HarmonyGuy did a
fantastic job saving html files from the Ohio Secretary of State's website on election night (and on a bunch of successive days). The files are in the column on the right at this site: <
http://www.bpac.info>. HarmonyGuy and I have both noted weird changes in county vote totals in the Ohio race in other threads posted here at DU: <
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x200989#> and <
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x200989#201257> I won't be on DU at all tomorrow (1/3).
If someone (you?) take a look at the files HarmonyGuy saved and are interested in trying to account for the magically appearing/disappearing votes, here are my thoughts:
The data will be most useful if entered into a big Excel spreadsheet. Here is why: HarmonyGuy's files bring new questions to my mind that cannot be answered just by looking at one county at different times on election night. I think that the odd vote totals (and odd changes in vote totals for Cobb) indicate that vote theives might have been moving votes from Kerry to Cobb to make it look like Kerry was not doing as well as he was doing relative to Bush. The vote thieves might have eventually added the votes that they had temporarily assigned to Cobb into Bush's total for a particular county or they might have added those votes into Bush's totals for another county (or counties) across the state. The only way to tell is to analyze how the Bush/Kerry votes change over time in other counties as, for example, Cobb's 39,541 votes appear and disappear in Hamilton.
On 11/2 at 2055 pm (with 1.78% of precincts reporting) Cobb = 0; Kerry = 20,535; Bush = 25,404; Badnarik = 117; Peroutka = 77. Total votes = 46,134.
On 11/2 at 2130 pm (with 11.25% of precincts reporting) Cobb = 39,541; Kerry = 39,541; Bush = 34,804; Badnarik = 186; Peroutka = 138. Total votes = 114,210.
On 11/2 at 2200 pm (with 11.25%
of precincts reporting) Cobb = 0; Kerry =39,541; Bush 34,804; Badnarik = 186; Peroutka = 138. Total Votes = 74,669.
Yes, both files (at 2130 and at 2200) show that 11.25% of Hamilton precincts have reported (even though the total votes changes from 114,210 to 74,669).
Note also that Kerry's and Bush's vote totals stayed the same from 2130 to 2200 -- so Cobb's 39,541 votes were obviously not immediately added into Bush's totals for Hamilton County.
If they moved the 39,541 into Cobb's total in Hamilton at 2055, where did the votes come from? Hamilton? Another county/counties? When they moved the 39,541 out of Cobb's total at 2200, where did the votes go? What happens to the state totals as the county totals fluctuate wildly?
Note that there were similar large weird changes in vote totals in Lucas and Lake counties. Other, smaller changes are detailed by HarmonyGuy here: <http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x200989#201257>.
:wtf: