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Legacy or Lethargy? Ohio officials Brunner and Cordray asked to deal with 2004 election fraud in their final hours in office:

November 6, 2010

 
In an attempt to move Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to action on the unresolved election criminal issues remaining from the Ohio 2004 election, the Ohio Election Justice Campaign sent the following letters on November 5, 2010.  The letters speak for themselves.  What follows is a brief background on why these letters are more urgent than ever.

Brunner and Cordray have much in common. Both are Ohio Democrats in their final days in office. Both lost elections this year. Both offices will be returned to Republican control in January 2011. Their offices are located in downtown Columbus, Ohio, not far from the federal courthouse.  Both are younger politicians, who entered office with much promise.
 
Of the two, Richard Cordray has dedicated his life to public service, holding many lower political offices until appointed to the Ohio Attorney General's office by Governor Ted Strickland (D) following the exit of the elected Attorney General in 2006, Marc Dann. Richard Cordray, before he was Ohio Attorney General, also helped Jennifer Brunner campaign for her position as Secretary of State.

Both are also, largely, from Central Ohio. They are both hugely Midwestern in demeanor and attitude.
Both of them were also involved, through their offices, in blocking eight members of The Ohio Election Justice Campaign from participating in the federal lawsuit that seeks election justice, King-Lincoln v. Brunner (formerly King-Lincoln v. Blackwell). 

Although the Democrats have, perhaps, not been watching this lawsuit, the Republicans have been keenly interested in its progress (or rather, lack thereof).

Because of the self-generated and narcissistic media attention they have produced for themselves, not to mention the unique and theatrically paranoid blend of disinformation mixed with truth that they so skillfully spin around the hopeful, the disenfranchised, and the curious, we must regretfully include the names of Robert Fitrakis and Clifford Arnebeck in this introduction.
 
Because neither the offices of Jennifer Brunner nor the offices of Richard Cordray would have been successful in blocking eight members of The Ohio Election Justice Campaign from participating in this federal lawsuit without the active (if not eager) cooperation of these two attorneys.
 
Bear in mind, that the point of blocking The Ohio Election Justice Campaign was also to delete, entirely, the evidence we had submitted to federal court.  Over a thousand pages of evidence is now entirely gone from the court record, evidence we believed would compel the federal court to convene a grand jury.

And not long after ordering the evidence stricken, the federal judge assigned to this case, a newly appointed O.S.U. trustee, sat happily in an airplane, flying to watch the Rose Bowl game on O.S.U.'s (i.e. taxpayer) dime with, really, could it be, Wally O'Dell??? Wally is the infamous Diebold (election machine company) CEO who in 2004 promised to deliver Ohio to George W. Bush in a fundraising letter. Other such characters who had an interest in seeing this lawsuit and the whole election mess fade from memory also were on that plane to the Rose Bowl. OH-IO!.

Had Fitrakis and Arnebeck done the work themselves, or just not blocked us, Ohio election officials could have been dished out legal justice years ago. Arnebeck… a man so full of hot air he can’t resist expanding.

Six years have passed, legal deadlines have passed, members of Congress that stood up for Ohio have passed on (to heaven, blessings to them), and yet no one has served a day in jail, and there has been no accountability for the theft of the Ohio 2004 Presidential election.

So when you hear of Arnebeck and Fitrakis’s multi-year yet unsuccessful work chasing Carl Rove, remember nothing has been accomplished that held even one person accountable in Ohio, not one person. Yet they blocked many from receiving justice. Why? For whom?

Imagine the world we would live in today if the Ohio election thieves (and thus, presidential election thieves) had met with a reckoning.

Would former Delaware County Prosecutor, David Yost, a Republican who blocked and delayed the recount while Kenneth Blackwell certified the election now be elected to statewide office?  Consider that our elected auditor is also the same person whose office blocked public record requests for election records, refused to answer record requests, wanted to charge nearly $2,000 to access public election records, allowed a technician to manipulate the tabulators during the 2004 election recount, and blocked election observers in 2008.  Not only will he be the new State of Ohio Auditor, but also Mr. Yost will have a seat on the apportionment board, which determines the electoral districts in Ohio for the next ten years. 

Quite a reward -- and only possible with the continued lethargy or complicity of those we elected (or whom we trust) to deal precisely with these issues. Should we wonder what new unsightly gifts will come from his office, “possibly even more intense gerrymandering” or hope that his election to higher office is the Peter Principle in politics?

Much of our evidence and legal writing pertaining to the real history of Ohio is available   for viewing at: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/klbna.php
Sadly it is no longer in federal court. Gee, who benefited from that?

The two letters to Brunner and Cordray are contained below.  If you are reading this, please also join us in asking Brunner and Cordray to take action on the 2004 election fraud in their final hours. It's no more than what the governor does before he leaves (grants a bunch of pardons) but in reverse.

Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Secretary of State
180 East Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

By e-mail and by fax:  [email protected]  (614) 644-0649

November 5, 2010

Dear Jennifer Brunner,

Once again members of The Ohio Election Justice Campaign stand united to request a meeting and action from you in capacity as the Ohio Secretary of State in your few remaining days.  The issue of the alleged crimes of the 2004 election and the destruction of the election records in defiance of the federal court still sits in the room with us all, and the pile stinks of decay and neglect at a time that it could be a shining beacon of justice coming from the Ohio Secretary of State to the state of Ohio, the United States, and the world.  

In your final days, will you do this?  Or will you do continue to do nothing?  Will we remember it that while the Democrats ruled Ohio, the election fraud and those who committed it were intentionally and with effort in court ignored?  Will we only remember that elected Democrats in Ohio helped to cover-up the election crimes that put George Bush in office for his second term? We all know that he was never elected, not in 2000 and not in 2004.

I do not know if you personally reviewed the evidence that myself and seven other members of my organization submitted to the federal court in the King Lincoln v. Brunner case.  Did you?  If not, will you do this now? 

Apparently incompetent or else corrupted plaintiffs' attorneys Clifford Arnebeck and Bob Fitrakis had thousands of pages of evidence stricken from the court record, records we submitted, rather than allowing it to stay, or better yet, using it.  As we have been blocked from entering the case, of which you were part of blocking us, would you now be willing to resubmit it and use our evidence? 

This evidence included the letters from the County Board of Election (BOE) officials regarding destruction of the 2004 records that they sent to you.  My research shows that 59 of Ohio’s 88 Counties are missing records.  In 2007, you told the Voting Rights Institute those records had been given to the court, and yet they were not in the court record until we submitted them in July of 2008.  Then they were stricken.  You could still submit them.  The court should, for the sake of the citizens of this nation, take seriously the deliberate defiance of the court order to protect the 2004 election records.  It was illegal.

Included in the stricken court records were photocopies of ballots from Delaware County’s Genoa I precinct.  These show what appears to be fraud.  Will you look?  Will you resubmit them?  What were all the real reasons that it was Delaware that fought in county and federal court to block the recount?  Can we talk about what we have learned?  Do you care enough to pull this and other 2004 election issues from the depths of intentional darkness into the light in your final days as the Ohio Secretary of State?

We today received an email from you encouraging action and presenting your view of your preferred legacy.  Quick action at this late date, rather than a continuation of the cover-up, will be the greatest legacy you can leave as Ohio Secretary of State.

I phoned in a request to meet with you this morning to your staff member Brian Morgan.  We are available for a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss these issues in more detail. It has now been 1,186 days since we first in 2007 requested a meeting with you over these very issues.

Sincerely,

Members of The Ohio Election Justice Campaign

Paddy Shaffer
Founder, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign
(614) 266-5283

 

Richard Cordray,
Ohio Attorney General
30 East Broad Street                                                                                                            Columbus, Ohio 43215

By e-mail and by fax: [email protected] (866) 347-9194

November 5, 2010

Dear Richard Cordray,
I am writing on behalf of The Ohio Election Justice Campaign, a non-partisan, statewide group of concerned citizens, to request a meeting with your office as soon as possible to discuss the unresolved alleged election crimes from 2004 and to present citizen-documented evidence to your office. This would indeed be a boost to a struggling nation and a fitting tribute to your legacy in the office of The Ohio Attorney General.
 
We met with senior officials from Marc Dann's office shortly after he was elected.  Upon review of our evidence, they committed to take action.  As you know, Mr. Dann and his senior officials left office shortly after his election (and our meeting). These issues remain unresolved.

Although some people believe these election issues remain unresolved for lack of  evidence, the hard truth is that some of this evidence has been kept from the public for partisan reasons. Both your office and the federal court have been provided with evidence. Sad but true, the evidence was stricken from the court record in King-Lincoln v. Brunner (S.D. Ohio, Marbley, J.). This makes little common sense, but it was the attorneys for the plaintiffs, Clifford Arnebeck and Bob Fitrakis who had the evidence stricken. Evidence they could have used, and some of it which they could have submitted themselves but failed to. In our group opinion, they have failed to do many things, thus failing the plaintiffs, the nation, and the world.

For example, the Delaware County ballots that were submitted to the court that show fraud were part of the stricken records. Remember, it was Delaware County and Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost that blocked the statewide recount, and it was Delaware County that apparently rigged the recount while I was there as the Delaware County Recount Coordinator for the Green Party. Evidence and data analysis show that both the 2004 presidential election and the Ohio Supreme Court races were rigged in Delaware.
Delaware went to county and federal court claiming they couldn’t afford the recount. The final cost given to me from former Delaware County Board of Elections (BOE) Director Kim Spangler was $0. They did it with office staff, on office time. Delaware’s Board of Elections had a budget of just under a million dollars a year in 2004. Yost had six prosecutors in federal court to fight that recount. His office has been unable or unwilling to give me a cost for that, and the names of all the prosecutors involved.

Further, the letters from election officials written to the Secretary of State in April of 2007 admitting to their alleged crimes of the destruction of the “public records” of the 2004 election were stricken from the court record. Neither your office, the Ohio Secretary of  State, nor the attorneys for the plaintiffs gave these to the court; it was done by myself and seven other Ohio citizens from 4 counties. So far my personal research shows 59 of Ohio’s 88 counties destroyed records. This destruction was in direct violation of a federal court order. Have you read those letters? They are both important and disturbing.

We harbor concerns that what remains of the 2004 ballots that the Secretary of State has in custody on the OSU campus will remain protected as you leave office. What can you legally do to assure that? They are evidence, and it was staff of your office that assured us they would be safe prior to the massive destruction of so much of them. From the evidence we submitted to the federal court, it appears there was a statewide, coordinated effort to destroy the 2004 records/evidence in 2006. The destruction of the remaining 2004 records that the counties should retain has continued, and evidence of this was also submitted to court and likewise stricken.

The serious and detrimental actions taken by the Assistant Attorney General assigned to the King-Lincoln case and charged with protecting this evidence and the ballots are also a matter of grave concern to us. We understand that your office has an obligation to defend the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State, but we have followed the proper procedures so that the election crimes we allege are rightfully now under the jurisdiction of your office.

We request a meeting with you as soon as possible since your days in office and the impact they can have for the good of this state and nation are now numbered. So far we have been very disappointed by many who sat as the Ohio Attorney General: Jim Petro, Marc Dann, and Nancy Rogers.
 
We are still deeply concerned and waiting for your response to meet. We request an hour, although we could work with less time, but would prefer more if possible. Please lets talk and move with lightning speed to take action in your final days in office. If anyone has the intelligence, integrity, and courage to resolve at least a few of the unresolved election crimes, we believe it would be you, a fitting legacy to your tenure as Ohio Attorney General.

