ProgressOhio

By Victoria Parks  

According the some Ohio Election officials in our Boards of Elections, Secretary Brunner is upsetting the apple cart of business as usual in our Boards of Elections. Good.

As I recently recall 56 of the 88 counties defied a federal court order to preserve 2004 election records, blatently defying Secretary Brunner's request for the records and Judge Algenon Marbley's federal court order.

This situation seems contrary to what some elections officials assert and only makes me suspicious that they may have even more to hide.

Brunner is not to blame for shaking the voter's confidence. I feel the blame can be squarely laid at the feet of her predecessor J. Kenneth Blackwell and some of the very officials who are crying foul. 

Voter trust was shaken long ago on November 2, 2004, when Blackwell occupied the office of Secretary of State. Jennifer Brunner had nothing to do with how badly Ohio's elections have been conducted before her watch.

If anything Brunner is undertaking the gargantuan task of finding a pathway to restore voter confidence. Brunner wants to give Ohio voters a paper ballot—that is, a ballot that can actually be audited. Good on her because we can't audit electronic vote totals even with a "paper trail."

House Bill Three (HB3) of 2005 saw to that. Let us not forget that House Bill Three passed on Blackwell's watch.  It was Blackwell who tried to force paperless touchscreens on Ohio Voters. It was Blackwell who took ten-thousand dollars as a campaign contribution from a Diebold lobbyist in '06.

It was Blackwell who acquired almost ten-thousand dollars worth of Diebold stock in January of '05, the same month he ordered all 88 counties to use their HAVA money to purchase unreliable, paperless Diebold touchscreens. It was Blackwell who could never account for how all of Ohio's HAVA money was actually spent. And, it was Blackwell who drained the budget of the Office of Secretary of State before leaving office.

If anything Brunner is restoring voter confidence because she is taking on the issues that Blackwell would not without the budget she is entitled to.

I think the most vociferous among our elections officials are attempting to kill the messenger here. Brunner is doing what Ohio voters asked her to do and, yes, it is a dirty job. If anything we should thank her for getting to the bottom of a mess she inherited. 

Brunner has the power to clean house in our Boards of Elections and I encourage her to do it. I would respectfully request the Dispatch fairly cover both sides of this issue and not undermine Secretary Brunner's efforts to return accountability to Ohio's election process. In all the arguing these objecting election officials are leaving out the concerns of voters who no longer trust a system these same elections officials have been running for years.

Victoria Parks

Columbus, OH