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Useful links this week: December 18, 2004 OHIO: A Congressional hearing held by Rep. John Conyers in Columbus on Monday revealed accusations that Triad, one of the two electronic voting companies active in the Ohio vote, tampered with at least one machine before the official recount. “HOCKING INCIDENT” MAY OFFER THREAD TO UNRAVEL MASSIVE FRAUD December 15, 2004 Mr. Kevin R. Brock,
Special Agent in Charge Dear Mr. Brock and Mr. Beal: As part of the Democratic staff's investigation into irregularities in the 2004 election and following up on a lead provided to me by Green Party Presidential Candidate, David Cobb, I have learned that Sherole Eaton, a Deputy Director of Board of Elections in Hocking County, Ohio, has first hand knowledge of inappropriate and likely illegal election tampering in the Ohio presidential election in violation of federal and state law. I have information that similar actions of this nature may be occurring in other counties in Ohio. I am therefore asking that you immediately investigate this alleged misconduct and that, among other things, you consider the immediate impoundment of election machinery to prevent any further tampering. On December 13, my staff met with Ms. Eaton who explained to them that last Friday, December 10, Michael Barbian, Jr., a representative of Triad GSI unilaterally sought and obtained access to the voting machinery and records in Hocking County, Ohio, modified the computer tabulator, learned which precinct was planned to be the subject of the initial test recount and made further alterations based on that information, and advised the election officials how to manipulate the machinery so that the preliminary hand recount matched the machine count. Ms. Eaton first relayed this information to Green Party representatives, and then completed, signed and notarized an affidavit describing this course of events, a copy of which is attached. The Triad official sought access to the voting machinery based on the apparent pretext that he wanted to review some "legal questions" the officials might receive as part of the recount process. At several times during this visit, Mr. Barbian telephoned into Triad's offices to obtain programming information relating to the machinery and the precinct in question. I have subsequently learned that Triad officials have been, or are in the process of intervening in several other counties in Ohio - Greene and Monroe, and perhaps others (see attached). There are several important considerations you should be aware of with respect to this matter. First, this course of conduct would appear to violate several provisions of federal law, in addition to the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. 42 U.S.C. §1973 provides for criminal penalties against any person who, in any election for federal office, "knowingly and willfully deprives, defrauds, or attempts to defraud the residents of a State of a fair and impartially conducted election process, by . . . the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under the laws of the State in which the election is held." 42 U.S.C. § 1974 also requires the retention and preservation, for a period of twenty-two months from the date of a federal election, of all voting records and papers and makes it a felony for any person to "willfully steal, destroy, conceal, mutilate, or alter" any such record. Further, any tampering with ballots and/or election machinery would violate the constitutional rights of all citizens to vote and have their votes properly counted, as guaranteed by the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Second, the course of conduct would also appear to violate several provisions of Ohio law. No less than 4 provisions of the Ohio Revised Code make it a felony to tamper with or destroy election records or machines. Clearly, modifying election equipment in order to make sure that the hand count matches the machine count would appear to fall within these proscriptions. Moreover, bringing in Triad officials into other Ohio Counties would also appear to violate Ohio Revised Code § 3505.32 which provides that during a period of official canvassing, all interaction with ballots must be "in the presence of all of the members of the board and any other persons who are entitled to witness the official canvass," given that last Friday, the Ohio Secretary of State has issued orders to the effect that election officials are to treat all election materials as if they were in a period of canvassing, and that "Teams of one Democrat and one Republican must be present with ballots at all times of processing." Third, it is important to recognize that the companies implicated in the wrongdoing, Triad and its affiliates, are the leading suppliers of voting machines involving the counting of paper ballots and punch cards in the critical states of Ohio and Florida. Triad is controlled by the Rapp family, and its founder Tod A. Rapp has been a consistent contributor to Republican causes.4 A Triad affiliate, Psephos Corporation, supplied the notorious butterfly ballot used in Palm Beach County, Florida, in the 2000 presidential election. Please respond to me at your earliest convenience through Perry Apelbaum or Ted Kalo of my Judiciary Committee staff, 2142 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 (tel 202-225-6504, fax 202-225-4423). Sincerely, John Conyers, Jr. Enclosures The accusation has since been backed up by an affidavit from an election official who witnessed the incident. It could be particularly important if it is indicative of wider activity by the company, whose owners are declared Bush supporters. Conyers, Waters and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus will push for hearings by the House Judiciary Committee. An effort is also underway to persuade California Senator Barbara Boxer to do the one thing that no Senator, red or blue, was willing to do in January of 2001: cast an objection to the legitimacy of the electoral votes when they arrive at Congress, thereby forcing an investigation or at least additional public attention to gross irregularities. In Monday’s hearing, facts and witnesses established that voting machines (a truckload, in fact) were withheld from minority precincts, even though lines were forcing voters in such areas to wait through the entire day and evening to vote. Voting machines in known Bush strongholds were plentiful, with wait times on the order of fifteen minutes. The most thorough reporting of the scores of election irregularities and dirty tricks used in Ohio—all to the benefit of Mr. Bush—is found at the Columbus Free Press. Elsewhere in the swarm of pre-inaugural activity, statistical reviews of voting data in Florida, Ohio and elsewhere continue to be defended as