Giving Cuyahoga County Special Treatment Or Masking the Mistakes?

Jennifer Brunner Has Given A Recount Exception To Cuyahoga County. Is She Giving Them Special
Treatment Because She Micromanaged The Board, Or Is She Trying To Divert Attention Away From Problems With The Equipment She Fought To Implement?

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Brunner Alleviated Cuyahoga County Of A Hand Recount:

Cuyahoga County Board Of Elections Had 48 Errors In Their First Partial Recount Of 33,000 Ballots, "Enough To Trigger A Second Partial Recount." "[Cuyahoga County Elections chief Jane] Platten said that a recount last week of about 33,000 ballots found 48 errors -- not enough to change the outcome of the race but more than enough to trigger a second partial recount." (Joe Guillen, "Cuyahoga County could be forced into $450,000 election recount," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/9/08)

• "To Avoid Recounting All Ballots, Elections Workers Must Find No More Than Two Errors In The Second Sampling Of About 20,000 Ballots." (Joe Guillen, "Cuyahoga County could be forced into $450,000 election recount," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/9/08)

• "Brunner Spokesman Jeff Ortega Would Not Explain Why The Office Decided A Two-Ballot Difference Was The Barometer For Failure." (Joe Guillen, "Cuyahoga County could be forced into $450,000 election recount," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/9/08)

After A Second Partial Recount Cuyahoga County's Samples Were Off By 61 Votes, "More Than 30 Times The Amount Needed To Force A Full Hand Count." "The hand counts of two samples in Cuyahoga County totaling 54,200 votes found a combined 61 mistakes, more than 30 times the amount needed to force a full hand count." (Patrick O'Donnell and Joe Guillen, "Cuyahoga County gets waiver on ballot hand count," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/13/08)

After More Errors With Their Second Partial Recount, Jennifer Brunner Gave Cuyahoga County A Pass On Having To Do A Hand Recount. "Cuyahoga County won't have to do a costly and tedious hand count of all the presidential election ballots from November, the Ohio secretary of state's office decided Friday." (Patrick O'Donnell and Joe Guillen, "Cuyahoga County gets waiver on ballot hand count," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/13/08)

• Brunner Had Originally Ordered "All Counties Across The State To Do Hand Counts," "If The Samples Were Off By More Than Two Votes." "Brunner ordered all counties across the state to do hand counts of samples of votes from November to find errors and to 'to increase voter confidence in the reliability of Ohio's voting machines and systems.' Her order called for a full hand count if the samples were off by more than two votes." (Patrick O'Donnell and Joe Guillen, "Cuyahoga County gets waiver on ballot hand count," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/13/08)

Brunner Is Still Adamant About The Two-Vote Standard For A Hand Recount For Other Counties. "Jeff Ortega, a spokesman for Brunner, said the office is not backing down from the two-vote standard." (Patrick O'Donnell and Joe Guillen, "Cuyahoga County gets waiver on ballot hand count," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/13/08)

Brunner Micromanaged The Cuyahoga County Board Of Elections:

First, Brunner "Pressured Cuyahoga County Election Board Members ... To Resign Or Face Removal." "Ohio's new elections chief pressured Cuyahoga County election board members on Tuesday to resign or face removal hearings to clear the way for new leadership at the embattled agency plagued by voting problems." (Thomas J. Sheeran, "Elections board in limbo awaiting board ouster fight," Associated Press, 3/20/2007)

Brunner Then Placed The Cuyahoga County Board Of Elections On "Administrative Oversight." "The state's elections chief took control of the elections board in Ohio's most populous county Monday as part of her ongoing effort to change how the troubled board is run. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced she is placing the Cuyahoga County board under state administrative oversight through the end of next year." (Andrew Welsh-Huggins, "Ohio elections chief takes over Cuyahoga board," Associated Press, 4/2/2007)

• "The [Administrative] Oversight Means Brunner Must Approve Any Board Changes To Policy And Procedure." (Andrew Welsh-Huggins, "Ohio elections chief takes over Cuyahoga board," Associated Press, 4/2/2007)

