Replies to post #19832 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[easymoney101]

was on my list to do thanks...

[F6]

(COMTEX) B: Edwards speaks out in Ohio as debate rages ( The Lantern, U-WIRE )

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct 01, 2004 (The Lantern, U-WIRE via COMTEX) -- Democratic vice-presidential candidate John Edwards was in Columbus, Ohio, last night speaking to an enthusiastic group of supporters following a live broadcast of the first presidential debate.

"John Kerry made it clear that he is ready for this job and has a clear vision for what needs to happen in this world," Edwards said against a backdrop of local lawmakers, union members, business owners and Kerry-Edwards campaign volunteers on risers.

The rally, which was held outside the COSI Science Center in Genoa Park, drew thousands of impassioned Kerry-Edwards supporters. Edwards approached the stage to the song "R.O.C.K in the U.S.A." after the 90-minute debate.

"Let me ask you, Columbus, are the Buckeyes playing great football or what?" said Edwards upon taking the stage. "I don't know about you but I saw exactly the kind of commander-in-chief this country needs and it was John Kerry."

Edwards' speech, which lasted about 30 minutes and drew laughter and enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, cited the Democratic plan to create energy independence, allow prescription drugs into the country from Canada and help college students pay for the rising cost of tuition.

"The cost of tuition in America is going through the roof," the North Carolina senator said. "We want to give direct help to families to help pay for tuition. Give us two years of public service and we'll give you four years of college in return."

He also addressed the issue of Iraq and accused President Bush of not having a plan for the war.

"Respected Republican leaders have spoken out and said that Iraq is a mess, and it's a mess because of the incompetence of this administration," Edwards said, citing Republican Arizona senator John McCain. "George Bush and Dick Cheney are the last two people left in America that think nothing has gone wrong (in Iraq). It's time for Bush to come back from fantasy land (to) where all of us are living."

Prior to Edwards' speech, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman took the stage with his wife Frankie to address the crowd.

"George Bush has a record of failure and he failed to defend that record tonight," Mayor Coleman said.

Columbus hip-hop trio Ordinary Peoples was also featured before the speech singing, "I rocked the party like John Kerry." Two of the band members are Ohio State University alumni.

Introducing Edwards was 9-year-old Essence Cheetham from Columbus, who started a pro-Kerry group at her school.

"He has a plan to bring our troops home safely," the fourth-grader said. "John Kerry helped to get health insurance for low-income children, and he plans to bring back jobs and keep them in America."

In his speech, Edwards accused President Bush of "going it alone" in the war in Iraq, and asserted that John Kerry would be "a strong, decisive leader who will find terrorists where they are and restore the image of America that everyone loves."

He also cited the loss of 237,000 jobs lost in Ohio and the 1.5 million jobs lost in the private sector under the Bush administration.

"John Kerry actually has a plan (for Iraq)," Edwards said. "He plans to speed up the training of Iraqis, help get relief to troops and taxpayers, and he wants to do something that Bush hasn't been able to do: He wants to reach out and bring other countries in."

Krista Stastyshyn, president of the board of education for southwest city schools, was impressed with Edwards' speech.

"He voiced very heartfelt ideas that all of us are concerned about: Jobs, education and the right to know what is happening in Iraq," she said. "I think that Kerry and Edwards have an intelligent way of tackling the issues in Iraq."

"This is the most important election of our lifetime and we're at ground zero," Edwards said. "This state is so important and plays such a role in choosing the president."

Edwards closed his speech with a message he sent out to the American people.

"Our America will never control your destiny," he said. "Help is on the way."

By Lindsay Holmwood
http://www.thelantern.com

(c) 2004 The Lantern, Ohio State U. and U-WIRE

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[easymoney101]

September 30, 2004
MAKING VOTES COUNT
Playing With the Election Rules

One of the lessons of the election mess in Florida in 2000 was that a secretary of state can deprive a large number of people of the right to vote by small manipulations of the rules. This year in Ohio and Colorado, two key battlegrounds, the secretaries of state have been interpreting the rules in ways that could prevent thousands of eligible Americans from voting. In both states, the courts should step in.

Just weeks before the deadline to register, Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's secretary of state, instructed the state's county boards of election to reject registrations on paper of less than 80-pound stock - the sort used for paperback-book covers and postcards, compared with the 20-to-24-pound stock in everyday use. He said he was concerned about forms' being mailed without envelopes and mangled by postal equipment. But the directive applied to all registration forms, even those sent in an envelope or delivered by hand. Mr. Blackwell, a Republican, acted in the midst of an unprecedented state voter registration drive, which is signing up far more Democrats than Republicans.

Under intense criticism, Mr. Blackwell has backed off. Earlier this week, his office said it would not be the "paper police," but said it was not withdrawing the directive. Yesterday, it said he had advised county boards to accept registrations on any paper. But the advisory is worded so inartfully that it could create confusion. And it is unclear how many registrations may have already been rejected. The burden is now on Mr. Blackwell to ensure that counties have not rejected valid registrations.

Mr. Blackwell's second directive tells local elections officials to follow a bad policy Ohio adopted on provisional ballots. This is the first presidential election in which every voter whose eligibility is in doubt has the right to cast a ballot and to have the vote's validity verified later. But Ohio and some other states have tried to gut this guarantee by not counting provisional ballots cast in the wrong polling places. There is no reason to do that.

