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On Monday, March 21,2005 at the State House, the House Administration Committee, chaired by Republican Representative Bob Ney, held a hearing on what went wrong in the November 2, 2004 election in Ohio. ONN TV aired Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell’s testimony. His performance was hostile and embarrassing as he clashed repeatedly with Democratic Representatives Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio and Rep. Juanita Millender-Donaldson of California. For those of us interested in the truth, Mr. Blackwell’s behavior was outrageous and arrogant. This has been a pattern in the past, for instance, when he appeared on the Lou Dobbs television show, but his latest actions have placed him in the Name That Fool category. Being Black Activists, we are ashamed and disappointed by Blackwell’s conduct. Has Mr. Blackwell forgotten that he is an elected official? It is his duty and responsibility to answer any questions we have regarding the procedure of the election and the outcome of such. His refusal to appear before the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington D.C., and to address the charges of voter suppression and malfeasance in Ohio, clearly showed his comtempt for the system to which he was elected and paid to uphold. Since he was in D.C. on the day of the hearings, we understand his refusal to testify. If he lied, than he would be charged with perjury, and sentenced to jail…Oh, that makes sense.
Have we completely forgotten, “No Man is Above The Law?”
Perhaps your political awareness is broader than mine, because, I cannot understand, how you can hold a hearing on voter suppression in Ohio without the notification or input from those that brought forth the charges. The citizens of Ohio who filed notarized affidavits about election irregularities, which numbered over five hundred, were not aware of the hearings. Their charges against J. Kenneth Blackwell and the Board of Elections were not investigated for the hearings either. So, I ask you, my concerned citizens of America, what was the purpose of the six-hour hearings by the House Administration Committee?
It accomplished absolutely NOTHING!!!!!
It reminds me of the surgeon who scrubs for the operation, enters the operating room and is ready of operate, but has failed to tell the patient the date of surgery.
You are probably telling yourself, I don’t belief that 500 people had complaints, you know black people will say anything. Well, let me inform you, the majority of those that testified were not Black, nor were they people of color; they were white people just like you. Stop basing everything on your feelings, why don’t you go to the website and read the affiidavits for yourself. Simply click on the link below
www.freepress.org/images/departments/4254PublicHearing.txt
Many of the testimonies were taken from poll workers, poll judges, direct testimony, and eyewitness testimony from registered voters, just like you. That’s not even taking into consideration the tens of thousand who could not testify. Too many stories to list, however, you can read their stories, including the wife who insisted on voting only to find when she returned home, her husband had died while she was voting. What about the elderly gentleman, who passed out at the poll, when the ambulance was called, he refused to go with them, because he wanted to cast his vote. Have we forgotten about the college students at Kenyon who stood in line 10-12 hours, most of them voting for the first time, even though there were sixty-seven additional unused machines in the warehouse? What can you say to these people?
You have heard, we need to put the election behind us and just move on. My question is, Move On To Where? Why do people feel, that when over 66 % of the provisional votes in Warren County were not counted, we should turn the other cheek, and forget the peoples’ right to exercise their right to vote? What do you say to your children and grandchildren and other family members the next time we vote? If you were like me, I assured folks that their votes would be counted. I am sure you did the same, because of the record numbers of new voters which reached one million, so many of them voting for the first time, you know the system failed all of us. Without a paper trail voting machine, this problem will happen again and again, to both political parties.
Every bond, levy, state, and federal elections are voted on via voting machines in Franklin County that may be manipulated. What are you doing about it, or do you want to wait until your property taxes rise so high, you end up losing your home? With the outsourcing of the American jobs, the inflated gas prices, the higher education rates, the increase of dropouts in the school system, what cause do you feel strong enough to fight for? How many more soldiers, your children, and neighbors have to die because of an unjust war?
With over eighty-seven thousand provisional ballots not counted in Ohio, how do you know your vote as counted?
Please keep this newspaper alive, by sending your donation to:
The Free Press
1240 Bryden Road
Columbus, Ohio 43205
Have we completely forgotten, “No Man is Above The Law?”
Perhaps your political awareness is broader than mine, because, I cannot understand, how you can hold a hearing on voter suppression in Ohio without the notification or input from those that brought forth the charges. The citizens of Ohio who filed notarized affidavits about election irregularities, which numbered over five hundred, were not aware of the hearings. Their charges against J. Kenneth Blackwell and the Board of Elections were not investigated for the hearings either. So, I ask you, my concerned citizens of America, what was the purpose of the six-hour hearings by the House Administration Committee?
It accomplished absolutely NOTHING!!!!!
It reminds me of the surgeon who scrubs for the operation, enters the operating room and is ready of operate, but has failed to tell the patient the date of surgery.
You are probably telling yourself, I don’t belief that 500 people had complaints, you know black people will say anything. Well, let me inform you, the majority of those that testified were not Black, nor were they people of color; they were white people just like you. Stop basing everything on your feelings, why don’t you go to the website and read the affiidavits for yourself. Simply click on the link below
www.freepress.org/images/departments/4254PublicHearing.txt
Many of the testimonies were taken from poll workers, poll judges, direct testimony, and eyewitness testimony from registered voters, just like you. That’s not even taking into consideration the tens of thousand who could not testify. Too many stories to list, however, you can read their stories, including the wife who insisted on voting only to find when she returned home, her husband had died while she was voting. What about the elderly gentleman, who passed out at the poll, when the ambulance was called, he refused to go with them, because he wanted to cast his vote. Have we forgotten about the college students at Kenyon who stood in line 10-12 hours, most of them voting for the first time, even though there were sixty-seven additional unused machines in the warehouse? What can you say to these people?
You have heard, we need to put the election behind us and just move on. My question is, Move On To Where? Why do people feel, that when over 66 % of the provisional votes in Warren County were not counted, we should turn the other cheek, and forget the peoples’ right to exercise their right to vote? What do you say to your children and grandchildren and other family members the next time we vote? If you were like me, I assured folks that their votes would be counted. I am sure you did the same, because of the record numbers of new voters which reached one million, so many of them voting for the first time, you know the system failed all of us. Without a paper trail voting machine, this problem will happen again and again, to both political parties.
Every bond, levy, state, and federal elections are voted on via voting machines in Franklin County that may be manipulated. What are you doing about it, or do you want to wait until your property taxes rise so high, you end up losing your home? With the outsourcing of the American jobs, the inflated gas prices, the higher education rates, the increase of dropouts in the school system, what cause do you feel strong enough to fight for? How many more soldiers, your children, and neighbors have to die because of an unjust war?
With over eighty-seven thousand provisional ballots not counted in Ohio, how do you know your vote as counted?
Please keep this newspaper alive, by sending your donation to:
The Free Press
1240 Bryden Road
Columbus, Ohio 43205