kerry in Ohio!"
November 4, 2004
Tom Luffman
"The Last Battle"
November 4, 2004
Sheila Samples
"Republican America! Republican Forever!"
November 3, 2004
Am Johal
"Is there inner-city election suppression in Franklin County, Ohio?"
November 2, 2004
Bob Fitrakis
"Michael Moore in Columbus"
November 1, 2004
Tom Luffman
"No love in the Heartland: Kerry gets mocked in Pa. school election"
November 1, 2004
Jamie Pietras
"Ten reasons for Greens to vote for Kerry"
November 1, 2004
Don St.Clair
"Twelve ways Bush is now stealing the Ohio vote"
October 27, 2004
Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
"GW Bush Before the Iraq War
"
October 24, 2004
Larry S. Rolirad
"MISOGYNY"
October 24, 2004
David Podvin
"Foreign Policy Forecast: If Bush Wins | If Kerry Wins"
October 18, 2004
Muqtedar Khan
"Hope for the homestretch"
October 15, 2004
Paul Rogat Loeb
"FactCheck.org says Cheney got it wrong"
October 8, 2004
Jason Leopold
"Do the Hokey Pokey"
October 6, 2004
Philip J. Rappa
"Hope for the homestretch"
October 2, 2004
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Addressing Republican issues with John Kerry"
October 1, 2004
Free Press staff
"Gallup Polls- Conditioning for Vote Rigging?"
September 28, 2004
Stephen Crockett and Al Lawrence
"Too Many Cameras and Not Enough Truth: John Kerry Dodges the Press"
September 14, 2004
Joshua Frank
"Nader 2000 Leaders United To Defeat Bush"
September 14, 2004
Nader 2000 Leaders United To Defeat Bush
"Shut up and color: the politics of bullying"
September 7, 2004
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Kerry, Nader and the Greens need to kill the circular firing squad"
August 15, 2004
Harvey Wasserman & Bob Fitrakis
"Don’t Believe the Hype; Terrorist Warnings Just Another Way Bush Will Steal Election"
August 9, 2004
Jason Leopold
"President of Greater Stark County AFL-CIO speaks out on Bush’s visit in Canton, Ohio"
August 1, 2004
Dan Sciury
"I'll Follow Kucinich to Kerry, Sorry Ralph"
July 28, 2004
David Swanson
"Badnarik Doubles in Recent National Poll "
July 28, 2004
Libertarian Party
" ‘A green world is possible’ planned in New York City during the Republican National Convention"
July 28, 2004
Green Party
"An open letter to progressives: vote Kerry and Cobb"
July 24, 2004
Eleven prominent progressives
"A street fighting man? How Kucinich can win"
April 21, 2004
Josh Frank
"Scary, Scary John Kerry "
March 25, 2004
Josh Frank
"With all deliberate stupidity: US self-isolation makes Iraq a virtual non-issue in the elections so far"
March 22, 2004
Daniel Patrick Welch
"To support or not to support; the Nader question"
March 16, 2004
Josh Frank
"Halliburton, VP Cheney's Former Company Faces Second Criminal Probe In Four Years "
February 24, 2004
Jason Leopold
"The Lone Ranger of Righteousness"
February 23, 2004
Paul Rogat Loeb
"The Wrong Side of History "
February 22, 2004
Daniel Patrick Welch
"High Noon in America "
January 26, 2004
Philip J. Rappa
"The Truth is Out: Kucinich is the choice of progressives "
January 15, 2004
via Daniel P. Welch
"Dean and Kucinich"
January 13, 2004
Paul Rogat Loeb
"Bush Should Be Facing 'A Long, Hard Slog' On The Campaign Trail, But Dems Too Busy Fighting With Each Other "
January 12, 2004
Jason Leopold
"Buckeyes go south in 2004 election"
December 1, 2004
"Columbus says, “George, go away!”"
December 1, 2004
"The Freep gives you Moore"
December 1, 2004
"Kerry won"
December 1, 2004
Read Articles by Year:
2007 2006 2005 2004
2003 2002 2001 2000
All content © 1970-2008
The Columbus Free Press
Disclaimer