Sincerely,

Members of the Ohio Election Justice Campaign
Paddy Shaffer
Founder, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign
(614) 266-5283
[email protected]

 

THE DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK LETTERS
Ohio County Boards of Election’s Poor Excuses
 for Record Distruction of 2004 ballots
CONDENSED EXCUSES LIST

August 1, 2009

Adams – “does not have in its possession”
Allen – “water damage and subsequently destroyed”
Ashland – “mistakenly destroyed”
Ashtabula – (BOE) “inadvertently disposed of”
(Prosecuting Attorney) “inadvertently discarded and destroyed”
Athens – “inadvertently discarded”
Auglaize
Belmont
Brown – “accidentally destroyed or have been misplaced”
Butler – “unintentionally discarded into a Rumpke dumpster”
Carroll
Champaign – “these items have always been destroyed”
Clark – “those ballots were shredded”
Clermont – “unable to locate” “No one remembers specifically discarding the ballots.” “There is a
possibility that the ballots will surface”
Clinton – “not found”
Columbiana – some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Coshocton – some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Crawford
Cuyahoga
Darke -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Defiance
Delaware
Erie – “does not have” “unaware we needed to keep”
Fairfield – “They would have been shredded, as we have a contract with Shred-It for disposal of
all election materials.”
Fayette – “intentionally destroyed”
Franklin – Missing all unvoted ballots, did not admit to it, no letter of explanation.
Fulton
Gallia
Geauga
Greene
Guernsey - “destroyed in error, due to the county maintenance worker, when collecting trash”
Hamilton - “inadvertently shredded”
Hancock – “did not have to be retained and these items were destroyed”
Hardin – “destroyed prior to the court order”
Harrison
Henry
Highland
Hocking
Holmes – “a shelving unit collapsed onto a side table holding a working coffee maker.  Many of
the  stored items had to be destroyed due to broken glass and hot coffee”
Huron
Jackson – “may have been destroyed pursuant to retention schedule” “Another possibility is that
(the ballots were) accidentally destroyed”
Jefferson
Knox
Lake
Lawrence – some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Licking – some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Logan – “we were instructed by the previous Director to destroy”
Lorain -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Lucas
Madison -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Mahoning – “accidentally disposed of (by) the Mahoning County Green Team”
Marion – “destroyed pursuant to the retention schedule”
Medina – “destroyed following the record retention schedule”
Meigs
Mercer – “were not found” “we will continue to search”
Miami -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Monroe – “according to our retention schedule we were allowed to dispose of”
Montgomery – “We did not receive formal notice from the courts prior to preparing the
certificate of destruction.” “In addition, we contacted our county prosecutor for further
authorization.”
Morgan -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Morrow – “it does not say to in the retention schedule.”
Muskingum
Noble -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Ottawa
Paulding – “destroyed after the official and the recounts were certified”
Perry – “destroyed shortly after the election”
Pickaway
Pike
Portage
Preble – First: “unable to find” “thought it likely they had been inadvertently discarded”
   Second: “Ballots are buried in County landfill and are not capable of being replicated.”
Putnam – “destroyed for security purposes”
Richland – “destroyed or lost by the movers or by our staff”
Ross – “unable to duplicate these ballots”
Sandusky – “Our ballots were stacked all over our office and we had them picked up at the first
opportunity.”
Scioto – (some) “unable to locate” “unknown whether the ballots were accidentally destroyed or
have been otherwise misplaced.” (some) “released and shredded”
Seneca – “The ballots were disposed of during the first week of September”
Shelby – “destroyed pursuant to the retention schedule, do not remember the date they were
shredded”
Stark – “destroyed prior to notification of Judge Marbley’s order”
Summit -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Trumbull
Tuscarawas -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Union
Van Wert – “unable to find” “We assume that these ballots were discarded.”
Vinton
Warren – “The ballots were intentionally destroyed.”
Washington
Wayne -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Williams
Wood -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation
Wyandot -- some ballots missing, no letter of explanation

Department Of Justice Turns Down OEJC Investigation Request For Court Order Abuses Of 2004 Ballot Protection

July 27, 2009

The United States Department of Justice
Gary L. Spartis, Criminal Chief
303 Marconi Boulevard
Suite 200
Columbus, Ohio 43215
(614) 469-5715
Fax 614-469-2200

July 27, 2009

Dear Gary L. Spartis and the US Department of Justice,

As per the Freedom of Information Act I am requesting the following public records. 

1. Tape recordings of our conversations of June 29, 2009 and July 7, 2009, if you recorded the calls.  On July 10, 2009 at 1:45 p.m. I left you a phone message and verbally requested a FOIA for the July 7, 2009 call.  I have received no reply to date. 

To refresh your memory:
On June 29 you called me and we discussed the Ohio Election Justice Campaign’s (OEJC) request for assistance from the DOJ and the package of evidence I was bringing to drop off at your office that day.
 
On July 7 you called me and let me know that you were canceling our Friday July 10th meeting where multiple OEJC members were planning to meet with you.  You also let me know that you and the DOJ would not be helping in any way and that you would never meet with the OEJC.  Additionally you told me you decided that no crimes had been committed in Ohio, and something about if there were any problems… they would all be taken care of in the King Lincoln case. 

As I was in the midst of teaching a preschool painting class on July 7, and unable to take notes at the time, it would really help me to understand the situation better, by listening to a tape of it.  This is a time when I hope that you did tape record our calls.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

 

Paddy Shaffer
The Ohio Election Justice Campaign
[email protected]
(614) 266-5283

Cc: Marian Lupo, OEJC
      Dan Stanton, OEJC
      Tim Kettler, OEJC
      Bev Harris, Blackbox Voting

 

June 29, 2009

 

"The Dog Ate My Homework Letters"

Destruction of Ohio 2004 Ballot and Election Records by Ohio Counties

---

John Boehner - Ohio 8th District House Representative, Republican House Leader, currently in his 10th term. 

On January 6, 2005 Representative Boehner gave a speech on the floor of the US House about the Ohio Election during the Boxer Rebellion where the certification of the Ohio Electoral votes was contested.  Mr. Boehner said in part:  "I think the proceeding today will cause great harm to this institution and great harm to our country at a time when we should be coming together to get ready to do the serious work the American people sent us here to do."  Thus letting his opinion that there should be no questioning of the American election in his home state that was riddled with documented problems.  Boehner now is insisting President Barack Obama deal with the election problems in Iran. 

John Boehner is from Butler County in Southwestern Ohio.  Butler County is missing its 2004 ballot pages.  This is a federal crime, as yet unresolved.  The ballot pages are needed to see the location of a candidates name, in relation to the location of a vote on a punchcard ballot. 

Citizen investigator Dr. Richard Hayes Phillips wrote in his book, Witness to a Crime: 
 
Four counties (Adams, Butler, Clinton and Paulding) destroyed their ballot pages and nothing else. Failure to preserve the ballot pages makes it impossible to verify that the ballot rotation was listed correctly on each and every voting machine. Without the ballot pages, there is no way for Butler County, for example, to prove that the “Connally anomaly” in specific precincts was not due to the ballot positions being reversed on one of several voting machines in that precinct.

This could have happened in one of two ways. If the presidential positions were reversed on a machine in a “blue precinct,” there would have been a net loss of Kerry votes to Bush; or if the Chief Justice positions were reversed on a machine in a “red precinct,” there would have been a net loss of Moyer votes to Connally. Either way, by fraud or error, Connally would likely have run ahead of Kerry in that precinct. Reversing the ballot rotations on all machines for a single precinct would make the results obviously erroneous. But if only one machine of several was affected, the results would be merely anomalous.
 
 (From Richards website, description of a chapter in his book)
 
   THE CONNALLY ANOMALY: A POLITICAL ANALYSIS
Election results in the 12 counties where Connally got more votes than
Kerry, all won by Bush, are compared with the other 60 counties won by
Bush, suggesting a vote shift of 60,000 votes from Kerry to Bush. 

 

---

OEJC Claims Insiders Cause Collapse of Ohio's Election Fraud Lawsuit

Citizens' group Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) calls on media to investigate collapse of Ohio's landmark 2004 election fraud lawsuit; deadline for prosecution for destruction of evidence expires soon.

Columbus, OH (PRWEB) June 15, 2009 -- As the deadline for prosecution of election officials looms, Brunner's office has taken no action to investigate the 2004 election or the destruction of key evidence in the landmark 2004 Ohio election fraud lawsuit, King-Lincoln v. Blackwell, 2:06-cv-00745 (S.D. Ohio), according to the Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC).

In a May 2009 blog, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner admitted, "Numerous election activists have reviewed the centrally stored ballots in great detail, some with conclusions that allege wrongdoing." Brunner live blog on May 16, 2009.

The deadline for prosecution for the destruction of key evidence in the election fraud case will expire in the next few weeks.

As alleged in court documents, a private corporation, The Ohio Association of Election Officials, encouraged the destruction of evidence in violation of federal court order. Motion for Special Grand Jury. This group will be holding its summer conference June 15-17th, 2009 in Columbus at the Columbus Renaissance Hotel.

SOS Brunner is hosting this conference, entitled "Election Officials Summer Conference and Trade Show." In Ohio's current tight budget, the SOS office will not give costs for conference hosting.

The OEJC, a citizens' group, believes the problematic history of activities among Brunner, local officials, and the attorneys for the plaintiffs indicate a concerted effort to a) avoid a speedy trial against the State, b) destroy evidence, and c) protect the officials that committed the wrongdoing.

Members of OEJC say for over two years, the press, including the progressive media, has virtually avoided this aspect of the story. Curiously, media outlets that broke the story of the stolen 2004 election have been silent on the collapse of the election fraud lawsuit. One of these outlets, the Columbus Free Press, is controlled by an attorney in this case.

OEJC also believes the attorneys, including lawyer/lobbyist Clifford O. Arnebeck, Jr., who for years claimed to be protecting the records, are failing to take steps to prevent ongoing destruction of evidence.

OEJC member Mark Brown said, "At best, Arnebeck and his associates are providing useful distractions to cover up the wide net of perpetrators. If the Ohio election were investigated, it could pull down the legitimacy of the United States for those four years of the stolen presidential term. Just as with our banking crisis, the media will not pay attention until it is too late."

For more information, visit Resolve It or Relive It: A Summary of Ohio's Unresolved 2004 Election Fraud Lawsuit.

Resolve It or Relive It:  Ohio Election Fraud 2004

Contact person:
Paddy Shaffer,
Director, Ohio Election Justice Campaign,
(614) 266-5283

See Links at the end of this post for a summary for the court case, exhibits (evidence, records, research), articles, and a video.

The below summarizes the unresolved election fraud situation in Ohio, then goes into depth with a synopsis, further background, and research resources. Your help is urgently needed before the statute of limitations expires.

Please contact US Attorney General Eric Holder at 202-353-1555 and ask him to work with the Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) and other supporting individuals and organizations to quickly initiate a special grand jury investigation into the 2004 election before it is too late.

Summary

•    The manipulation of the 2004 election in Ohio resulted in one of the most massive violations of constitutional rights in this country’s history. Five years later, the results of this assault to our democracy could not be clearer than in the shock and pain of our current economic devastation.

•    The January 6, 2005 challenge to certification of Ohio’s electoral votes, led by Boxer (D-CA) and Tubbs Jones (D-OH), was the first time in U.S. history that a state’s entire electoral college vote was challenged.

•    Ohio’s statewide recount following the 2004 election was blocked by Ohio election officials; when the recount did occur pursuant to federal court order, it was rigged. Ohio’s state courts refused to resolve the issues raised by the recount. 

•    In 2006, suit was filed against the State of Ohio for violations of constitutional rights in King Lincoln v. Blackwell; the federal court ordered the 2004 ballots preserved as evidence.

•    The ballots were also protected from destruction under federal statute.

•    Ohio election officials mocked the notion of preserving the ballots in e-mail correspondence discovered pursuant to a public records request; 58 out of 88 counties destroyed most or all of their records in clear violation of federal law and U.S. federal court order.  

•    In June 2008, Dennis Kucinich introduced 35 Articles of Impeachment against George W. Bush.  Article 29 deals with election manipulation in Ohio, specifically, conspiracy to violate of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  It presents detailed evidence.

•    In July 2008, shortly before the expiration of the criminal statute of limitations on the destruction of evidence, the Ohio Election Justice Campaign asked, in King-Lincoln v. Brunner, for a special grand jury investigation into, at least, the destruction of the 2004 evidence.

•    Jennifer Brunner, the Ohio Secretary of State, objected to the special grand jury investigation. A former judge, Brunner took no action following the destruction of the evidence. Contrary to her public statements, she did not file materials showing the destruction of evidence in court.

•    The attorneys for the plaintiffs (Arnebeck and Fitrakis) asked the judge to strike (remove) the motions for intervention and the special grand jury and all the accompanying evidence from the record, claiming that the motion would be “disruptive to the parties and the progress of cooperative negotiations (between the attorneys and the Secretary of State) in this case.”

•    Several months subsequent to the OEJC motions, the plaintiff attorneys engaged in a pursuit of a private individual who runs an IT business for government agencies, linking this individual to Karl Rove in the media.  The attorneys have not filed any action in court against Karl Rove or named him as a defendant; the deposition taken of this private individual has never been transcribed.

•    On March 5, 2009, the district court judge denied the OEJC motion for intervention; the judge also granted the request of Arnebeck and Fitrakis to strike all the materials (approximately 1400 pages) showing that the 2004 evidence was destroyed from the record. 

•    Several OEJC members have since interviewed multiple plaintiffs in the case.  None seem to be fully aware of what is being done in their names by the plaintiff attorneys, and most have no idea what has happened at all with the striking of the OEJC filings regarding the destroyed 2004 evidence. 

•    This is documented and has been filed with the court on March 24, 2009 and May 8, 2009 with the OEJC motion asking the court to reconsider its order.

•    The OEJC also filed new evidence that documents 10 Ohio counties are engaged in the ongoing destruction of 2004 election evidence; records have been destroyed as recently as March and April 2009.

•    The statute of limitation on state election crimes is six years.  Before an indictment is issued, an investigation must be held. The time for holding such an investigation is rapidly dwindling.

•    Holding the Ohio election officials accountable under federal law would be a national deterrent to future election manipulation and fraud.

•    The politicians, attorneys, and courts in Ohio have shown themselves incapable of addressing the magnitude of Ohio’s corrupt electoral process.

•    The structural issues that allowed election fraud to flourish in Ohio have not been squarely faced, in part because a thorough investigation has never been conducted.

