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The Dispatch wrote
Ohio adds 665,949, to nearly 8.2 million
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
By Mark Niquette
A record number of Ohioans are registered to vote in the Nov. 4 election, for which officials expect record voter turnout because of the hard-fought presidential race. Nearly 8.2 million people are on the voter rolls in Ohio, including 665,949 added this year.
That means 94 percent of eligible voters in Ohio are registered, based on U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Brunner predicts turnout of 80 percent, which would mean 6.5 million Ohioans casting ballots. By comparison, 5.7 million voted in the 2004 presidential election.
Of the 9,280 people who had cast absentee ballots in person as of Monday, 3 percent were registered Republicans and 39 percent were Democrats, records show. The rest were unaffiliated. Of the 2,097 people who also registered to vote before casting an absentee ballot in Franklin County, two-thirds were younger than 34 and nearly 80 percent were from Columbus.
Related Stories:
- 4,134 cast ballots for president as of Friday
- Columbus will once again be a political hotspot
- Central Ohio awash in younger voters
I’ll still bet that more Ohioans vote for the next American Idol.
Maybe not quite that many new voters…
‘ACORN PAID ME IN CASH & CIGS’
CLEVELAND – A man at the center of a voter-registration scandal told The Post yesterday he was given cash and cigarettes by aggressive ACORN activists in exchange for registering an astonishing 72 times, in apparent violation of Ohio laws.
“Sometimes, they come up and bribe me with a cigarette, or they’ll give me a dollar to sign up,” said Freddie Johnson, 19, who filled out 72 separate voter-registration cards over an 18-month period at the behest of the left-leaning Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
“The ACORN people are everywhere, looking to sign people up. I tell them I am already registered. The girl said, ‘You are?’ I say, ‘Yup,’ and then they say, ‘Can you just sign up again?’ ” he said.
Johnson used the same information on all of his registration cards, and officials say they usually catch and toss out duplicate registrations. But the practice sparks fear that some multiple registrants could provide different information and vote more than once by absentee ballot.
ACORN is under investigation in Ohio and at least eight other states – including Missouri, where the FBI said it’s planning to look into potential voter fraud – for over-the-top efforts to get as many names as possible on the voter rolls regardless of whether a person is registered or eligible.
MORE
Why do you have to be like that?
/\ – just playing and stating a truth. Only about 50% of those eligible actually turn out to vote.
Well, in all fairness, everyone alive is eligible to vote in American Idol, multiple times.
So even if 20% of the eligible voters in the state voted, the chances are that a lot of them will vote 10 times…
Voted early today! Was pretty busy!
‘ACORN PAID ME IN CASH & CIGS’
CLEVELAND – A man at the center of a voter-registration scandal told The Post yesterday he was given cash and cigarettes by aggressive ACORN activists in exchange for registering an astonishing 72 times, in apparent violation of Ohio laws.
“Sometimes, they come up and bribe me with a cigarette, or they’ll give me a dollar to sign up,” said Freddie Johnson, 19, who filled out 72 separate voter-registration cards over an 18-month period at the behest of the left-leaning Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.
“The ACORN people are everywhere, looking to sign people up. I tell them I am already registered. The girl said, ‘You are?’ I say, ‘Yup,’ and then they say, ‘Can you just sign up again?’ ” he said.
Johnson used the same information on all of his registration cards, and officials say they usually catch and toss out duplicate registrations. But the practice sparks fear that some multiple registrants could provide different information and vote more than once by absentee ballot.
ACORN is under investigation in Ohio and at least eight other states – including Missouri, where the FBI said it’s planning to look into potential voter fraud – for over-the-top efforts to get as many names as possible on the voter rolls regardless of whether a person is registered or eligible.
MORE
I am getting a head ache just thinking about a close election being contested for weeks after election day /shudder
I am getting a head ache just thinking about a close election being contested for weeks after election day /shudder
I don’t think Ohio will be close enough to worry about recounts or lawsuits. Obama will win by at least three points. Looks like the real squeakers might be Indiana and North Carolina.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
BY CATHERINE CANDISKY
Amid new allegations of voter fraud, the Ohio Secretary of State conceded today that the eligibility of nearly one third of newly registered voters is in question.
