Ohio Secretary of State responds to Conyers? letters on Ohio voting irregularities

Blackwell spokesman quietly blasts Conyers? investigation

By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor   13 January 2005

In a terse, one line statement, the office of Republican Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell responded to a RAW STORY inquiry on the 102-page report on Ohio voting problems prepared by the Democratic staff of the House Judiciary Committee.

At first, Blackwell spokesman James Lee declined to comment on Conyers? letters.

?I don?t really have any response to that at all,? Lee said.

But when asked whether the investigation?which documented myriad problems with Ohio?s voting processes that drew articles from the Washington Post and New York Times?had merit, Blackwell spokesman James Lee responded, ?I think Rep. Conyers? inquiry and motivation speaks for itself.?

Lee also attempted to clear up a comment Blackwell made to the Cincinnati Enquirer which caused some confusion, in which the Secretary of State said the state had ?not one electronic voting device certified under Ohio?s standards and rules.?

What Blackwell meant, Lee asserted, was that the current electronic voting machines were not certified under new laws passed by the state assembly which require voter-verified paper trails.

?Under the new law for voting machines that will be used in 2006 those electronic voting machines will have to be equipped with voter verified paper trails,? he said.

In his
  
  latest letter to Blackwell today, Conyers called on Blackwell to join an effort to ensure voting irregularities didn?t occur again.

?I recognize that in the past you have been unwilling to respond to any inquiries regarding the irregularities in the Ohio presidential election or your office?s role in them,? the congressman wrote. ?However, I am now hopeful that since Congress has certified the results of the electoral college, that you will be more forthcoming in assisting Congress in developing a record and legislation that will allow the nation to avoid a repeat of the voting irregularities reported in your state.?