•    If this is not resolved, we will relive it. 

Synopsis

Eight members of The Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) from five counties in Ohio came together and filed two pro se motions in King-Lincoln v Blackwell (now King-Lincoln v. Brunner), case no. 2:06-cv-745.  By filing pro se, they were acting as their own attorneys. These members come from diverse backgrounds and political affiliations.

This case is in front of Judge Algenon Marbley in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Columbus, Ohio).  The case is a class action lawsuit brought against the State of Ohio claiming numerous constitutional violations arising out of the conduct of the 2004 (and 2006) election.

In 2006, the Ohio election officials destroyed all or some of the 2004 ballots in 58 of Ohio’s 88 counties, the evidence in this case, in defiance of this federal court’s order.

The two motions:

1. A motion to intervene and become plaintiffs in this case

2. A motion for criminal contempt and special grand jury proceedings

It is our understanding that the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio could commence special grand jury proceedings in this matter.

The OEJC has collected documentation that the destruction of additional evidence is ongoing, and, even more significantly, that the statute of limitations will expire if no action is taken very soon.  For example, there is a six-year statute of limitations on certain state election offenses. This statute of limitations could expire shortly.  The Secretary of State and the attorneys for the plaintiffs have been informed. 

No steps have been taken to stop the documented ongoing destruction of the protected evidence in this case.  Additional newly discovered evidence of the continued destruction of 2004 records involving 10 counties was submitted to the federal court on Friday, May 8, 2009.

Given that this is a federal case for constitutional violations, and that the evidence points to disobedience to a federal court on a statewide scale without historical precedent (the closest analogy is disobedience to school desegregation orders), action is urgent.

Background on Motion for Criminal Contempt/Special Grand Jury Proceedings

In September 2006, Judge Marbley issued an order requiring the election officials to preserve their 2004 ballots because they were evidence in this case.  The order was clear and strong in its language, including the penalties the election officials would face if they disobeyed.
Nonetheless, out of 88 counties, at least 58 counties destroyed the evidence.  The destruction did not come to light until July 2007.  It is well-documented. 

Neither the plaintiffs’ attorneys nor the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, through her attorney, the Ohio Attorney General, filed the extensive documentation of destroyed evidence with the court.  Therefore, there was no record in the court docket of the destruction of evidence and no way for the judge to legally hold the election officials accountable for disobeying his order.  Our research of early July 2008 proved the court not only did not have this evidence, but was unaware of its existence.

Shortly before the one-year statute of limitation was to expire on possible criminal contempt charges against the election officials (July 2008), the OEJC filed their motion for criminal contempt proceedings and a special grand jury. 
In their motion, the OEJC filed the extensive documentation of destruction of evidence with the court.  The OEJC plaintiffs also filed documents obtained through public records requests. 

These documents show that certain election officials, especially those in a leadership position within the Ohio Association of Election Officials, mocked the idea of preserving the evidence and had ample actual notice of the legal requirement to preserve the evidence. 

These election officials are still in office, still hold leadership positions, and they continue to control Ohio’s elections.  These election officials, although nominated by party, are primarily loyal to each other and their association, the Ohio Association of Election Officials. 

The lobbyist for the Ohio Association of Election Officials (OAEO), Aaron Ockerman, was also a lobbyist for private election vendors such as ES&S during the HAVA inspired selection of the electronic voting machines.  The OAEO is a private corporation that will not release records or even the names of its past officers. 

Given the extent of the destruction of evidence as well as the varying degrees of responsibility on the part of the election officials, a special grand jury would be fair to the election officials, grant them due process guarantees, and also serve as an economical use of federal judicial resources. 

Further, a special grand jury is authorized, by law, to issue a public report on its findings. Most grand jury proceedings are secret. 

The Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, through the Ohio Attorney General’s office, has asked the court to deny both motions. The Ohio Secretary of State is now running for the U.S. Senate.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys have asked the court to strike the OEJC motions from the record, including all the documentation showing the 2004 evidence was destroyed, as well as the e-mail correspondence among the election boards and Blackwell’s office and other citizen-collected evidence that would lead a jury to believe this evidence was, in many cases, intentionally destroyed.

Motions to strike are usually rare in litigation, and intervenors on the same side, as we are, customarily are allowed by the plaintiffs.  In fact, the OEJC now has good reason to believe the plaintiffs were never asked – or even knew – of the actions their attorneys were taking.

On March 5, 2009 the court issued the judge’s order and opinion.  All requests of the OEJC were denied and all evidence submitted will be stricken from the records.  The OEJC motion for an expedited conference for fraud upon the court was denied and will be stricken. 

Subsequent to this order, the OEJC learned that multiple current plaintiffs are unaware of the actions being taken in their name, especially the attorneys’ request to strike the material showing the 2004 election records were destroyed. In addition, the OEJC learned that members of the King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood association, in mid-May 2009, did not know they had been named in a law suit (this is the lead organizational plaintiff in the case).

On March 24, the OEJC filed a motion for reconsideration with the federal court. Documents and a video interview were filed to substantiate the questionable lack of fairness and notice to the plaintiffs of what was being done in their names and on their behalf.

Several plaintiffs signed affirmations but wanted them filed under seal (privately) because of a fear of retaliation from the attorneys. An affirmation was filed by the OEJC from a California attorney that these same plaintiff attorneys did not inform the plaintiffs of their actions in the 2004-05 Moss v. Bush election lawsuit, especially of the attorneys’ decision to dismiss the lawsuit.

According to the court’s opinion in Moss v. Bush, sanctions were brought against the same two attorneys handling the King-Lincoln case because they failed to adequately research the law and failed to adhere to the procedures and time requirements. They escaped sanctions by dismissing the lawsuit. Moss v. Bush, 105 Ohio St.3d 458 (2005) (Motion for Sanctions). A substantial amount of evidence had been gathered for that lawsuit.

Another affirmation was filed with the OEJC motion for reconsideration regarding the plaintiff attorneys raising over $25,000.00 for that past 2004-05 election legal work and then not accounting for the spending of it when asked. 

Given the local politics in Ohio and the age of this case, it is likely that multiple conflicts of interest and compromised positions have now occurred at the state level.  For example, the assistant Ohio attorney generals currently handling this case are the same attorneys from 2006 responsible for preserving the evidence now destroyed.

The OEJC believes that structural reform of our electoral process, in Ohio and nationally, can be meaningfully accomplished only if there is a thorough investigation, and thus, understanding, of the actions and principals involved in the 2004 election in Ohio.  In order to move forward, we need to look to the past. The public is entitled to know the actual history. 

Further, the OEJC does not believe the changes made to date address the problems from 2004 or will prevent those problems from occurring again. Current reforms being undertaken in Ohio are, at best, an effort to restore the status quo as it was pre-2004. 

In fact, what the 2008 election demonstrated to us was that Ohio, to have any semblance of a fair election, will need an army of election protection attorneys, observers, and volunteers to guarantee the integrity of the vote.  For example, many precincts will continue to require upwards of four to six volunteers to guarantee that people can simply cast a vote, which is only one component of the election process. 

One Example: Franklin County failed to process approximately 15,000 voter registration cards in 2008.  No amount of helpers at the polls on election day will be able to help these people to vote, as these people were not be entered in the voter rolls. The Franklin County Board of Elections voted themselves permission to destroy those registration cards.  The record retention schedule appears to suggest these would be kept permanently.

The director stated they have no intention to complete those registration cards. According to OEJC research, they still existed in early spring 2009.  Some of those boxes of cards appear in the below documentary, “Democracy Deadlocked.”

The deputy director of the Franklin County Board of Elections has been a named defendant in the King-Lincoln case since 2006.  He has never been held accountable for his actions in 2004, when he was director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, in disenfranchising voters.  The attorney representing this election official in the King-Lincoln case is a former law associate of Secretary of State Brunner, and he used to work with her private law office.

Without significant action, future federal elections will continue to be seriously compromised.

Further Research Resources: 

Documentary Video (under 20 minutes):

Democracy Deadlocked, Part I, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5WOw1TzImg
Democracy Deadlocked, Part II, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y44dtUCMf2E&feature=related

This documentary was produced by Melissa Cornick, who in her career as a network news television producer has received numerous awards for her groundbreaking original investigative reports, including the prestigious 2006 Edward R. Murrow and the Mongerson Prize for Ethics in Investigative Reporting awards, among others, for her work at 60 Minutes, Dateline, 20/20 and for the legendary Walter Cronkite's former documentary unit.

Investigative Journalism:

Michael Collins’ articles on Ohio election:

Part One: http://www.scoop.co.nz:80/stories/HL0710/S00300.htm

Part Two: http://www.scoop.co.nz:80/stories/HL0711/S00161.htm 

Hardball in Ohio & The Lost Ballots: http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/HARDBALL-IN-OHIO--THE-LOS-by-Michael-...

Litigation:

Most of the litigation history of this case is online through O.S.U. law school:

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/index.php
 
The link to the King Lincoln v. Blackwell case: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/klbna.phpl
 
Links to specific filings are under the above link as pdf files:

The OEJC Motion to Intervene:
  http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Interv...
 
The OEJC Motion for Criminal Contempt and Special Grand Jury Proceedings:
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Interv...

The OEJC Motion for Reconsideration:
1. http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Motion...
(plus four exhibits, also pdf files on the website).

2. http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/KLNBA-Reply-5-...
(plus ten exhibits to this reply brief, also pdf files on website; Ex. K documents the ongoing destruction of records: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/KLNBA-ExhibitK... )

Litigation Exhibits:

The exhibits are out-of-order on the website, but the links are below.  We can forward to you a more readable copy if you are interested.  Because of the extent of the documentation (over 1400 pages), the full evidence is on paper file with the court.
 
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Exhibi... (99 pages);
 
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Exhibi... (101 pages);
 
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Exhibi... (51 pages)
 
Dismissal of Defendant Sam Hogsett. 
He is an ES&S technician involved in election manipulation in Delaware County and other counties at the recount. 

http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/NOTICEbyPlaint...

 

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The Ohio Election Justice Campaign ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST CONTEST, AWAKENING THE CITIZENRY AS INVESTIGATORS

Like the game of Clue, we want to know: Who Did It, Where, And When?

Look at the ballots. The same handwriting shows up over 6,800 times and is in ALL 43 precincts. Deputy Director of the Board of Elections Kathy Hendrick said, “We never had a write-in candidate get that many votes.” How did they not notice problems with the same handwriting? Why will the sheriff, prosecutor, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, and the Ohio Attorney General not investigate? The actual ballots are already in the custody of the Secretary of State. It seems it is time for the people’s investigation and people’s court. See the ballot photos, learn the details, help solve the alleged crime. Meeting 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday May 5, 2009 at the Coshocton Library, 655 Main St. Coshocton, Ohio 43812 Go to www.electiondefensealliance.org/OEJC for more details. Paddy Shaffer, Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign (614) 266-5283

Pay No Attention To that Coshocton County Behind The Curtain

Ohio Election Status, 2009: Cleaned Up Or Covered Up And By whom?

With unresolved 2004 election theft issues in Ohio, and the national crisis as a result of the mismanagement of the Bush administration, is Ohio Secretary of State Brunner a fit US Senate Candidate?

By: Paddy Shaffer
Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign
www.electiondefensealliance.org/OEJC

March 10, 2008

Ties from Ohio election officials connect with the unelected administration of Bush and Cheney who smashed the US reputation with an illegal war, the death of thousands of US soldiers and possibly over a half million Iraqis, Gitmo, torture, with bank failures spreading like the plague and the taxpayers left paying for the looting of this nations finances for war profiteering and allowing white collar bank robbing. Yes, those Ohio county election officials who allegedly rigged Ohio and the Supreme Court Judges who in 2000 appointed Bush some responsibility for the current situation.

They did this, and now with millions out of work, retirement and savings decimated, and homeless numbers climbing… it is time for justice for those who rigged our presidential election, which lead to the current depression. It is important to remember that Ohio had a statewide recount following the 2004 election and that the 2005 challenge to certification of Ohio's electoral votes, led by Boxer (D-CA) and Tubbs Jones (D-OH), was the first time in U.S. history that a state's entire electoral college vote was challenged.

In a statement for why Ohio Secretary of State (SOS) Jennifer Brunner is now running for the US Senate she wrote, Leadership is not about saying "no"; it's about having the humility to listen, the creativity to see opportunities, and the persistence to enact solutions. Many members of the Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) are still seeking accountability for past election crimes in Ohio, many are the actual witnesses to these crimes. We are not feeling the warmth and potential of the above quote.

Our view is more like that of Harry Markopolis, a citizen investigator of financier Bernard Madoff http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/04/cbsnews_investigates/main47763... . Harry reported the apparent financial robbing of many investors to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), only to be repeatedly ignored for years, while the robbery continued. Harry recently testified to congress: http://financialservices.house.gov/markopolos020409.pdf .