The latest developments raising questions about the integrity of this battleground state’s voting system came 18 days before the Nov. 4 presidential election:
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said a preliminary review showed that 200,000 of the 666,000 voters who registered since Jan. 1 must have their eligibility verified to comply with a federal court order.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien confirmed that he is investigating alleged voter and registration fraud involving 13 newly registered voters who came to Columbus for a get-out-the-vote campaign and used the same address, a small East Side home.
READ MORE
I am all for removing the election process from the Secretary of State’s purview. Blackwell was a nightmare and Brunner has proven just as bad in the opposite direction (with help from Republican lawsuits). Elections should be run by a bipartisan panel approved by a supermajority of the Legislature. Something of this nature was proposed in the Dispatch recently.
These reports of voter fraud are going overboard as well. There is a difference between registration fraud and voter fraud, and the media should figure out the difference, rather than parroting the GOP line. If I am not mistaken, groups like ACORN aren’t allowed to selectively submit registrations. Rather, they must submit them all, obvious frauds or not. They can point them out to election officials, but it is the job of the officials to determine eligibility.
Repubs are desperate and the allegations made by McCain last night that ACORN is “perpetrating the greatest voter fraud in history” and “destroying the fabric of democracy” are ill-founded and reckless.
Repubs are desperate and the allegations made by McCain last night that ACORN is “perpetrating the greatest voter fraud in history” and “destroying the fabric of democracy” are ill-founded and reckless.
According to what I read, the ACORN problems stem from low level greed more than intent to commit vote fraud. The street-level people are paid to get registrations (hourly, but there might be bonuses for # and certainly a successful name-getter will be more likely to get more hours) and were gaming the system to get paid more.
We need the legal authorities to be vigilant at the polls and for the count, but I think all these hullabaloos from all sides are the low price we pay for having more citizen involvement in the process.
A.
I had to reverify my stuff. I’m just hoping that everything goes through in time. Weirdly enough, Jo didn’t have to reverify, and I’ve actually voted in Ohio (as a registered D for the primaries).
I seem to remember another issue of voter fraud that is “the greatest voter fraud in history” and it didn’t involve ACORN.
100% without a doubt they will challenge Obama’s victory regardless of the margin of win. This posturing is laying the framework for a challenge as we speak.
I seem to remember another issue of voter fraud that is “the greatest voter fraud in history” and it didn’t involve ACORN.
100% without a doubt they will challenge Obama’s victory regardless of the margin of win. This posturing is laying the framework for a challenge as we speak.
I tend to think that if McCain lost by more than 1%, he would stop any challenge. He’s a decent guy and doesn’t seem to be the sore loser type – I hope I’m not proven wrong.
I seem to remember another issue of voter fraud that is “the greatest voter fraud in history” and it didn’t involve ACORN.
100% without a doubt they will challenge Obama’s victory regardless of the margin of win. This posturing is laying the framework for a challenge as we speak.
I tend to think that if McCain lost by more than 1%, he would stop any challenge. He’s a decent guy and doesn’t seem to be the sore loser type – I hope I’m not proven wrong.
LOL – you willing to bet? I’ll put my money on the challenge.
I seem to remember another issue of voter fraud that is “the greatest voter fraud in history” and it didn’t involve ACORN.
100% without a doubt they will challenge Obama’s victory regardless of the margin of win. This posturing is laying the framework for a challenge as we speak.
I tend to think that if McCain lost by more than 1%, he would stop any challenge. He’s a decent guy and doesn’t seem to be the sore loser type – I hope I’m not proven wrong.
LOL – you willing to bet? I’ll put my money on the challenge.
No, I’m not going to bet. I’m just going to HOPE.
That is not his reputation. Did you see how pissed off he looked in the debate last night? He knows he’s losing and looked like he was very close to losing it as well.
Oh, gosh, I literally had not once thought about McCain challenging the numbers until reading these comments…now you guys have me all worried! I thought after November 4th I’d never have to hear from the guy again…looks like it might not be true!
grrr……
I just hope you’re all wrong :-P
HERE is an interesting piece from Talking Points Memo (quoting an AP story) about The Supreme Court overturning the appeals court decision forcing Brunner to share data on registration discrepancies with County boards.
Elections by lawsuit seem to be the norm in Ohio these days. Both sides should have had all these problems ironed out months ago. Pick a set of rules and play by them.