" 30 years of dysfunctional election administration."

[merh]

" 30 years of dysfunctional election administration."
http://www.lwvohio.org/press/suit.htm

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF OHIO FILES HISTORIC LAWSUIT

In a complaint being filed today in federal court in Toledo, the League of Women Voters of Ohio joined the League of Women Voters of Toledo-Lucas County and a dozen individual plaintiffs in suing the governor and the secretary of state for 30 years of dysfunctional election administration. Represented by a team of attorneys led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the League is claiming a pattern of failed election management, chronic under-funding of county boards of elections and inadequate training for poll workers.

“We simply concluded that a lawsuit is the most effective means of bringing about reform to Ohio’s voting process,” Co-President Carol Gibson said. “Election problems have surfaced continually, and the legislature has failed to take comprehensive action with its recent election-reform bill, HB 3. We felt that the courts presented us with a last resort for addressing the shortfalls of our election system.”

The suit was filed against the office of the secretary of state and governor, not the individuals holding the offices at this time. “The suit does not allege fraud,” Co-President Linda D. Lalley said. “Rather, the suit alleges that Ohio has a long history of serious problems with the way elections are conducted, spanning many administrations and violating fundamental Constitutional rights of Ohioans who are eligible to vote.”

The remedy sought is to bring about meaningful reform to Ohio’s election process. The suit does not seek a monetary award for any of the plaintiffs.
-snip-

For those who have never worked in the system to know what all is entailed in conducting an election - budget concerns (funding), adequate manpower (volunteer or paid) and time constraints all are issues the clerks/registrars face. Elections are more than just printing ballots. Counting the vote is more than just sitting at a table at the end of the day and tallying the ballots.

There are many, many issues involved and if election reform activists don't take the time to learn all aspects of conducting elections, if they don't reach out to the clerks and ask how they can help, if they don't embrace the clerks and respect their experiences and their expertise, then the Election Reform movement is damned from the start.

Ignorance is not bliss in this instance, it is deadly to the future of our democracy.

[SeanQuinn]

1. Way to go at LWV of Ohio! nt

[yowzayowzayowza]

2. Paper Ballots Hand Counted and Recorded By the People !!!!

Sorry, sorry. Couldn't resist. Jus thought I'd be first. :evilgrin:

Yer right, tho. The obsession with counting methods & machines overlooks the needs and concerns of those who work really hard for free and fair elections, which is indeed a process that needs to be capable of dealing with ALL manner of system failures.

[merh]

3. Wise guy!

Can you imagine how difficult it would be to hand count a national election ballot that included all state offices, all county offices, all district offices and all propositions, initiatives and state constitutional amendments? The ballots themselves would be several pages in length and the volunteers would go stark raving mad by the end of the first day of counting.

If "hand counted paper ballots" were to work, it would take legislation that made all voting uniform throughout the states, which, imho, would be difficult to do given the states' rights issues.

We have to ask the clerks how they think we can solve the problems we are faced with. Book worms that profess to be "experts" are not the true experts. Those that have had the duty of conducting elections are the true experts. We need them on our side, not afraid of us, not insulted by us and not suspect of us. imho.

[yowzayowzayowza]

6. Oh, Itz ridiculous.

By the time you count and verify all races manually, easily TEN BILLION individual votes would have to be counted over an extended period handled by legions of partisans. Not an option.

[merh]

7. I guess it just feels good for some folks to say it.

Kind of like "Remember the Alamo" or "Let's roll" emotions based on inaccuracies or uncertainities.

Personally, I would prefer to deal with this issue practically and have the clerks on our side and to be on their side. I have worked with that bunch and they are a powerful lobbying presence. We need them.

[troubleinwinter]

8. Perhaps some say it and push it

deliberately in order to sink our efforts to work for legitimate, verifiable elections.

[merh]

9. Oh my, do you think folks are put out false information in the hopes

of killing the election reform efforts! :freak:

They wouldn't do that, would they! :mad:

[troubleinwinter]

10. Yes, Virginia,

there ARE trolls, liars, ignoramuses, fakes, sock puppets, and paid party operatives.

[merh]

11. Who is Virginia?

:rofl:

[troubleinwinter]

4. Excellent post, merh. Thanks! I signed up for

LWVO's listserve, to be kept up-to-date, at that site.

[merh]

5. Good idea, I will do that too!

Thanks for the encouragement. :pals:

[merh]

12. Seems that folks don't want to discuss this issue if it doesn't involve

bumping their pro-propagandist, March. Seems very odd to me.

[troubleinwinter]

13. You mean

registered Republican, "gonna be a millionaire by mixing activism and profit" Jim March?

[merh]

14. OMG - Is that him?

Holy Shit - we need a thread just for him - this photo and his repuke rantings. :puke:

Yes, the "hand count only" posters are posting bogus threads after bogus threads. They refuse to recognize, let alone discuss the real issues, they can't handle the truth! :mad:

[katinmn]

15. Thanks to the LWV. They are on the ball, at least

I also got a national survey from them today.

Let's hope they can help clean things up before the next election.

[merh]

16. Did you get the national survey because you signed up

at their website for a newsletter? Just wondering.

Yes, I pray that they can help us get things straight before the 2006 elections.

[katinmn]

17. Yes. I sign up for everything.

It takes an hour or two to scan my email every day.

[merh]

18. LOL - I understand.

I just signed up with them, so maybe I will be receiving it in the near future.

:hi:

[merh]

19. Give it a kick

:kick:

[merh]

20. kick

:kick:

[Ellipsis]

21. ...

;)