During Bush's time as the unelected president Representative John Conyers held congressional hearings. Nothing was allowed to be resolved. For years OEJC members have informed not only the SOS of many cases of election fraud, but also the Ohio Attorney General's office, who serves as legal council for Secretary Brunner. But like the SEC, those in power in Ohio, ignore these crimes, adding to our national shame.

Elected in 2006, Brunner campaigned then and now for Senate as a reformer, but let's look at actual events. Federally protected election records retained as evidence in the class action election case, King Lincoln v Blackwell http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/klbna.php case no. 2:06-cv-745 are destroyed in 58 of Ohio's 88 counties.

Brunner, a former judge, provides excuses for the destruction of evidence and then does not file county 2004 ballot inventories and the letters with excuses for destruction of those records to the court. On August 21, 2007 she tells members of the SOS Voting Rights Institute, including the League of Women Voters and the NAACP that, "This information was all turned over to Judge Marbley. We have had no updates from his court as of today.”

Yet in early July 2008 wondering why nothing had been done, research by The Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) proved that the court had never been given those records by the SOS. The plaintiff's attorneys also did not file those documents with the court. Over 1.5 million ballots were destroyed.

On July 7, 2008, eight pro se members of the OEJC filed a motion to intervene http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Intervene-7-7-08.pdf and on July 10, 2008 they filed a motion for a special grand jury http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Lincoln-Intervenor-7-10-08.pdf for the King Lincoln case. Pro se means that we serve as our own attorneys, and we filed the documents on the destruction of the 2004 records with the court, after the SOS had been in possession of them for over a year.

Brunner and her legal council at the Ohio Attorney General's office filed to block our intervention in the King Lincoln case. The plaintiffs attorneys had also not filed with the court the documents on record destruction. Like the SOS, they are seeking to block our intervention and have additionally asked to have the records stricken.

Why? Stricken means removed, the court would then no longer have this critical evidence for the case. The counties admit in their own words to their crimes in those documents. We asked the court to enforce its own order that destruction of those 2004 election records is a fourth degree felony, and they can be held in contempt of court. We asked for an investigation and a report so that is all goes public. Nothing has happened, nothing resolved, we await the court.

Candidate Brunner claims, it's about having the humility to listen, yet she said no to meeting with members of the Ohio Election Justice Campaign, journalists, and several documentary filmmakers to discuss resolving election fraud. Brunner has allowed election officials who committed crimes in 2004 beyond the destruction of records, which have been thoroughly documented by citizens and the information provided to her, to remain uninvestigated and those alleged federal criminals continue to run Ohio elections.

As far as enacting solutions, Brunner had the Ohio Association of Election Officials lobbyist Aaron Ockerman, (whom along with his firm State Street Consultants has lobbied for election vendor's Diebold and ES&S) choose the election officials for the SOS EVEREST study of Ohio's election machines. Most of those chosen officials had destroyed 2004 election records, which is a felony.

The Diebold/Premier machines failed the SOS testing, and those who watched the testing were sworn to secrecy until 2017. Why would we want to not know what they saw? Transparent? The failed Diebold machines are still being used across most of the state. One county to free itself of the bad Diebold machines was Cuyahoga. ES&S technicians rather than election workers ran the new ES&S tabulators for the 2008 primary in Cuyahoga County. Why? Ohio law reads one Democrat and one Republican count the votes. Why would technicians ever run all the tabulators?

Would a Senator Brunner seek accountability and solutions on a national level, when holding even rural Ohio election officials accountable is beyond her, and she hasn't stopped the OEJC documented ongoing destruction of federally protected 2004 election records?

OEJC investigation continues of 2004 records, fraud is easily found. On September 19, 2008 I requested an SOS investigation on over 6,800 write-in votes for a Coshocton County sheriff candidate David Corbett in the handwriting of one to several people, affecting each of the counties 43 precincts. Only the election officials have such access. OEJC member Tim Kettler witnessed the alleged rigging of the recount in 2004. We know there are problems there. I was hopeful when promised by SOS Attorney Brian Green that I would get such an investigation, yet half a year later, nothing has been done, and those same election officials ran another presidential election.

I could not even get the SOS office to provide oversight of Coshocton's Board of Elections during the 2008 presidential election. This is one of many investigations the OEJC asked of Brunner. Having a proven track record that Secretary Brunner will not deal with Ohio's mountains of election problems, it is the OEJC's hope that she will remover her court response to block our intervention in the King Lincoln case, and encourage Judge Algenon Marbley to proceed with the special grand jury we requested, thereby allowing a real federal investigation.

Such a move would show leadership in admitting what she is unable or unwilling to do. In our collective OEJC opinion, SOS Jennifer Brunner is not qualified for US Senate, and without radical change and actually cleaning up election corruption in Ohio, Brunner also isn't qualified for a second term as Ohio SOS.

Rather than be elevated, she should be impeached.

Additional information on the destruction of Ohio election records:

Michael Collins articles:

Part One: http://www.scoop.co.nz:80/stories/HL0710/S00300.htm

Part Two: http://www.scoop.co.nz:80/stories/HL0711/S00161.htm

 

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Prosecutors Bully Ohio Voters: Ohio Election Justice Campaign Calls for Day of Silence on January 6, 2009

Download this press release as an Adobe PDF document.

Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) calls for Day of Silence this Tuesday, January 6, 2009 to commemorate "Boxer Rebellion." Four years ago on this day, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) led the challenge to the certification of Ohio's votes in the 2004 presidential election, the first time in U.S. history that an entire state's electoral college votes were challenged. An initiative of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Boxer Rebellion was based on widespread electoral problems in Ohio, most unaddressed to this day. Alleged acts of voter intimidation ongoing during the 2008 presidential election include the alleged assault of an election observer in Lucas County, the refusal of Delaware County to permit certain election observers, and Franklin County Board of Election's ongoing practice of referring public record requests to its prosecutor.

Columbus, OH (PRWEB) January 6, 2009 -- The Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) calls for a Day of Silence this Tuesday, January 6, 2009, to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the "Boxer Rebellion."

This day marks the peaceful legislative challenge to the re-election of George W. Bush on January 6th, 2005. Our silence stands in solidarity with voters around the world whose voices have been extinguished through violence, fear-mongering, and election fraud.

Four years ago, on January 6th, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) led the challenge to the certification of Ohio's votes in the 2004 presidential election. This was the first time in U.S. history that an entire state's electoral college votes were challenged.

If the challenge had been successful, Bush would have lost the electoral college votes he needed to clinch the election.

Joining Boxer and Jones in the challenge, known as the "Boxer Rebellion," were 30 representatives, including Kucinich (D-OH), Conyers (D-MI), McKinney (D-GA), and civil rights leader John Robert Lewis (D-GA).

An initiative of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Boxer Rebellion was based on widespread electoral problems in Ohio, most unaddressed to this day.

Not only have the election officials allegedly responsible for the acts of voter intimidation, voter suppression, and election fraud in 2004 escaped accountability, many of them still holding office, King-Lincoln, et al. v. Brunner, et al., 2:06 CV 00745 (S.D. Ohio, filed Aug. 31, 2006, Marbley, J.), but also J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's secretary of state in 2004 and state chair of the Bush 2004 re-election campaign, is now a serious contender for chair of the Republican National Committee.

According to Paddy Shaffer, Director of the OEJC, "Although we are grateful for the efforts of thousands of election protection volunteers in Ohio during the 2008 presidential election and the progress made by Ohio Secretary of State Brunner to ensure a fair election for every voter, the OEJC regrets to report ongoing acts of voter intimidation in 2008, which demonstrate that democracy has not yet been restored to Ohio."

As reported by Ms. Shaffer, alleged acts of voter intimidation during the 2008 election include

1. The alleged assault of an elections observer in Lucas County. For the election day interview with this observer, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAKf_SbrMT4.

2. Under the office of Delaware County prosecutor David Yost, assistant prosecutors Christopher Betts and William Owen denied seven election observers representing a third party access to the polls. Evidence of possible past election fraud was presented to the court to demonstrate the need for observers. Constitutional Party of Ohio v. Delaware County Board of Elections, 08 CV H 10 1462 (Delaware County Common Pleas Court, Ohio, filed Oct. 31, 2008).

Yost was also responsible for attempting to block the 2004 recount in Delaware County, which temporarily blocked the 2004 presidential recount in the entire state while the 2004 results were being certified. Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney, et al. v. National Voting Rights Institute, et al., 2:04 CV 01139 (S.D. Ohio, filed Dec. 29, 2004, Sargus, J.).

3. Franklin County Board of Election's ongoing practice of referring public record requests to its prosecutor, Patrick Piccinni.

In addition, Greene County Board of Elections allegedly threatened to prosecute a voter who took a picture of his own ballot, while Warren County prosecutor Rachel Hutzel still has failed to address the fake level-10 homeland security alert called in Warren County during the 2004 presidential election. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/11/05/loc_warrenvote05.html.

Under Ohio law, the county prosecutor is the legal counsel for the elections board.

Only two Ohio counties to date have had independent counsel appointed for election justice issues: Cuyahoga and Morgan.

The Cuyahoga investigation led to several criminal indictments. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012401441.html. .

According to Michael Tigner, of the OEJC, the former Morgan County prosecutor, Richard Welch, was allowed to vote, run for office, and hold the office of county prosecutor for six years in that county, although he was allegedly not a resident.

In 2004, Timothy Kettler, now of the OEJC, filed a police report with the Coshocton County Sheriff's Department requesting an investigation into the 2004 presidential recount. Mr. Kettler informed Coshocton County prosecutor Robert Batchelor that he felt the prosecutor was acting in conflict, which may be seen as improper and unethical.

According to Mr. Kettler, his ethical concerns were dismissed by Batchelor as irrational, and Mr. Kettler was told the prosecutor would no longer take his calls, although he had made only two calls. Mr. Kettler said that Prosecutor Batchelor directed him to resolve any issue about the prosecutor's methods of handling the case with the Ohio Supreme Court.

The OEJC has recently uncovered additional evidence of 2004 electoral irregularities on over 6,800 write-in ballots representing every Coshocton County precinct. Although the Ohio Attorney General, by the request of the Ohio Secretary of State, was asked to investigate this possible election fraud, no results are yet available.

Records released pursuant to public records requests demonstrate that Ohio election officials, their organization, the Ohio Association of Election Officials (OAEO), and their lobbyist, Aaron Ockerman of State Street Consultants, were allegedly linked to 2004 election crimes. King-Lincoln, et al. v. Brunner, et al., 2:06 CV 00745 (S.D. Ohio, filed Aug. 31, 2006, Marbley, J.).

The OAEO, which meets in Columbus, Ohio on January 27-29, 2009, has been brought into a case that contained allegations by the Ohio Secretary of State of fraud in the inducement of contracts for voting technology provided by Premier Election Solutions, a subsidiary of Diebold (DBD). Premier Election Solutions, Inc. v. Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, et al., 08 CV 007841 (Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Ohio, filed May 30, 2008).

According to Ms. Shaffer, the OEJC has several public records requests outstanding from the Franklin County Board of Elections, including public records related to the activities of the board during its October 2008 inquisition of young voters for alleged "voter fraud."

For more information or to donate: http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/OEJC

###

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See the original story at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/01/prweb1823794.htm

Some Final Record Requests For 2008

The below string of letters is regarding ongoing attempts to access Franklin County, Ohio public records. Aaron Ockerman is named in the
requests as someone we are seeking the correspondence between him and the Franklin County Board of Elections (BOE). Aaron Ockerman is a lobbyist for The Ohio Association of Election Officials. This group, The Ohio Association of Election Officials (OEAO) does not make it's records public, not even the names of the officers of the organization, nor their budget. If Ockerman sends correspondence to any election official in Ohio at their county office (paid for with our tax dollars $$$), that correspondence is a public record. The OEAO is a private corporation that runs the elections in Ohio. They do not make public their members, which can include businesses and organizations interested in elections. Similar organizations are in other states running our US elections across the United States. I have been told that they also do not make their data available. In the past several years, other BOE's have provided the requested records regarding their correspondence with Ockerman, and we did not have to battle for it. Aaron was also a lobbyist for the election company ES&S and others in his company, State Street Consultants, were lobbyists for Diebold (now Premier). The time frame for the mentioned lobbying on behalf of ES&S and Diebold included but is not limited to when the large original purchase of over $110 million dollars was spent because of HAVA to buy electronic voting machines. The name of Patrick J. Piccininni who is Cc'd by the Franklin County Board of Elections, is one of the Franklin County Prosecutors. The county prosecutors are legal council for the county agencies, including the Board of Elections. Is this a proper usage of the prosecutor, to block public record requests, this service paid for with public (taxpayer) funds? A court case is mentioned repeatedly by the Director and Deputy Director of the Franklin County BOE, "State ex rel Glasgow v. Jones", and they repeatedly say... "your request is overly broad" and they refuse to send the requested records. Upon review, this case does not apply to the OEJC requests which are very specific. At the bottom of the string of record requests, is one made today, December 30, 2008 by Blackbox Voting. Bev Harris was Cc'd on the requests made below by the OEJC. Blackbox is now also requesting records from Franklin County's BOE. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Michael Stinziano
Director, Franklin County Board of Elections
December 30, 2008

Dear Mr. Stinziano,

You have continued to rely upon the prosecutor to deny or delay my requests for records since Monday, December 15, 2008. My request for phone records, which clearly document the activities of your office. It is for a narrow period of time and specific to the deputy director of your office.

