AP - Green , Libertarian Parties seek recount in Ohio

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041113/NEWS01/411130394/1056


3rd-party leaders: Recount Ohio
Green, Libertarian parties want it

By Connie Mabin
The Associated Press

CLEVELAND - Two third-party candidates for president say they plan to seek a recount of Ohio votes.

Libertarian Michael Badnarik and Green Party candidate David Cobb said they want to ensure that all legitimate votes are counted properly.

Meanwhile, counties that were confused about whether to validate provisional ballots that don't have voters' dates of birth were told Friday by the Secretary of State's Office in a conference call to allow them.

Cuyahoga County elections board Director Michael Vu said there had been confusion over whether missing birth dates made the ballots invalid. "We're counting those now," he said.

Provisionals were cast by people who say they are registered but whose names did not appear on rolls on Election Day. Ohio election officials are now processing the state's 155,337 provisional ballots. If the registration information is verified, the ballots will be counted by board members by the Dec. 1 deadline.

The count is not expected to change the outcome of the election, which gave President Bush the election with an unofficial lead of 136,000 votes over Sen. John Kerry.

Regarding the recount, the Badnarik and Cobb camps would have to ask each of Ohio's 88 county election boards for a recount and pay $10 for each precinct, said James Lee, a spokesman for Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell.

Stephen Gordon, Badnarik campaign spokesman, said Friday that the campaigns understood the policy and were planning to raise the $110,000 needed.

In a joint statement, the candidates said they were concerned about reports of problems with Ohio's voting process.

"Voting is the heart of the democratic process in which we as a nation put our faith. When people stand in line for hours to exercise their right to vote, they need to know that all votes will be counted fairly and accurately," the statement said.

The campaigns, voting rights groups and other organizations were planning a meeting in Columbus today to discuss election concerns.

An automatic recount would be required in Ohio if the difference between two candidates in less than one quarter of 1 percentage point, Lee said. Bush led Kerry by about 3 percentage points in Ohio, winning 51 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial results.

Some Spanish-speaking residents in Cuyahoga County said they encountered a number of problems on Election Day, including some that prevented votes from being cast.

A lack of Spanish-speaking poll workers, no Spanish ballots and names missing from voter lists were among the complaints.

Vu said he wants to make voting accessible to as many people as possible and hiring poll workers who speak other languages is a priority.

Also this week, a Cincinnati activist who's sued the NFL and her county prosecutor asked a state appeals court to order Blackwell to allow the public and reporters to watch the official vote counting at county elections boards.

There were 92,672 fewer votes for president than ballots cast statewide, and it is unlikely that so many people deliberately skipped that question, said Carrie Davis in a complaint filed with the state appeals court in Hamilton County.

State attorneys have not yet received the complaint, Lee said

 

http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/1115-06.htm


Recount in Ohio A Sure Thing
Green Party Campaign Raises $150,000 in 4 Days, Shifts Gears to Phase II

WASHINGTON - November 15 - There will be a recount of the presidential vote in Ohio.

On Thursday, David Cobb, the Green Party’s 2004 presidential candidate, announced his intention to seek a recount of the vote in Ohio. Since the required fee for a statewide recount is $113,600, the only question was whether that money could be raised in time to meet the filing deadline. That question has been answered.

“Thanks to the thousands of people who have contributed to this effort, we can say with certainty that there will be a recount in Ohio,” said Blair Bobier, Media Director for the Cobb-LaMarche campaign.

“The grassroots support for the recount has been astounding. The donations have come in fast and furiously, with the vast majority in the $10-$50 range, allowing us to meet our goal for the first phase of the recount effort in only four days,” said Bobier.

Bobier said the campaign is still raising money for the next phase of the recount effort which will be recruiting, training and mobilizing volunteers to monitor the actual recount.

The Ohio presidential election was marred by numerous press and independent reports of mis-marked and discarded ballots, problems with electronic voting machines and the targeted disenfranchisement of African American voters. A number of citizens’ groups and voting rights organizations are holding the second of two hearings today in Columbus, Ohio, to take testimony from voters, poll watchers and election experts about problems with the Ohio vote. The hearing, from 6-9 p.m., will be held at the Courthouse, meeting room A, 373 S. High St., in Columbus. The Cobb-LaMarche campaign will be represented at the hearing by campaign manager Lynne Serpe.

A demand for a recount in Ohio can only be filed by a presidential candidate who was either a certified write-in candidate or on the ballot in that state. Both Green Party candidate David Cobb and Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik will be demanding a recount. No other candidate has stated an intention to seek a recount and no other citizen or organization would have legal standing to do so in Ohio. The Cobb-LaMarche campaign is still exploring the possibility of seeking recounts in other states but no decision has been made yet.

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