Brunner Handpicked The Director For The Cuyahoga County Board Of Elections. "Brunner lists the following qualifications on the Web site: 'Applicants must be a qualified elector (voter) of Cuyahoga County, and be affiliated with the Democratic Party. Prior elections and/or employment law and management experience will be given consideration in the review process. Initial interviews by phone are currently in process by Secretary Brunner and staff. In-person interviews by Secretary Brunner in Cleveland are expected after Tuesday's application deadline.'" ("Qualifications for a Cuyahoga elections board seat," Associated Press, 4/13/2007)

Brunner Handpicked The Newly Appointed Democratic Members Of The Board Of Elections. "'I met personally with six finalists for the two board positions last week in Cleveland. I am impressed with the new generation of leadership who have stepped up to serve their community,' said Brunner." ("Brunner taps two for Cuyahoga Election board," Call & Post, 4/25/2007 - 5/2/2007)

Brunner Has Become "A Micro-Meddler With A Disturbing Tendency To Mess With Republicans," Which Voters "Should Be Worried About." "Brunner has become a micro-meddler with a disturbing tendency to mess with Republicans involved in local election matters. Republicans in Summit, Cuyahoga, Allen, Franklin, Lawrence and Hardin counties have experienced it. And voters throughout Ohio should be worried about it." (Editorial, "Hands-on, to a fault," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 6/22/2008)

Brunner Controlled Which Type Of Voting Machines Cuyahoga County Used:

"Brunner Is Pressuring The Cuyahoga County Board Of Elections To Dump Its New $21 Million Computer Voting System, Spend Millions On A New System And Have That New System In Place In A Matter Of A Few Weeks." (Editorial, "It's too late," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/20/2007)

Brunner "Ordered" Cuyahoga County To Scrap Its $21 Million Voting System To Buy A Paper Ballot Scanner System. "Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner ordered the county Friday to scrap its $21 million touch-screen voting system, which is less than two years old, and buy high-speed optical scanners that read paper ballots." (Leila Atassi and Joe Guillen, "A new way to vote: Paper and pencils," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/22/2007)

• "The New Equipment Could Cost Taxpayers As Much As $9 Million." (Leila Atassi and Joe Guillen, "A new way to vote: Paper and pencils," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/22/2007)

After Open Criticism From The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Brunner Went Ahead And "Ordered" An "11th - Hour Change In Voting Systems." "The 11th-hour change in voting systems was ordered last week by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Her decision came after the four-member county board deadlocked 2-2 on replacing the controversial and problem-plagued touch-screen system." (Editorial, "Brunner's leap of faith," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/26/2007)

Brunner's "Dramatic" And "Costly" Decision To Change Election Systems Was Made "Unilaterally." "After ordering the dramatic and costly ($9 million) [election system] change, Brunner said, 'I know Cuyahoga County is doing the right thing.'We'll assume this was merely a poor choice of words, because neither the Board of Elections nor anyone else in Cuyahoga County made this decision. Brunner made it - unilaterally." (Editorial, "Brunner's leap of faith," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 12/26/2007)

Partisan Secretary Of State:

Partisanship In The Secretary Of State's Office Is Now "Even More Apparent ... With Brunner Holding The Office." "The battles over election rules underline the need for Ohio to have an impartial referee at the top for election disputes. ... This was apparent when Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell was secretary of state during the 2004 election, and it is even more apparent this year, with [Jennifer] Brunner holding the office." (Editorial, "Votes in limbo," The Columbus Dispatch, 11/18/08)

"Brunner, Every Bit The Democrat, Moved A Bit Closer To Cementing Her Reputation As An Overly Partisan Overseer Of Ohio's Elections." (Editorial, "Hands-on, to a fault," Cleveland Plain Dealer, 6/22/2008)

"Brunner Promised To Run An Office That Stood Above Partisan Politics. If That Truly Was Her Goal, She Has Failed ..." (Editorial, "Provoking doubt," The Columbus Dispatch, 10/12/2008)