To repeat: Per ORC 149.43, I request cell phone and office phone records for Matt Damschroder from October 1, 2008 through November 29, 2008. I would appreciate receiving these records in electronic format as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Paddy Shaffer

Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign
[email protected]
(614) 266-5283

----- Original Message -----

From: Stinziano, Michael P.
To: Paddy Shaffer
Cc: Damschroder, Matthew M. ; Piccininni, Patrick J.
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 11:13 AM
Subject: RE: Sixth request, Re: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008

Paddy,

We are in the process of fulfilling your previous request. Please allow us the time needed to fulfill the request.

In addition, this office will communicate when we are unable to fulfill a request; if for example, such a request is overly broad.

If such communication is not received please assume we are in the process of fulfilling the request.

Given the many requests you have made and the timing of the requests in lieu of this office’s other responsibilities, we do fulfill them within a reasonable time.

In regards to your most recent request of phone records, I will check with our prosecuting attorney, but as previously mentioned, based on the precedent established in State ex rel Glasgow v. Jones, your request is overly broad.

Michael Stinziano
Director, Franklin County Board of Elections

________________________________________

From: Paddy Shaffer [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 10:23 AM
To: Stinziano, Michael P.
Cc: Marian Lupo; Dan Stanton; Tim Kettler; Bev Harris
Subject: Sixth request, Re: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008

Michael Stinziano
Director, Franklin County Board of Elections
December 30, 2008

Dear Michael Stinziano,

As I have had no response to my fifth request for public records as per ORC 149.43, which was made on December 18th, 2008, I would like to repeat it at this time. So here goes...

As per ORC 149.43 I request all correspondence between Aaron Ockerman and any and all employees of the Franklin County Board of Elections for the time period from October 10, 2008 through November 10, 2008. Please send this in electronic format. If you view this request as overly broad, kindly advise me as to what would be a not overly broad request.

I additionally request the cell phone and office phone records for Matt Damschroder from October 1, 2008 through November 29, 2008, or. Please also send these in electronic format.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Paddy Shaffer
Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign
[email protected]
(614) 266-5283

----- Original Message -----
From: Paddy Shaffer To: Stinziano, Michael P. Cc: Marian Lupo ; Dan Stanton ; Tim Kettler ; Bev Harris Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 9:06 PM Subject: Re: Fifth request, Re: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008 Michael Stinziano, Director, Franklin County Board of Elections Dear Michael, As per ORC 149.43 I request all correspondence between Aaron Ockerman and any and all employees of the Franklin County Board of Elections for the time period from October 10, 2008 through November 10, 2008. Please send this in electronic format. If you view this request as overly broad, kindly advise me as to what would be a not overly broad request. Sincerely, Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign (614) 266-5283 ----- Original Message ----- From: Stinziano, Michael P. To: Paddy Shaffer Cc: Damschroder, Matthew M. ; Piccininni, Patrick J. Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 12:46 AM Subject: RE: Third request, Re: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008 Paddy, I have been cc'ed on all correspondence regarding the public record requests you have made. I do agree with Matt that each of your requests are overly broad and not within the scope of R.C. 149.43 nor the precedence established in State ex rel Glasgow v. Jones. Your request is not specific as to what correspondence you seek, or from whom. As you may be aware, “it is the responsibility of the person who wishes to inspect/and or copy records to identify with reasonable clarity, the records at issue.” State ex rel. Morgan v. New Lexington. We are more than happy to accommodate and fulfill all proper public records request, however as drafted, we are not able to fulfill your current or previous requests because each lacks sufficient specificity and particularity of the records you seek. Again, as drafted, each request is overly broad. Per your other request, at this time, our next Board meeting is scheduled for January 5th at 3 p.m. Michael ________________________________________

From: Paddy Shaffer [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wed 12/17/2008 10:15 PM To: Stinziano, Michael P. Cc: Marian Lupo; Dan Stanton; Tim Kettler; Bev Harris Subject: Re: Third request, Re: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008

Michael Stinzino Director, Franklin County Board of Elections December 17, 2008

Dear Michael,

I have made several public record requests this week. I have trimmed it down several times. Matt Damschroder has repeatedly refused the entire request for "public records" claiming these requests to be overly broad. The trail of emails are below, and you have also received them all along.

As the "Director", I hope you will take this occasion to lead, and open up access to the records that belong to the people of Franklin County, and the people of the State of Ohio. This last request sent on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 8:35 a.m. is not an overly broad request. It is quite specific. I would prefer that you fill it as it is written below. If that is too much for you to handle in one request, start with just this. As per ORC 149.43 I request all correspondence between the Franklin County Board of Elections and Aaron Ockerman from September 25, 2008 through December 15, 2008. Please send it in electronic format. After this is processed, I will return to the other items I have requested, or we can just process this all at one time. As the Director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, I hope you can quickly assist me with resolving this. Please give me the date and time of your next board meeting. Sincerely, Paddy Shaffer ----- Original Message ----- From: Damschroder, Matthew M. To: Paddy Shaffer Cc: Piccininni, Patrick J. ; Stinziano, Michael P. Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 9:19 AM Subject: RE: Third request, Re: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008

Ms. Shaffer: The Franklin County Board of Elections is unable to fulfill your request for public records due to the fact that the request is overly broad.

Matt Damschroder
Deputy Director
________________________________________

From: Paddy Shaffer [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 8:35 AM To: Damschroder, Matthew M.; Stinziano, Michael P. Cc: Marian Lupo; Dan Stanton; Tim Kettler; Linda Ligman Subject: Third request, Re: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008 December 16, 2008 Dear Matt and Michael, As per ORC 149.43 I request all correspondence between the Franklin County Board of Elections and Aaron Ockerman from September 25, 2008 through December 15, 2008. As per ORC 149.43 I request all correspondence between Ashland, Allen, and Franklin County Boards of Elections from December 1, 2008 through December 15, 2008. This is to include all and any correspondence from all and any staff of those Boards of Elections. This simplified request should be much easier for you to process. Please send it in electronic format. Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, Paddy Shaffer CC: Marian Lupo, OEJC Dan Stanton, OEJC Tim Kettler, OEJC Linda Ligman, OEJC ----- Original Message ----- From: Damschroder, Matthew M. To: Paddy Shaffer Cc: Stinziano, Michael P. ; Piccininni, Patrick J. Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 7:03 AM Subject: RE: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondence 2008 Ms. Shaffer: The Franklin County Board of Elections is unable to fulfill your request for public records due to the fact that the request is overly broad.

Matt Damschroder
Deputy Director
________________________________________

From: Paddy Shaffer [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Mon 12/15/2008 9:10 PM To: Damschroder, Matthew M.; Stinziano, Michael P. Cc: Dan Stanton; Marian Lupo; Tim Kettler Subject: Re: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008

Dear Matt and Michael,

As per ORC 149.43 I request all correspondence between the Franklin County Board of Elections and Aaron Ockerman from September 25, 2008 through December 15, 2008. As per ORC 149.43 I request all correspondence between Ashland, Lorain, Allen, Montgomery and Franklin County Boards of Elections from September 25, 2008 through December 15, 2008.

This is to include all and any correspondence from all and any staff of those Boards of Elections.

Thank you very much for your assistance. Please send it in electronic format.

Sincerely,
Paddy Shaffer
(614) 266-5283

CC: Dan Stanton, OEJC Marian Lupo, OEJC Tim Kettler, OEJC

----- Original Message -----

From: Damschroder, Matthew M.
To: Paddy Shaffer
Cc: Stinziano, Michael P. ; Piccininni, Patrick J.
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 4:39 PM
Subject: RE: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008

Ms. Shaffer:

The Franklin County Board of Elections is unable to fulfill your request for public records due to the fact that the request is overly broad.

Matt Damschroder

Deputy Director

________________________________________

From: Paddy Shaffer [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 12:41 PM To: Stinziano, Michael P.; Damschroder, Matthew M. Subject: Franklin, Public Record Request - BOE correspondance 2008 Dear Michael and Matt, As per ORC 149.43 I request all correspondence between the Franklin County Board of Elections, Aaron Ockerman, any and all other Ohio Board of Elections offices (and their staff) from September 25, 2008 through December 15, 2008. Please send this in electronic format. Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign [email protected] (614) 266-5283

Bev Harris Responds In Kind

Dec. 30, 2008
Matt Damschroeder Michael Stinziano
Franklin County Elections
280 E. Broad St., 1st floor
Columbus, OH 43215-4572

RIGHT TO KNOW - PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST #123008-Ock

Gentlemen,

Pursuant to the state open records law, Ohio Rev. Code Ann. sec. 149.43 to 149.44, I write to request a copy of the following records. Please respond to each item, separately, in writing.

Item 1: All correspondence between the Franklin County Elections office and Aaron Ockerman from September 25, 2008 through December 30, 2008.

Item 2: All RC-3 Certificate of Records Disposal forms and RC-1 Applications for One-Time Records Disposal which pertain to correspondence between Franklin County Elections and Aaron Ockerman from Sept. 25, 2008 through December 30, 2008. Per Ohio law, I assume you are aware that no record will be knowingly disposed of which pertains to any pending request, case, or claim action. Item 3: If any correspondence between Franklin County Elections and Aaron Ockerman sent or received between Sept. 25, 2008 and December 30, 2008 has been destroyed or disposed of without filing RC-3 or RC-1 forms, please advise of this in writing. Please provide each item in electronic form if possible. If your agency does not maintain these public records, please let me know who does and include the proper custodian's name and address.

I agree to pay any reasonable copying and postage fees of not more than $45 for this information. If the cost would be greater than this amount, please notify me. Please provide a receipt indicating the charges for each document. I would request your response within ten (10) business days. Please be advised that violation of the open records law can result in the award of court costs and attorney fees. Such fee awards against county governments for violations of open records law by elections personnel have exceeded $250,000 in each of two other election-related public records cases recently.

Because of your obstructions of a similar request from the Ohio Election Justice Campaign, and the potential cost to Franklin County for such wrongful denials, Black Box Voting has copied this correspondence to the Franklin County Attorney and to the Franklin County Board of Commissioners.

If you deny this request as "overly broad" Black Box Voting will seek an attorney to litigate against Franklin County, and will seek to recover any and all related expenses from Franklin County. I regret that the tone of this simple request is adversarial. This is a simple request, for communications between your office and a specific individual, during a specific time period, along with a request for any information pertaining to destruction of these records.

It is difficult to see why communications with Aaron Ockerman have been withheld from the public in other requests.

Let's resolve this now by full compliance with this request.

If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely. Also, please provide all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.

Thank you,

Bev Harris -

Black Box Voting
330 SW 43rd St Suite K, PMB 547
Renton WA 98057
206-335-7747 -
[email protected] -
fax: 866-287-2934

Cc: Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney
373 South High St, 14th Floor
Columbus OH 43215

Franklin County Board of Commissioners
373 S. High Street 26th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6314

Copy of this request sent by e-mail, fax and US mail.