proof of fraud. Richard Hayes Phillips, whose formal education is in geology and history, has put forward much of the Ohio data on his website normally devoted to poetry. In Florida, Bernie Windham of the Florida League of Conservation Voters has analyzed Florida numbers. http://www.flcv.com/fla04EAS.html Efforts by lawyers for Common Cause and the Green Party to compel Mr. J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Secretary of State (and state chair of Ohio’s Bush/Cheney reelection committee), to enforce uniform rules in the counting of provisional ballots, undercounts and overcounts were rebuffed. Different counties therefore used widely different procedures. Evidence was presented to the state showing that a long list of voters forced to use provisional ballots were in fact properly registered weeks before the election, then removed from lists improperly just prior to the election. Those ballots were not counted however, and on Monday the state’s electoral college electors met and voted for Mr. Bush, even as the Conyers hearing was underway in a nearby room and a statewide recount was just beginning. If the twenty votes stand, Mr. Bush retains the White House. If they are reversed, he does not. Progressive activists are now in the uncomfortable position of hoping for an Electoral College victory, despite Mr. Bush’s three and a half million popular vote advantage—unless the Ohio challenge can force an investigation nationwide. Stopping the inauguration train at this point would be difficult, however. A GLITCH IN THE SYSTEM A slightly more possible scenario, say some observers, would be a post-inaugural effort to find one or more state attorneys general willing to entertain an investigation into conspiracy by the Republican Party operatives in their own states,; investigations that could spread sideways and upwards, leading even to impeachment hearings,if Mr. Bush’s participation is established. If massive fraud was conducted, there are too many people involved to keep silent, once dominoes begin to fall. Scores of recount volunteers spread out through Ohio this week to witness the recount forced by the Green and Libertarian parties. Some volunteers were not allowed to watch the operation of the electronic voting machines and were kept at useless distances from the manual recounts. The “random” selection of precincts to be counted in the 3% test sample were, in some counties, hand picked by partisan officials. A match on the 3% review allowed some counties to avoid a full review of all votes. The Green Party's Cobb-LaMarche campaign, which initiated the recount, released a statement http://www.votecobb.org/press/ late Friday which minced no words: "Reports from throughout Ohio present a clear and disturbing pattern of state and local election officials obstructing the recount of Ohio’s 2004 presidential vote. [...] In the vast majority of counties, election officials have pre-selected precincts to be sampled, rather than chosen them randomly, as required by law. In Cuyahoga County, the pre-selection of precincts eliminated those which reported the most problems on Election Day, thwarting the intent of the recount and raising serious concerns about the integrity of the process." As described in the Conyers letter, the “Hocking Incident,” which would not have happened without the recount, may be a key moment in what could be the beginning of years of conspiracy investigations and trials. The Ohio volunteers braved snow and ice to stare down unwelcoming election officials throughout Ohio. Read a sample of their email communications. JANUARY 2, 3, & 4: “Public” space along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. will, for the occasion of the Bush-Cheney inaugural parade on January 20, become tightly-controlled private space, with police turning away protesters in favor of corporate sponsors. Protesters are nevertheless planning to attend, officialdom’s lapse of etiquette and constitutionality notwithstanding. The D.C. Antiwar Network (DAWN) is planning a 9am counter-inauguration rally in D.C. at Malcolm X Park, 16 th St. NW & Euclid. Details http://www.dawndc.net/ For rides to Washington, housing, and information about other counter-inaugural events in D.C. and around the nation, click HERE. http://www.counter-inaugural.org/ The ANSWER Coalition, an antiwar, pro-justice group that was heavily involved in organizing protests against the US attack on Iraq, is hoping to occupy space along the parade route. They are encouraging protesters to arrive before 9am at a location yet unannounced. The group’s lawyers are working to secure permits but have been unsuccessful for nearly a year. Details http://www.ANSWERcoalition.org Other groups are planning to seed the crowd with people who will not carry signs, but who will turn their backs on Mr. Bush when his motorcade approaches. Some will likely reveal banners or shirts as they do so. Details http://www.turnyourbackonbush.org Every week Democracy Week will report on events for the coming week. If you know of an event we should mention, please let us know at events@democracyweek.org. NEXT WEEK'S FEATURES: Democracy Week is a common calendar and toolbox for the progressive community, launched by Doris "Granny D" Haddock and volunteers associated with her efforts. Watch it grow each week into a resource to make the next four years imaginable and even a bit joyful. You can be a part of our team! We need experienced activists in every part of the US to serve as volunteer calendar coordinators. Please send us a note if you are willing to participate: Yes@DemocracyWeek.org Subscriptions to Democracy Week are free, but we welcome financial contributions to help us with the costs of publishing Democracy Week. Click here to donate. Home - Last Week's Issue - Classifieds - Blog Spot - Free Subscription - About Us |
While the word “statistician” is being perhaps too freely applied to some of the people looking at the numbers, the numbers themselves are worth a Congressional investigation, if only to teach us all more about statistics. 
The energetic coalition of groups, activists and journalists who pushed for preventative reforms before the election, and a recount after the suspicious outcome, now seem unanimous in the view that what happened in the Ohio election can no longer be characterized as bumbling or partisan nudging, but outright and massive voter fraud orchestrated by at least the Secretary of State and the voting machine companies, and perhaps by Mr. Bush personally. He was was in Columbus on election morning and, according to a report in Columbus Free Press denied by Mr. Blackwell, met with Mr. Blackwell and Franklin County Board of Elections Director Matt Damschroder, the man responsible later in the day for withholding machines from minority districts. 
