Name: Clarke Cummings
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Hello Dr. Alterman,
Came across this article in the Columbus Dispatch
http://tinyurl.com/67chw over the weekend. On Friday, the last day to file challenges, the Republicans challenged the validity of over 35,000 new voter registrations. The vast majority (over 17,000) in heavily Democratic Cuyahoga County.
Ohio law requires that each of the 35,000 have a hearing on their application at least 2 days before the election. They also must receive a notification at least 3 days before hearing. These time frames implies that the county election boards had to decide how to handle the matter and get the notices out today, with hearings scheduled for this week.
Secretary of State Blackwell's spokesperson said if the voter is found invalid by the board, say for not showing up to the hearing, but arrive at their polling place, they will receive a provisional ballot. The parties also identified their challengers for inside polling sites (GOP has 2000 in Cuyahoga County alone). Ohio is looking more and more like the Florida of 2004.
On a related note, I watch too much TV, mostly the standard local broadcasts and major cable networks. In all my TV viewing, I never saw an ad from SOS Blackwell urging voters to register to vote. About 3 weeks ago, prior to the registration deadline, I watched less than 30 minutes on PAX TV ("family friendly" network) and saw an ad by Blackwell urging registration. Seems odd that the SOS uses a conservative/religious oriented channel to support voter registration.
Finally, if gas prices are soaring, why has the price in Columbus gone down 20 cents in the past two weeks? We are now under the national average. Could it be that energy companies are colluding to influence the election in Ohio?