 

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Democracy Deadlocked, A Film By Melissa Cornick

Compare the Funky Numbers in Ohio – Provisional Ballots in 2008

By Paddy Shaffer, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign October 28, 2008 Data from the Boards of Elections Franklin County – (City of Columbus) as of October 25, 2008 Provisional Ballots - Through October 25, we have 1,258 provisional ballots cast out of a total of 30,659 (regular and provisional combined). Lucas County – (City of Toledo) as of October 27, 2008 Absentee ballots cast 56,152 (including all off sites, military, overseas, etc.) Provisional ballots cast 104

Voter Fraud Gets a Thumbs Up in Morgan County by Brunner

For Immediate Release: By Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign October 28, 2008 In one of the “rare documented cases of voter fraud” committed by Richard Welch, the Republican Morgan County Prosecutor, Ohio Secretary of State (SOS) Jennifer Brunner voted against the members of her own party, board members Mary Anna Wallace and Azcal Wilson, and for the Republican. The issue here is whether the attorney who is the Morgan County Prosecutor, who has lived outside of Morgan County for the past six years, can continue to vote in that county. Welch has lived south of Morgan County, down along the Ohio River in the town of Belpre. Welch is in the military, and has had not personally been physically in the prosecutors office much in the last six year. He has maintained the prosecutor title, and continued to have himself and his wife vote in Morgan County, he has continued to run for office, and hold office. All while actually having his wife and himself live in Washington County. Welch did claim to spend one night, on September 1, 2008 in the house. He also at his September 2, 2008 hearing claimed that he was unable to live in the house because of the large amount of pigeon poop all over it. Welch Attorney Andrew N. Yosowitz of the law firm of Isaac, Brant, Ledman & Teetor, LLP assisted Welch providing pictures and a vivid description of the numerous white poop spots. Brunner wrote that Welch’s wife is splitting her time between the two homes, but the locals disagree. The McConnellesville home in Morgan County has not even had running water in the past six years, and is zoned as an office, not a residence. Both Democratic Board Members of the Morgan County Board of Elections ruled in January 2008, and then again on September 29, 2008 that Welch is not a resident of their community. Legal counsel for the Secretary of State in Morgan County is Brian Shinn. In her ruling issued today, http://electiondefensealliance.org/files/Welch_Morgan_County_102808.pdf Brunner (or her staff) wrote “Because Welch's total period of absence from Morgan County excluding his active duty military service amounts to a temporary absence, because he testified he has maintained an intent to return to Morgan County, and because he has taken numerous actions that support his intent to return to Morgan County, I conclude that Mr. Welch is a qualified elector of Morgan County”. Another former military man, and a member of Ohio law enforcement for the past 28 years has an opinion in this case also. That is Mike Tigner who filed the complaint against Welch. Tigner complained, “I can’t believe they can’t go by the plain meaning of the law, they keep covering up for people. If it was any other voter that lived outside the county, we wouldn’t be asking for the SOS opinion.” He was very disappointed by Secretary Brunner’s ruling and how she only supported Welch, and never responded to the strong points he made. Tigner stated, “Welch was living in Washington County for the 30 days prior to leaving for service, that makes it his place of residence, according to the Uniformed Statute for Voter Registration. When leaving for service, residency is based on where a person lived, not where they might someday live.” Tigner wants to know, “What are they covering up? How many other elected officials are there who live outside of their counties or districts, for which Brunner wants to protect?” There is another item of interest in this case, Brunner wrote: "The board of elections voted 3-1 to cancel Welch's voter registration at the end of the January 23, 2008 hearing.” It was canceled, then later reinstated, leading to the current ongoing issues. On September 12, 2008 Mike Tigner asked for an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General and CC’d the Ohio Secretary of State on his written request. There has been no response to this letter. The letter is below in part: Dear Attorney General Rogers, I submit to you an urgent request to conduct a serious legal investigation, enforcing the *Ohio Revised Code 109.95, Criminal proceedings for election fraud.* The Morgan County Ohio Board of Elections has allowed its Prosecuting Attorney, Richard Welch, to run for office, fill that office, and vote in the county of Morgan when all the time he has lived in the county of Washington. Because of this, there is a conflict of interest for investigation when both the prosecutor and the Board of Elections have violated Ohio law, and the prosecutor serves as legal counsel for the Board of Elections. Wanting justice and not power moves, Tigner said, “This is not a government of the people for the people, it is the corruption of the government by the government.” He is very concerned about attorneys covering up for one another, and said, “They will take care of themselves.” Tigner and others are also concerned with illegal actions by the board members. Independent candidate for the office of the Ohio Attorney General Robert Owens in a discussion about other candidates that may also live outside of their district stated, “In this ruling Jennifer Brunner has once again shown her true colors as a stooge for the Democratic Party. On its face it may seem that she is trying to be “fair and balanced” in reality she is protecting bigger fish.” Current candidate for the Ohio Senate, former 2006 candidate for Ohio Secretary of State, and 2004 Presidential Recount Organizer Tim Kettler stated, “If Secretary Brunner is refusing to enforce the laws, then Ohio elections are no more secure today then they were in 2004.” Kettler is a witness to the rigging of the 2004 recount in his home county of Coshocton. The Brunner Decision For the foregoing reasons, I vote with Board Chair J. Wilson and Board Member Pennock AGAINST the motion to reaffirm the finding that Welch is not a qualified elector of Morgan County. Accordingly, the motion fails. Because Welch has already submitted a valid application for an absentee ballot as an armed serviced voter pursuant to R.C. 3511.02 and Advisory 2008-29 and because the time for him to return his absentee ballot is short, the Morgan County Board of Elections is hereby instructed to issue Welch an absentee ballot immediately in accordance with Advisory 2008-29. In 2006 when people of the Democratic Party voted in Jennifer Brunner as Secretary of State, one thing they counted on was for her as the tie-breaker vote, and for the people to be represented at the Ohio Boards of Elections. It sadly appears that today, she voted against them. The pigeon droppings are not the only things stinking in Ohio this day.

Request For Voting Documentation Records, Morgan County, OH

Miranda Mullen Director, Morgan County Board of Elections Nancy Robinson Deputy Director, Morgan County Board of Elections [email protected] Re: Public Record Request October 28, 2008 Dear Nancy and Miranda, I phoned in part of this record request today to an answering machine, but thought I should also just put it in writing. I added to that phone request too. As per ORC 149.43 I request copies of the current voter registration cards for four people. Current Prosecutor Richard Welch and his wife, Mrs. Welch Current Acting Prosecutor Amy Graham Former Prosecutor Mr. Howdyshell If the cards do not have dates they were filed, please give me dates too. I also request the minutes of the meeting for your resent Board Meeting. This would be the meeting that Nancy referred to on the phone today, where she said the issue of Mrs. Welch voting in Morgan County for the 2008 General Election was discussed, and tabled until the Secretary of State rules on the situation of the residency of Prosecutor Richard Welch. Thank you for your assistance, Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign Co-Manager, 2008 Independent Election Observer Project [email protected] (614) 266-5283 CC: Mike Tigner Marlys Barbee, OEJC Marian Lupo, OEJC Bev Harris, Blackbox Voting Brian Gadd, Times Recorder Brian Shinn, Elections Counsel, Ohio Secretary of State

Letter to Brian Shinn, (Ass't Council, Elections, Ohio SOS) Morgan County, OH Prosecutor Residency

Brian Shinn Assistant General Counsel/Elections Counsel Ohio Secretary of State 180 East Broad Street, 15th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215-3726 (614) 466-2585 [email protected] Re: Morgan County Prosecutor Richard Welch... resident or voter fraud? October 28, 2008 Dear Brian Shinn, I spoke to Deputy Director Nancy Robinson in Morgan County this afternoon. She told me yesterday that she expected to hear from you today to resolve the Prosecutor Richard Welch tie-breaker on, voter fraud, resident of county or not... situation. Today she says she has not yet heard from you. I realize you are starting with the issue of residency, but it is so obvious to the great number of people I have spoken with that this is real voter fraud. That is important to point out when the press is full of stories of voter fraud that don't end up being voter fraud. This seems like the real deal to many citizens of Ohio. What is the hold up? Seems like a yes or no question to me. Is a man that has lived in the city of Belpre in Washington County down by the Ohio River for 6 years able to claim to be a resident of Morgan County, vote there, run for office there, and hold office there? Yes or no? Is it OK to be the person in charge of enforcing the county laws, and do this? I hope to have your answer today. If not, please tell me what the hold up is. I would also like to know the names of all those involved in making this decision. Just you, Secretary Brunner, or a team of people. Has the whole transcript of the September 2, 2008 hearing been read? I was there for the hearing. Did you read the part where pigeon poop (white spots shown in photos at the hearing) all over the house is one of the things that stopped Welch from living there? Hmmm.... Has any of the transcript been read by SOS staff? How much and by whom? I look forward to having this Welch residency issue resolved soon. I want to mention that it has been brought to my attention that in February 2008, Welch had this residency issue addressed by the board members of the BOE. They ruled he was not a resident, yet here we go again. As the request into a legal investigation into the matter of Richard Welch has been made, I would like to know the status of that too. This is regarding voting, running for office, and holding office. What about his wife? Will she be allowed to vote in Morgan County this fall? According to Deputy Director Nancy in a phone call at 2:40 p.m. today, Welch's wife is still registered in Morgan County. She said at the last Board meeting it was discussed. They have tabled what to do with it until your office makes a decision. I have requested to know if she has asked for an absentee ballot. Nancy did not know, but will find out. She said Welch has requested an absentee ballot in Morgan County. So it sounds like your decision is twice as important. What if everyone votes where they intend to live? I guess I would get to vote at the beach, someplace with some nice palm trees. I intend to live there again. Yet please note, for real life and legal matters, I'll just be voting in Franklin County this year, where I actually reside. Sincerely, Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign [email protected] (614) 266-5283

Coshocton County Suspect Write-In Ballots Photo

State to investigate local voter fraud, Write-in votes in '04 under scrutiny

From Gannett News, Coshocton Tribune
By BRIAN GADD Staff Writer October 23, 2008

Original Article:
http://www.coshoctontribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081023/NEWS01/810230305

COSHOCTON - The state intends to investigate whether hundreds of write-in votes for a Coshocton County sheriff's candidate were fraudulently included in the 2004 election.

The independent Ohio Election Justice Campaign is alleging that hundreds or even thousands of write-in votes for former sheriff David Corbett, who ran unsuccessfully against Tim Rogers, were provided by an individual or several individuals and that the write-ins were scattered throughout each of the county's 43 precincts. The OEJC has been a part of a lawsuit over the 2004 presidential election recount.

Paddy Shaffer, director of the OEJC, received correspondence Tuesday from Brian Green, elections counsel for Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, "that a legal investigation is to take place on election fraud with the 2004 General Election ballots, on the issue of the write-in candidate ballots for David Corbett."

"It gives me hope that justice might one day arrive in Ohio," Shaffer said. "I am certainly happy that something is finally being done."

The investigation will be handled by the Attorney General's special prosecutions section and the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Shaffer said.

Green did not return a call seeking comment and messages were also left for communications staff at the Secretary of State and Attorney General's offices.

Shaffer had previously contacted both Coshocton County Sheriff Tim Rogers and Prosecutor Bob Batchelor about her group's suspicions and asked them to investigate.

Rogers referred the issue to Batchelor.

Batchelor said he didn't feel it was proper that his office conduct an investigation into the issue and was not aware of when the state investigation would begin.

He said he sent information which was supplied to his office by the OEJC to the Ohio Attorney General's Office to take appropriate action.

He added that information he received from the AG indicates 30 ballots were sampled and the handwriting appeared to be from 30 different people, which would discount the allegations being made.

But Shaffer, who along with other OEJC members has spent countless hours looking over ballots in the custody of the Secretary of State's Office in Columbus, said that she and her compatriots saw proof of voter fraud on "thousands" of the 6,864 write-in votes for Corbett, who lost by about 2,500 votes to Rogers.

"Within 10 ballots I was distracted by the write-in votes for sheriff ... which appeared to be written in the same handwriting," Shaffer stated, in a letter requesting action by Batchelor earlier this month.

Shaffer also said it appeared that many of the write-in votes were done on the top of a corrugated box, as the texture of the box is a part of the signature. She also said many of the votes were written in blue or black pencil, rather than a No. 2 pencil. Ballots in all 43 precincts appear to have a "sprinkling" of suspect votes, Shaffer said.

"As all 43 precincts were affected in 2004, this would have to have been done by someone with lots of access to the ballots," Shaffer explained. "For multiple people to have handled these ballots, and nothing to have been said, I question some sort of group involvement.

"...A crime has been committed against both Sheriff Timothy Rogers and the voters. All involved, whether one or multiple people, need to be held accountable and punished."

Request to Brian Green concerning Voter Fraud in Coshocton County Sheriff race

Brian Green Elections Council, Ohio Secretary of State 180 East Broad Street, 15th Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 995-4541 October 14, 2008 Re: Voter Fraud in Coshocton County Sheriff race, and public record request Sent: via email and US Post Dear Brian Green I write today to find out the status of your investigation into the Coshocton County vote fraud that happened in the 2004 sheriff race where Timothy Rogers was the candidate with his name printed on the ballot, and there were reported to be 6,864 write-in votes for David Corbett, who had formally been the sheriff in the year 2000. The vast majority of those appear to be election fraud, with a very small sprinkling of actual votes mixed throughout the ballots. During tabulation, each one of these ballots had to be examined and the name of the write-in candidate read from it. This happened at the election, at the recount, and I understand, ballots were recounted between the election and the recount. Yet not one election official there spotted what I spotted within looking at my first 10 ballots, very easy to see voter fraud. The same handwriting shows up repeatedly in thousands of write-in votes for candidate David Corbett. Actually I would guess it is the handwriting of a couple people, and a serious real legal investigation is needed. Timothy Rogers won the race, but this crime was committed directly against this incumbent sheriff for the benefit of a former sheriff, yet mysteriously current Sheriff Rogers doesn’t seem to care. I’ve contacted him. I showed you some of those ballots on September 16, 2008 in the presence of two people assisting my ongoing research that day, Marlys Barbee and Mike Tigner. They were easily able to see the repeated handwriting in ballot after ballot, and in precinct after precinct. Mike Tigner has been a part of Ohio law enforcement for 28 years. We all saw it. My understanding after showing you some of the ballots from the effected 43 precincts was that you would be doing something about this. I expressed my concern at that time that the same people that ran that election are to be running the election again this year. My research shows that 100% of the precincts in Coshocton County were involved. So I request to know what has been done? Has an investigation begun in the 29 days that have passed since I showed you these ballots? Is there any oversight for the election officials in Coshocton County while they are currently hosting another election? As per ORC 149.43 I request all paperwork that you have generated since September 16, 2008 on this subject of the 2004 Coshocton ballots via email, written correspondence, notes, etc. to anyone, including SOS staff, Secretary Brunner, and the Attorney General and the staff there. I also request to know the names of all those that you have told about this voter fraud issue, including and most importantly, does Secretary Brunner know? I will be sending to you a few of the hundreds of photographs I took of these ballots. I will send these via email. Since you actually have in the possession of the Secretary of State, the actual ballots that are the physical evidence in this crime, I hope that you will make quick use of them, and start the investigation (if it is not already under way) immediately. If there is to be no investigation coming from you, please do tell me why this matter will not move through legal channels. I have written to the Coshocton County Prosecutor today about this also, and will CC you on his letter. I let you know of his letter so investigative efforts are not duplicated, and our resources are used as responsibly as possible, just as we the people want our elections run as responsibly as possible. Sincerely Concerned, Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign [email protected] (614) 266-5283 CC: Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Secretary of State Nancy Rogers, Ohio Attorney General Tim Kettler, OEJC, State Senate Candidate, Coshocton County Resident Brian Gadd, Zanesville Times Recorder Bev Harris, Blackbox Voting Marian Lupo, OEJC Marlys Barbee, OEJC Mike Tigner Josh Jarman, Dispatch Sheri Myers, OEJC Victoria Parks, OEJC Peter Jones, OEJC

Write-in candidate, Coshocton County, Ohio, has mulitple signatures on multiple ballots from the same person?

