Yes, I know, two diaries maximum. But, given how much people are waiting for Kerry to speak up, I just couldn't help myself! Kossian Gods, please forgive me :)
On Air America Radio, it was just announced that Senator Kerry will be sending a letter tomorrow to 88 Board of Election Directors. That letter was a result of collaboration between Kerry, Jackson, and Arnbeck.
more below...
listen at Laura Flanders Show. Should be up on archives by tomorrow...
The letter addresses ELEVEN ISSUES and will, in part, request investigation into:
A) 93,000 spoiled ballots.
B) Judge Connelly getting more votes than Kerry in Southern Ohio on optical scanner machines. Mentioned something about them being scanned improperly (upside down?) or something wrong with scanning the votes.
C) Different standards on provisional ballots used across Ohio. (::cough:: Bush v. Gore ::cough::)
It looks like Kerry was waiting around for the right time to jump in. He waited until Arnbeck filed his lawsuit (Monday), and enough evidence was gathered before he came out publically about this.
Apparently, this investigation will involve enough votes "to possibly change the outcome."
Looks like between this letter tomorrow, the hearings, and the lawsuit, this issue is about to explode on the MSM.
Edit: What I got most excited about: Calling for a NONPARTISAN audit of the electronic voting machines, having independent analysis of the software. That a boy, Kerry. You still got some fire in ya!
[EDIT]: I was reading some reactions over at DU, and someone pointed out this link about Ohio fraud at the local level in 2000.
In that article, Blackwell states that:
it's up to county boards of elections to investigate voting irregularities, and the secretary of state's office stands by as a resource.
Maybe that is why Kerry sent this letter out to the individual Board of Elections rather than just to Blackwell, who would likely just make a paper airplane out of it or something.
Update [2004-12-12 22:17:45 by georgia10]: Ohio News Network reporting on the story:
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Democrat John Kerry is asking county elections officials to allow his witnesses to visually inspect the 92,000 ballots cast in Ohio in which no vote for president was recorded, a Kerry lawyer said Sunday night.
The request is one of 11 items that Kerry is asking for as part of the recount that Ohio's 88 county boards of election will begin this week, according to a letter sent to the boards over the weekend.
"We're trying to increase the transparency of the election process," said Donald McTigue, the lawyer handling the recount for the Kerry campaign.
[snip]
McTigue said the visual inspection is allowed under state law. The goal is to look for potential votes that were not registered by the tabulating equipment.
Other requests include the use of independent experts to check the programming and calibration of the election equipment, something McTigue said has never been allowed.
McTigue also asked that counties accept the help of a group called Votewatch to determine which precincts will be chosen for that part of the vote that will be counted by hand. McTigue said using the group will ensure that the ballots are selected using a valid random sampling method.
The procedures require 3 percent of ballots to be counted by hand in each county, and then all ballots to be counted if the initial check turns up problems.
McTigue would not speculate how many of the items the counties will honor.
"Several requests are trying to push the edge of envelope," he said.
Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, said state law will guide counties on how to do the recount.
"I don't know if Mr. McTigue is in a position to dictate the terms of a recount," he said.