Badnarik and Cobb demand Ohio recount

[Grojlach]

Source: http://www.gp.org/press/pr_11_11_04.html

Green and Libertarian Presidential Candidates to Demand Ohio Recount.
November 11, 2004

Contact: Blair Bobier, Media Director at 541.929.5755 or 414.364.1596
Stephen Gordon, Badnarik campaign at 256.227.8360

GREEN & LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO DEMAND OHIO RECOUNT

David Cobb and Michael Badnarik, the 2004 presidential candidates for the Green and Libertarian parties, today announced their intentions to file a formal demand for a recount of the presidential ballots cast in Ohio.

“Due to widespread reports of irregularities in the Ohio voting process, we are compelled to demand a recount of the Ohio presidential vote. Voting is the heart of the democratic process in which we as a nation put our faith. When people stand in line for hours to exercise their right to vote, they need to know that all votes will be counted fairly and accurately. We must protect the rights of the people of Ohio, as well as all Americans, and stand up for the right to vote and the right for people’s votes to be counted. The integrity of the democratic process is at stake,” the two candidates said in a joint statement.

The candidates also demanded that Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican who chaired the Ohio Bush campaign, recuse himself from the recount process.

The Ohio presidential election was marred by numerous press and independent reports of voter intimidation, mis-marked and discarded ballots, problems with electronic voting machines and the targeted disenfranchisement of African American voters. A number of citizens’ groups and voting rights organizations are holding hearings this Saturday in Columbus, Ohio to investigate voting irregularities and voter suppression in the Ohio 2004 general election. The hearings will be held from 1-4 p.m. at the New Faith Baptist Church, 955 Oak Street. Voters, poll workers, journalists and voting experts are invited to testify. A second hearing will be held on Monday at a location TBA, from 6-9 p.m.

The Cobb and Badnarik campaigns are in the process of raising the required fee, estimated at $110,000, for filing for a complete recount. The campaigns are accepting contributions through their websites.

The Cobb-LaMarche website is http://www.votecobb.org
The Badnarik-Campagna contribution page is https://badnarik.org

The Cobb and Badnarik campaigns have displayed a level of cooperation and civility rarely found in electoral politics. The campaigns jointly participated in and/or sponsored a series of independent debates. Cobb and Badnarik were also simultaneously arrested in St. Louis protesting their exclusion from the restricted, two-party corporate-sponsored debates.

To see an investigative report by Greg Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, which asserts that the Ohio vote was improperly decided, see http://www.tompaine.com/articles/kerry_won.php

For an article detailing a dozen ways in which the Ohio vote was potentially manipulated, see http://www.freepress.org/departments...ay/19/2004/810

[wellard]

Even if there is a recount, the fact that kerry conceded make it a waste of time surely?

[Grojlach]

Originally posted by wellard: Even if there is a recount, the fact that kerry conceded make it a waste of time surely?

I guess it's more of a principle thing... Or perhaps both the green and the libertarian party are only a few votes short for certain privileges/subsidies for the '08 elections, not sure.

[Timber Loftis]

Originally posted by wellard: Even if there is a recount, the fact that kerry conceded make it a waste of time surely?

No.

Nevertheless, I am disappointed in this. All I see so far is supposition and innuendo.

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

All I wanted was a *count*, period. Weren't a ton of ballots going untouched for a few weeks minimum?

[John D Harris]

Originally posted by Illumina Drathiran'ar: All I wanted was a *count*, period. Weren't a ton of ballots going untouched for a few weeks minimum?

Those were the provisional ballots, each one has to be checked to see if the voter is a legal voter first, then after they seperate the legal & illegal ballots they count them. I believe there were around 150,000-160,000 total, for Kerry to win he would have to take 90%-95% of them and all be legally cast. the numbers don't add up.

Why they are asking for a recount heaven only knows, if they need more for matching funds that maybe good reason. If they are claiming cheating, once again the county that is claimed to have the most cheating is not run by the Republicans, it's a Democrat county. Is it just me or does anyboby else see a pattern with this and Florida 2000? There also seems to be a problem with a Florida panhandle county, one that went for Dole in 96, Bush in 2000 and Bush in 2004. What they don't realise is the panhandle registers Democrat and votes local Dem. but national they vote Republican. There used to be a law in Florida that registered Dems could vote in either primary, but registered Republicans could only vote in the Rep. primary. I originally registered Dem. when I lived in the Panhandle, voted for the Rep. primary candidate I wanted and voted for the Dem. Candidate I thought would be the worst one. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Timber Loftis]

Is it just me or does anyboby else see a pattern with this and Florida 2000?

Not at all. Bush/Rove ran straight to court with an army of lawyers. Kerry conceded. Here, have a winky smiley -->

[John D Harris]

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: quote: Is it just me or does anyboby else see a pattern with this and Florida 2000?

Not at all. Bush/Rove ran straight to court with an army of lawyers. Kerry conceded. Here, have a winky smiley --> [/QUOTE]I'm glad to see it is just me that sees Bush won in Florida 2000, Gore wouldn't concede and there was never a recount by anybody that had Gore winning, vs. Ohio 2004 where Bush also won, and Kerry condeded because the numbers weren't there. And in both elections the only counties where there were disputed election results are Democrat controled counties.