Funk Babblings

I figured that Ken Blackwell (both Ohio campaign chair for Bush and in charge of voting for Ohio) had probably manipulated the Ohio vote somehow, but I never expected that we'd get this close to proving it....

First, of course, were the hours-long lines in Democratic-leaning areas such as parts of Franklin county. Everyone thought it was was just a symptom of high turnout, but it turned out that not only did those precincts have fewer voting machines than in 2000, but there were machines left unused in storage. In addition, elections officials were more concerned with getting the machines to the polls by the end of the day than by the beginning of the day. (The Columbus Free Press seems to be the best, though not the most objective, source for this information and continuing coverage. The Columbus Dispatch also has a story.)

But that's old news now.

The Greens and Libertarians showed the value of third parties by leading the fight for an Ohio recount. (See votecobb.org for more information.) Apparently they were getting close to something, triggering a coverup effort from Blackwell....

(I'm getting all this through Daily Kos diaries, in case it's not obvious from the following links. Be sure to read the comments for further information, and follow the links to primary sources.)

Ohio Election Investigation Thwarted by Surprise Blackwell Order:
On Friday in Greene county, recounters were told they had to stop their count because Blackwell had locked down the ballots, which were no longer considered public record. However, Ohio law requires all election records to be made available for public inspection and copying, makes it a crime for any employee of the Board of Elections to prohibit any person from inspecting the election records, and defines violation of these provisions as election fraud.

Ohio Poll Records Left in Unlocked Building
Then Friday night, despite the lockdown order, the ballots and related records were left in an unlocked building, and there was apparently evidence that people were in there overnight.

And finally (for now)....
Monday morning a lawsuit will be filed relating to the Ohio election problems.

Remember, it was the coverup that brought Nixon down, not the original crime. This time the coverup may only bring down Blackwell, but it's a start.

(Oh yeah, at noon today there were "You Stole My Vote" protests at all the state capitals.)

Update: New Study: More Absentee Votes than Voters in Ohio

Update 2: Keith Olbermann at MSNBC is on the story.