This rule could void many votes. There will be a flood of first-time voters this year, who may not know where to vote. And some polling places have been changed by redistricting. Mr. Blackwell says poll workers should help voters call an elections hot line to find out where to go. But these hot lines are often busy on Election Day. Poor people and members of minorities, who move more often than most voters, are likely to be most affected. Ohio Democrats, who expect to do well among these groups, are fighting the rule in court.

In Colorado, Secretary of State Donetta Davidson, also a Republican, has issued a bizarre ruling of her own on this issue. She will allow provisional ballots cast at the wrong polling places to count for only the presidential race. The Senate race in Colorado, among the closest in the nation, could determine control of the Senate, and there is no reason all valid provisional ballots should not count in this race or for statewide ballot propositions. Colorado Common Cause is challenging Ms. Davidson's rule, but she should not need a court to tell her to count the votes.

Democrats say these rulings are all attempts to disqualify thousands of Democratic votes. Whatever the motivation, they threaten to disenfranchise voters. They have no place in our democracy.


Making Votes Count: Editorials in this series remain online at nytimes.com/makingvotescount.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/30/opinion/30thu1.html?ei=1&en=6a8b9e309d813186&ex=1097575119...

[easymoney101]

Officials warned not to defy ballot order
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Mark Niquette
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The battle over who gets to vote in Ohio escalated yesterday, even as Democrats and Republicans said they’re recruiting thousands of lawyers here and in other key states to monitor voting Nov. 2 for potential problems.

Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell yesterday warned county boards of elections’ officials to obey his directive regarding provisional voting or face removal from office, after some said they would disregard it.

Blackwell sent a warning letter to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections — with copies to all other county elections boards — reminding them they may only issue provisional ballots to voters in the precinct where the voters live, unless a court rules otherwise.

Such ballots are expected to be cast by thousands of voters who have moved or believe they are eligible to vote but do not appear on registration rolls. More than 98,000 provisional ballots were issued in Ohio in the 2000 general election.

Blackwell sent the letter after The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported the Cuyahoga board had decided to defy Blackwell and issue provisional ballots to all voters who requested one, even if they are in the wrong precinct.

Blackwell’s letter was addressed to Robert T. Bennett, who is chairman of the Cuyahoga board and the Ohio Republican Party.

"Be advised that your actions are not in compliance with Ohio law and further failure to comply with my lawful directives will result in official action, which may include removal of the board and its director," Blackwell wrote.

Bennett said Blackwell misinterpreted the board’s position. Poll workers won’t give a provisional ballot to someone they know to be in the wrong precinct, he said.

But if voters demand a provisional ballot and poll workers aren’t certain, a ballot will be issued. If the board later finds the voter was in the wrong location, it won’t be counted, he said.

Still, Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo said the warning applies to all boards — some of which have said they were following a policy different from Blackwell’s directive.

In Delaware County, for example, the practice has been to count provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct because it only occurs when a poll worker makes a mistake, said Janet L. Brenneman, director of the county’s board of elections.

Poll workers are instructed to find the correct polling location for voters if they try to vote in the wrong precinct.

The issue has become controversial because Democrats and others say thousands will lose the right to vote provisionally if they aren’t told they are in the wrong precinct or if they don’t have time to go to the correct one.

The Ohio Democratic Party has filed a federal lawsuit arguing Blackwell’s directive violates the federal Help America Vote Act — passed after the controversial 2000 presidential election. The League of Women Voters and other civic groups filed their own lawsuit yesterday on that and other issues.

Judge James G. Carr of U.S. District Court in Toledo has asked the parties in the Democrats’ case to file written arguments by Monday instead of holding a hearing, and he will rule shortly thereafter, his office has said.

Three Toledo-area Republican voters also have asked the court to intervene in that case on grounds that changing how Ohio handles provisional ballots could lead to fraud and dilute the value of their votes.

But while Blackwell says he is merely following state law, critics say the directive is part of a systematic effort by Republicans to suppress votes — especially among minorities and the poor, who tend to vote more Democratic than affluent voters.

In response to the controversy and other concerns about whether every vote will be counted, the John Kerry campaign and Democratic National Committee announced a "voter protection" project yesterday in Ohio and 22 other battleground states.

The project includes educating voters before the election about their rights, stationing lawyers at key precincts on Election Day to ensure eligible voters can cast ballots, and creating "swat teams" of lawyers to help file lawsuits after the election if needed.

Not to be outdone, Republicans also are recruiting lawyers and other volunteers to monitor voting and counter Democratic efforts — all designed to prevent problems that plagued the presidential vote in Florida in 2000.

The goal in Franklin County, for example, is to have lawyers at 200 county precincts, said attorney Thomas Rosenberg, voter protection coordinator for Franklin and 16 other central Ohio counties.

Ohio coordinator David Sullivan said, "We’re going to protect everyone’s right to vote and to have votes counted accurately."

Republicans declined to say how many lawyers they will have but said they will match Democrats’ actions.

"The Democrats are making an attempt to lawyer up the voting booths on Election Day," said Jason Mauk, spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party.

"It’s clear the Democrats are willing to engage in any legal maneuver necessary to win this election, and we will not stand by and allow them to throw Ohio’s electoral process into legal chaos," he said
http://www.dispatch.com/election/election-local.php?story=dispatch/2004/10/06/20041006-A1-02.html&am...