The enclosed photo has three 2004 General Election ballots, all from Jackson Twp. North precinct in Coshocton County. All ballots have the write-in votes for David Corbett for which I am requesting a legal investigation.

Request for immediate criminal investigation into election fraud in federal election

Bob Batchelor Coshocton County Prosecutor 318 Chestnut Street Coshocton, Ohio 43812 (740) 622-3566 [email protected]

October 14, 2008, Re: Request for immediate criminal investigation into election fraud in federal election. Sent: via email and US Post Dear Bob Batchelor, This is a request for an investigation into election fraud that happened in Coshocton County. The actual ballots that are the evidence for this crime represent all 43 precincts in which the citizens of Coshocton County voted in the General Election in 2004, a federal election. Those ballots are now in the city of Columbus, in the protective custody of the Ohio Secretary of State (SOS) Jennifer Brunner as part of a Federal Court Case, King Lincoln Et. Al. v Brunner, Case No. C2 06 745. I understand that you have the duty of representing and advising the Coshocton County Board of Elections. I want to now raise the issue that your county may need to bring in another prosecutor, as there may be a conflict of interest for you to investigate the same Board of Elections of which you represent and advise. Please advise me as to how you will proceed in this case. The Coshocton County Board of Elections is currently conducting yet another federal election, for which early voting is underway and the final day of voting is November 4, 2008. The counting and tabulation can continue for ten or more days after the election. The subject I bring up is quite serious, as is my concern as to those conducting the current election. Please advise me as to your plan of action to make sure that your county is to be immediately protected from election fraud this year, which has come through the literal hands of your election officials in 2004. As all 43 precincts were affected in 2004, this would have to have been done by someone with lots of access to the ballots. For multiple people to have looked at and handled these ballots, and nothing to have been said, I question some sort of group involvement. So what is happening this year, and what will the integrity of Coshocton County's election be? The voters there spend a lot of money to have their elections run in a manner in which they expect to know the actual vote count. A crime has been committed against both Sheriff Timothy Rogers and the voters. All involved, whether one or multiple people, need to be held accountable, and punished. What my research has documented: I have spent several months researching the 2004 election records that the SOS has in protective storage. When I looked at the presidential race in Coshocton County, within 10 ballots I was distracted by the write-in votes for sheriff candidate David Corbett which appeared to be written in the same handwriting. I would actually guess it is the handwriting of several people. I have since then contacted Sheriff Tim Rogers who was the winning candidate in that race, with his name printed on the ballot. It is my understanding that David Corbett is a former Coshocton County Sheriff, and was a write-in candidate in 2004 because of his late filing to be on the ballot. Thus his name was not printed, but an open line was provided for him, and an oval to be filled in by a voter wanting to cast a vote for him. The majority of the ballots appear to be in the handwriting of just a few people, and there is a sprinkling of ballots that appear throughout the precincts that seem to be real votes. I have taken well over 600 photos of these ballots for my research. I have shown these ballots to other researchers, and to SOS election council Brian Green. When I called up the Coshocton County Board of Elections and spoke to Kathy Hendricks on August 15, 2008 to ask questions about that election, here are some of the things I learned from Kathy. 1. There were 6,864 write-in votes for David Corbett, and he lost the election. 2. Incumbent Sheriff Timothy Rogers received 9,313 votes and won the election. 3. Four people did the tabulation of the votes on November 2, 2004. That would be Don Andrews, Kathy Hendricks, Martha Babcock, and (probably) Mary Fritz (Kathy Hendricks wasn’t sure if Mary had assisted). 4. Kathy said, “We never ever, ever, had a write-in candidate get that many votes.” 5. They finished counting the ballots at 4:00 a.m. 6. The tabulator was set up so that every time it would read the colored in oval that indicates a write-in ballot, the machine would stop. The election officials doing the tabulation would then visually look at the ballot and read off the name of the write-in vote. There was also the 2004 recount of the presidential election. Again the ballots were handled and inspected. How is it possible that no seasoned election official spotted what I spotted within 10 ballots? Who did this? Many ballots throughout many precincts appear to have had the write in vote done on top of a corrugated box, as the texture of the box is part of the signature. There are also votes throughout many precincts written in a blue/black pencil, rather than a regular # 2 pencil. As an artist, I spot these things. I did a little experiment, on two lined pieces of paper, I wrote out David Corbett as fast as I could, 100 times. When I started I could do this nine times per minute, by the time I finished I could only write it 7 times per minute and my hand and arm were cramping up. It took 12 minutes to write “David Corbett” 100 times. To do this on the actual ballots a person would have to get into the packages of all 43 precincts. The person would have to color in the oval, they would have to keep switching pieces of paper for each ballot, and they would have to locate the place to vote (low in the middle column). This would take a large amount of time, and could only be done by someone with fairly unlimited access to the ballots. Yet another thing that would have taken a large amount of time and effort by election officials is that the ballots have been sorted. Not only sorted by presidential candidates, but also by ballots that were both Bush and Corbett supporters, and those that were both Kerry and Corbett supporters. To do this sorting in all 43 precincts would have taken a large amount of work and time. Who did this sorting, when, and why did they sort them? How could they not notice the repeated same handwriting? What does their handwriting look like? Sheriff Timothy Rogers was first informed by phone on August 8, 2008, when I had only looked at 4 precincts, and found the election fraud in 100% of the four precincts. He was later updated as the research continued in phone messages I left for him. Sheriff Rogers said that he would inform the prosecutor when we spoke. This crime was committed directly against Sheriff Rogers, yet I find it strange that he will not return phone calls on this subject. The final message so far I left for Sheriff Rogers was on Monday, October 13, 2008 in regards to the fact that the election fraud is in all 43 precincts, and I wanted to know what he was going to do about it. I left this message both on voice mail and with Deputy Euton to be a handwritten message. Brian Green, Elections Council for the Ohio Secretary of State was shown many of these ballots on September 16, 2008 in the presence of Marlys Barbee and Mike Tigner. The request for an investigation was made that day with Mr. Green. Although I have repeatedly requested the status of such an investigation, I have not had a response with that information. I have CC’d Brian Green and others that I feel need to know about this, including Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, and Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers. I am a volunteer citizen investigator, and an artist, not a paid legal investigator. I have taught calligraphy classes. In know a bit about handwriting, and what I see in the repeated same handwriting is easy to spot on these ballots. There appears to be a large election fraud crime on federal election ballots here, with likely about 6,800 illegal votes. I ask for a serious legal investigation into this matter by an entity that will not have a conflict of interest, and to be informed that such an investigation is under way. If you and/or other legal investigators are ready to take a look at these ballots, I would be happy to make the arrangements to get access to these ballots arranged for you or such persons, and show you what I have found. Preferably several days lead time is needed to make those arrangements with the Secretary of State’s office, as these records are in a secure environment, and a there is always a person in attendance overseeing my research and the safety of the ballots that still exist. Many of the legally protected 2004 ballots were destroyed by county election officials across the state. Prosecutor Batchelor, I look forward to hearing from you as to how and when an investigation can proceed on this issue of election fraud, and that immediate protections can be extended to guard the election currently underway. Respectfully Submitted, Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign [email protected] (614) 266-5283 CC: Nancy Rogers, Ohio Attorney General Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Secretary of State Brian Green, Elections Council, SOS Tim Kettler, OEJC, State Senate Candidate, Coshocton County Resident Brian Gadd, Zanesville Times Recorder Bev Harris, Blackbox Voting Marian Lupo, OEJC Marlys Barbee, OEJC Mike Tigner, OEJC Victoria Parks, OEJC Josh Jarman, Dispatch

SOS - FOIA - Unfilled FOIA on 2004 Inventory & New FOIA on Electronic Poll-Signature

Brian Green Elections Council, Ohio Secretary of State Re: One New and Prior Unfilled Public Record Requests September 28, 2008 Dear Brian Green, I still await the document I have requested multiple times from you, beginning in July of 2008 for the inventory of records that I asked to see from the SOS storage site for the November 2, 2004 records. This is to inventory the records you found, and which records you did not find as per my past requests. For example, you personally searched for the Franklin County unvoted ballots, and told me you couldn’t find them. Many of the records requested were unvoted 2004 ballots that some counties claim the SOS has custody of. I again request that the document be signed by a staff member of the Ohio Secretary of State. Please respond. This is a request for Public Records as per ORC 149.43. I request the documents that the Ohio Secretary of State has regarding which of Ohio's 88 counties will be using electronic poll books and signature books for the November 4, 2008 election. What I seek is a list of the names of the counties that will be using the electronic poll books and signature books. This would include but not be limited to use of the Premier Elections Solutions' Express Poll 4000 with Card Writer Function 1.1.5 (certified on February 16, 2006) Express Poll 2000 Electronic Poll Book with Card Writer Function 1.15 (certified on February 16, 2006) Express Poll 5000 Electronic Poll Book with EZ Roster, Version 2029 and Card Writer Function, Version 1.0 which consists of Poll Card Writer, Version 1.1.4.0, and PCMcard.dll (certified on November 21, 2006) Thank you for your assistance. Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign 2408 Sonnington Drive Dublin, Ohio 43016 [email protected] (614) 266-5283 CC: Tim Kettler, OEJC Marlys Barbee, OEJC Victoria Parks, OEJC Bev Harris, Blackbox Voting

Prosecutor Violates Ohio Election Laws in Morgan County, Ohio. - Violations by Election Officials, Prosecutor, & The Pattern of Legal Cover-Ups for Decades By Morgan County Prosecutor’s and Sheriff’s.

