Election changes on ballot- Ohio.com

[FogerRox]

Election changes on ballot

Absentee voting, limit on campaign monies among 4 amendments

By Dennis J. Willard

Beacon Journal Columbus Bureau


For months, the Statehouse has been steeped in scandal. Bob Taft is the first sitting governor to be found guilty in court on ethics violations -- for not disclosing that he received 52 gifts, including 47 golf outings, paid by business executives, lobbyists, friends and others.

At the same time, federal, state and local investigators continue to examine Republican fund-raiser and insider Tom Noe, who was given a no-bid contract to invest $55.4 million of Bureau of Workers' Compensation funds into rare coins and collectibles. Millions of dollars are unaccounted for, and the intrigue has minted a catch phrase in Ohio: Coingate.

Against this backdrop, Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell told the group Reform Ohio Now last week it was successful in collecting 353,094 signatures to place four amendments to the state constitution on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Briefly, the amendments would give voters more opportunity to:

• Avoid long lines on Election Day.

• Create a commission to remove partisan politics from the redrawing of Ohio's legislative and congressional districts.

• Limit contributions and money laundering in campaigns.

• Replace the elected secretary of state with a nine-member state board of elections.

The $1 million-plus effort to collect signatures in 88 counties was initiated long before tales of corruption erupted in Columbus, but the scandals and the reform movement simultaneously have gathered steam.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. one stinker in R.O.N. - early voting

I like most parts of the R.O.N., but living in North Carolina I am acutely aware of the problems tied to Early Voting.

Ohio is seeking to address problems that were actually caused by violations of law.

Read about losing the secret ballot due to early voting:

Two NC election officials describe early voting and ballot secrecy issues --

County official's description of early voting on Direct Record Electronic (DREs, touchscreen or pushbutton)
EARLY VOTING ON DRE --
I have no problems with DRE systems in early voting because you can track and recreate each distinct vote as it is always tied to the name of the voter in the process, and the vote does not get randomized (and made anonymous) as it does in a general ballot. I can spot check and audit back to the voter's individual marks in an early voting DRE use (a big part of my role as a guarantor of the process, I think) - I can't in a general ballot situation with DREs currently.


OPTICAL SCAN EARLY VOTING - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO ELECTION DIRECTOR --
During early voting, we have been told by election officials that on DREs, at least - the vote is tied to the voter, that you can tie the name to the actual ballot, and officials can look at that ballot and see how you voted.

The ballot can be removed from the machine if need be.

*what reasons dictate the removal of a early vote ballot from the machine?
The vote is tied to the voter even on optical scan/paper ballots - we are required to put the ID number on the ballot itself (or enter it into the DRE before the voter votes). The same process is designated on absentee ballots. The reason for this is that absentee ballots including one-stop voters must be approved by the board and can be challenged by any voter. So at the absentee meeting, if it is determined by the board that the voter is ineligble for whatever reason, the ballot could then be removed. Also if the voter votes on election day (which shouldn't happen but sometimes does) the absentee or one-stop ballot can then be removed and the vote subtracted so that the voter does not have their ballot counted twice.

*Next, I have been told by Don Wright that the voting machines used for early voting cannot be used on election day, because they are programmed differently.

*Why would that matter?

Early voting machines contain the entire ballots for all precincts rather than the individual precinct ballots so that anyone in the county can vote on them regardless of where they live. Also we protect the integrity of the machines by not using them until after canvass where possible in order that if there is a problem we can go back and look at it and know nothing has changed since election day or since early voting.

*Secrecy of ballot?

There is no question that people voting absentee or one-stop give up some of the privacy of the ballot. It is marked with a number that can identify the ballot. However, every effort is made to protect the secrecy of the ballot because for instance if the board is looking at it, they are only seeing the number not a name.

*Problem that someone might vote out of precinct?

People vote outside their precinct for a variety of reasons, some are that they never changed their address with us, or some just don't want to go to the correct precinct and prefer to go to some place next to their work or where they perceive may be closer to their home. Given the uncertainty regarding provisional ballots and what should count or not, we must be able to either remove all or a portion of the voters ballot if it is determined they are not eligible to vote at that location (which i think is totally wrong) that is the purpose of provisionals anyway and any vote for which the voter is entitled to vote should be counted.

http://www.ncvoter.net/earlyvoting.html