(Columbus) - The Ohio Republican Party launched a new statewide radio ad today informing Ohio voters of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's effort to conceal election fraud and directing them to a new website where they can take action.
The radio spot highlights recent news reports of fraudulent voter registration activity as well as Brunner's refusal to validate at least 200,000 questionable registrations flagged by her office. Two courts and 11 judges have found Brunner to be in violation of federal law by failing to provide an adequate voter verification system to county boards of elections.
- Appeals Court Judge Richard Allen Griffin wrote that Brunner's "lack of concern for the integrity of the elections process is astounding and deeply disturbing."
- Appeals Court Judge Jeffrey Sutton called Brunner's verification system "essentially useless - not unlike asking for a drink of water and being given access to a fire hose at full volume - and will do nothing to address the anti-fraud objective."
- District Court Judge George Smith said "millions of qualified electors across the state of Ohio whose confidence in the electoral process will be undermined if new voter registrations are not verified in accordance with (federal law), and if unqualified individuals are permitted to cast votes. This would demean the voting process and unlawfully dilute the votes of qualified voters."
"Jennifer Brunner is not only defying federal law but she's also making every effort to conceal fraud in this election," said Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine. "We've heard from thousands of Ohioans and voters across the nation who are outraged by her dereliction of duty, and they want to know what they can do to make sure Ohio's election isn't stolen."
The ad directs listeners to a new website - http://www.fightohiofraud.com/ - which gives voters several options to get involved, including instructions on how to vote early and how to become a poll observer.
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For the Record
Peter Bronson, Cincinnati Enquirer: The Sixth Circuit court's 9-6 majority opinion had a pretty strong opinion about Brunner and the way she has mangled Ohio's election. It said she offered "no factual support for her arguments," and was "ear-splittingly silent" in support for her claims that checking for fraud is too difficult and interferes with the election. In fact, among 660,000 new registrations, Brunner found 200,000 that are suspect - more than Ohio's 118,000-margin of victory for Bush in 2004. But she refused to identify the mismatched registrations so local boards of elections can investigate them before Nov. 4. (Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/19/08)
Columbus Dispatch Editorial: Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner made a serious blunder by failing to give county elections boards the names of new voters whose registration records don't match state and federal data. ... In addition to discrediting herself, Brunner's attempt to withhold the data undermines the integrity of the election system. ... Brunner campaigned for office by promising to restore trust in the election system and in the secretary of state's office, but once again she is doing the opposite. (The Columbus Dispatch, 10/12/08)
"Well, I tell you what, it helps in Ohio that we've got Democrats in charge of the machines."
- Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama (Columbus Dispatch)
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