Press Advisory: For Immediate Release September 2, 2008 Contact: Paddy Shaffer, Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign [email protected] (614) 266-5283 On Tuesday September 2, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. the Morgan County Board of Elections will hold a hearing at the Morgan County Courthouse at 19 East Main Street, McConnelsville, Ohio 43756-1172. This hearing will be the second hearing for an issue the Morgan County Board of Elections (BOE) already ruled on in January of 2008. Mike Tigner is requesting that this hearing be cancelled, and that the BOE cannot change their earlier decision to deny Prosecutor Richard Welch the ability to cast a vote in Morgan County for the 2008 Primary Election, as Welch resides in a different county, Washington County. Welch is a Colonel in the US Army and has been away from the county for parts of the last several years. The same BOE officials later accepted the vote cast by Welch. The issues are far larger than just this vote… Who is Mike Tigner: US Army Veteran, Ohio law enforcement officer since 1980. Deputy Sheriff Morgan County for 12 years, Athens County Special Deputy in 1992, Village Marshall for Amesville 1993 – 2008, and is currently a Special Deputy in Athens County. Mike Tigner attempted to run for Sheriff in Morgan County in 2004, and was blocked by the office of the prosecutor and the BOE saying he was not qualified, when he was. The man they allowed to run for Sheriff, was not qualified, yet was allowed to run for Sheriff, and is the current Sheriff. What Mike Tigner wants: 1. A serious legal investigation from the office of the Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers. Enforcement of the Ohio Revised Code 109.95 Criminal proceedings for election fraud, which states in part: “If the prosecuting attorney does not prosecute the violations within a reasonable time or requests the attorney general to do so, the attorney general may proceed with the prosecution of the violations with all of the rights, privileges, and powers conferred by law on a prosecuting attorney, including, but not limited to, the power to appear before a grand jury and to interrogate witnesses before a grand jury.” 2. There is an apparent conflict of interest for investigation when the both the prosecutor and the BOE have violated Ohio law, and when the prosecutor is legal counsel for the BOE. Accountability for Morgan County Prosecutor Richard Welch is needed. Laws that will need looked into for possible violations include but are not limited to: ORC - 3500.11(A) False voter registration – registration forms. ORC – 3599.12 (A) Illegal voting. ORC – 3599.12 (A)(B) Signing of petitions. ORC – 3599.14 (A)(1) Prohibited acts concerning declarations or petitions. Ohio Revised Code 109.95 Criminal proceedings for election fraud. 3. Accountability for the issues raised by Mike Tigner for Morgan County BOE Director Miranda Mullens and Deputy Director Nancy Robinson and the other board members involved would need to address: 3599.16 Misconduct of member, director, or employee of board of elections - dismissal. Will Election Fraud Cover-Up Continue, or shall SOS Brunner end it now? The Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner should consider investigation and look at immediately replacing Morgan County election officials as per: Ohio Revised Code 35.01.16 Secretary of state may remove or suspend from office: which reads in part, “The secretary of state may summarily remove or suspend any member of a board of elections, or the director, deputy director, or any other employee of the board, for neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office, for any willful violation of Title XXXV of the Revised Code…” Under ORC 3501.05 Election duties of secretary of state: (N)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (N)(2) of this section, investigate the administration of election laws, frauds, and irregularities in elections in any county, and report violations of election laws to the attorney general or prosecuting attorney, or both, for prosecution: Accountability for the Morgan County BOE Director Miranda Mullens and Deputy Director Nancy Robinson for allowing Prosecutor Richard Welch to vote in the 2008 Primary Election after they held a BOE hearing and it was decided that since he lived out of county, that he could not vote in Morgan County, but would need to vote in the county of his residence, Washington County. Mary Funk was the Deputy Director, with Robinson as the Director in 2004, and her role in this multi year case should also be investigated. The BOE blocking of a valid candidate to replace him with a non-valid candidate came at the suggestion of an Assistant Prosecutor, then working under Prosecutor Welch needs looked at. That Assistant Prosecutor, Mark J. Howdyshell is now a candidate for Prosecutor of Morgan County. Of particular interest to The Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) are violations of Ohio’s election laws as we follow this story closely. Not only in the case of Tigner and Welch, but with record retention also. Morgan County resident Marlys Barbee is one of eight pro se litigants seeking to intervene in one of the major pending election cases in Federal Court in this nation. This is the King Lincoln v Blackwell case. The group of pro se litigants have filed a motion to intervene and a motion for criminal contempt for against the counties that destroyed Ohio’s 2004 ballots, which were protected by a court order from Judge Algenon Marbley. They have asked for a special grand jury, and a report that will be made public on the needed investigation. Morgan County is one of the counties in violation of the federal courts order. This story was entered in our court filings of July and August 2008. We await the courts opinion on our motion to intervene. Morgan County is missing all of its 2004 unvoted punch card ballots, and did not follow the request of Ohio Secretary of State (SOS) Jennifer Brunner to submit those records to her custody and to write a letter with the reason why they defied the court order. All of the 2004 general election records that Morgan County turned over to the SOS fit in one box, which is in the midst of analysis and ongoing research by the OEJC. The law on protection of those records is: ORC 3599.34 – Prohibitions concerning destruction of election records. According to the court order, to not protect and provide these records, which are part of the above-mentioned legal case, is a fourth degree felony, and the election officials can be held in contempt of court. If Morgan County election officials did not retain the 2004 election records as required by the federal record retention schedule, and as required by a court order, how do we know they will retain the upcoming records for the November 2008 Presidential Election? How will the voters of Morgan County know that their candidates are qualified for office, and that they actually are getting to choose from all those who were qualified as candidates? Will some good candidates have been refused a spot on the ballot? Do the voters of Morgan County choose their leaders, or are they given only the choices that others have allowed them to have? The below listed allegations were all reported to the OEJC by Morgan County resident Mike Tigner to answer our questions about what else has been covered up by the Morgan County Prosecutor and Sheriff over the years. There appears to be a serious need for the offices of the Ohio Attorney General to do a thorough investigation into multiple decades of legal violations and cover-ups in Morgan County. Private property, usage of public buildings – even the county courthouse, the children, elections, the county cars and gasoline resources and more, are in danger from the very people paid to enforce the laws. • 1989 - Attorney David White Jr. was investigated, by Morgan Co. Deputies, for contributing alcohol to minors. The deputies were told by McConnelsville police chief David White Sr. and Sheriff Jack Nelson to drop this investigation. • 1992 - Investigation of Sheriff Jack Nelson turned over to State Auditors Office, led to a conviction of theft in office. Attn. White Jr. and Attn. Richard Welch spoke on behalf of the sheriff. • 1993 - Attn. David White Jr. Investigated for sexual misconduct with minor boys. Poorly investigated, and covered up. • 1993 -Capt. Tom Jenkins, McConnelsville police (now sheriff), investigated for stolen property. • 2003 - Attn. White Jr. investigated for drug charges, Welch agreed not to prosecute White, and sealed the indictment. • 2004 - Morgan County Board of Election was advised by prosecutors office, that Tom Jenkins Sr. could run for office again, after Jenkins received a letter from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy stating that Jenkins should "cease function as a peace officer, and lay aside his weapon, because Jenkins was 6 years behind in his training,” you have to have a valid training certificate good for 4 years prior to the qualification date, in order to run for sheriff. • 2004 - Morgan County Prosecutors office advised the Board of Election that Mike Tigner was not qualified to run for Morgan County sheriff, after Mike displayed all the qualifications to the board. • 2005 - Attn. White Jr. lost his law office, and was permitted to use the basement of the County Courthouse to continue his law practice. Attn. White Jr. later disbarred from his law practice, by complaint filed through Disciplinary Counsel, by a former client. • 2006 - Investigation for misuse of the County Sheriff's car used by Jenkins Sr. was brought before Grand Jury, and mislead by County Prosecutor. There was no indictment. Sheriff Jenkins Sr. lied under oath at Grand Jury; Prosecutor Welch knew this, and has not taken action. • 2006 –The Morgan County Board of Elections was advised that Kathy Smedly, President of Chesterhill Village Counsel, does not live in the village, which is a requirement to run for election for this position. The BOE did not investigate. • 2006 – 2007 - Jeff Gillespie, is former Morgan county juvenile probation officer. Allegations were made that Gillespie was having sexual relations, with a minor in his care, resulting in pregnancy. Sheriff's office did a brief investigation of this matter, with no action taken against Gillespie. He later moved him to a position of jail warden in Nelsonville. When said girl turned 18, Gillespie left his wife, and moved in with this girl. Gillespie, now a warden over Southeastern Regional Jail in Nelsonville, Ohio, is charged with unauthorized use of a computer, after a female co-worker alleged he had shown her a sexually explicit video he had received in an e-mail from the Morgan County sheriff's office. Sheriff Jenkins sits on the board, and excerpts Gillespie's resignation, if this is a felony in Athens County, it should also be in Morgan County. Especially for the person who sent the e-mail from the Morgan County Sheriff's office. The Morgan County Prosecutor’s office and the Morgan County Sheriff were both aware of this porno being sent from the Sheriff’s office on a county computer. It was sent by a Morgan County Deputy. Nothing was done.

International Observers Ohio SOS Records Request

Brian Green Elections Council, Ohio Secretary of State 180 East Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 August 27, 2008 Dear Brian Green, I understand that in 2004 international election observers wanted to come to Ohio for the General Election. It is also my understanding that former Ohio Secretary of State (SOS), J. Kenneth Blackwell and/or his staff denied them access. Do I understand this correctly? As per ORC 149.43 I request any and all paper and electronic records from 2004 in regards to international election observers wanting access to Ohio’s elections. I additionally request any and all paper and electronic records from 2004 in regards to the replies and communication from J. Kenneth Blackwell and any and all staff members replying to the requests to have international election observers. Also, if you are able to locate the interoffice communications of the former SOS and any and all staff as they discussed and made decisions about the issue of international observers wanting access to Ohio’s general election in 2004. To bring this matter to this current year of 2008 and our upcoming general election, I request any and all communication regarding having international election observers this year, for November 4, 2008. This is to include but not be limited to the international election observer’s requests and all correspondence in reply, including the interoffice communications discussing international election observers this year. I am assuming that a request has been made for such international election observers this year. If that has not taken place, or not taken place yet, please just tell me. Please send this in electronic format if possible, if not, paper will be fine. These requests are severable if need be to speed up the reply process. Thank you for your assistance, Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign [email protected] (614) 266-5283 CC: Victoria Parks, OEJC Bev Harris, Blackbox Voting Tim Kettler, OEJC, Candidate Ohio Senate Dan Stanton, OEJC Brian Green Elections Council, Ohio Secretary of State 180 East Broad Street Columbus, Ohio 43215 August 27, 2008 Dear Brian Green, I understand that in 2004 international election observers wanted to come to Ohio for the General Election. It is also my understanding that former Ohio Secretary of State (SOS), J. Kenneth Blackwell and/or his staff denied them access. Do I understand this correctly? As per ORC 149.43 I request any and all paper and electronic records from 2004 in regards to international election observers wanting access to Ohio’s elections. I additionally request any and all paper and electronic records from 2004 in regards to the replies and communication from J. Kenneth Blackwell and any and all staff members replying to the requests to have international election observers. Also, if you are able to locate the interoffice communications of the former SOS and any and all staff as they discussed and made decisions about the issue of international observers wanting access to Ohio’s general election in 2004. To bring this matter to this current year of 2008 and our upcoming general election, I request any and all communication regarding having international election observers this year, for November 4, 2008. This is to include but not be limited to the international election observer’s requests and all correspondence in reply, including the interoffice communications discussing international election observers this year. I am assuming that a request has been made for such international election observers this year. If that has not taken place, or not taken place yet, please just tell me. Please send this in electronic format if possible, if not, paper will be fine. These requests are severable if need be to speed up the reply process. Thank you for your assistance, Paddy Shaffer Director, The Ohio Election Justice Campaign [email protected] (614) 266-5283 CC: Victoria Parks, OEJC Bev Harris, Blackbox Voting Tim Kettler, OEJC, Candidate Ohio Senate Dan Stanton, OEJC

Vote Rescue Radio Interview with Paddy Shaffer, Aug. 1, 2008

Here is the link to the broadcast. You can right click and save or click and it should open your mp3 media player. http://mp3.wtprn.com/VoteRescue/0808/20080801_Fri_VoteRescue2.mp3 

 

Election Officials May Face Criminal Charges: OEJC Files in Federal Court

Columbus, Ohio, PRWEB, July 11 -- Eight members of the Ohio Election Justice Campaign filed papers on Thursday in United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, asking Hon. Judge Algenon Marbley to begin criminal contempt proceedings for the destruction of ballots from the November 2004 election.

The Ohio Election Justice Campaign (OEJC) submitted over 1000 pages of supporting documents.

In the case before Judge Marbley, King Lincoln, et al. v. Brunner, et al., Civ. No. C2 06 745 (S.D. Ohio), the judge had issued specific orders directing Ohio's 88 county boards of election to preserve all ballots from the election until a decision was rendered in the case.

At least 56 county boards assert they have destroyed some ballots from 2004; seven counties assert they have destroyed all ballots.

This citizen-initiated action is pro se litigation in which the plaintiffs act as their own attorneys.

The papers in front of Judge Marbley also ask him to impanel a Special Grand Jury to investigate the destruction of ballots.

A Special Grand Jury, as a collection of citizens authorized to hear the evidence, is uniquely suited to sorting out the degrees of culpability associated with the destruction of the ballots. It is also authorized by statute to issue a public report, which can then be circulated to the employer of appointed public officials.

Paddy Shaffer, director, OEJC, said, "The time for accountability is now, prior to the November election of our next president. Many counties allegedly destroyed ballots before the election was even certified. Why would we trust these people with the upcoming elections?”

Mark Brown, a plaintiff in the suit and a candidate for public office in 2004, said, "Justice delayed is justice denied is injustice repeated."

The Ohio Election Justice Campaign was formed by concerned citizens, many of whom participated in the 2004 election as observers, election protection workers, poll workers, and election investigators as well as organizers and witnesses in Ohio's 2004 Presidential Vote Recount.

Plaintiff Tim Kettler, currently a Green Party candidate for Ohio Senate District 20, ran for Ohio Secretary of State in 2006. Kettler believes the only way to stop this type of criminal behavior and incompetence is through citizen action: "Whether we challenge these offenses in court or run for public office, we must replace those who would show such contempt for the law."
 
For this article on PRWEB, see http://news.yahoo.com/s/prhttp://bs_prweb/prweb1092204;_ylt=AljYOBmObuR_og9MIv_gojs51sIF
Contacts:

Paddy Shaffer
[email protected]
(614) 761-0621

Tim Kettler
[email protected]
(740) 502-6453
 
For more information visit http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/OEJC
 
Attachments for above article see links below: http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/files/Contempt%20Charges.pdf http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/files/Motion%20To%20Intervene.pdf http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/files/Delaware%20County-Genoa%20Precinct%20Ballots%20Appendix%20A.pdf
 "Vote and Rigg Skit - Faith Based Voting at it's BEST!" 

 

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