UPDATE: The Ohio GOP actually retaliated against me and posted my personal information on their official blog. Kinda funny they don't see the difference between trying to influence a state/county officer and hassling a blogger. We've followed up a bit on the main BSB site...About six hours later the GOP decided to take down my home address and phone number.
Earlier today Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner called on all members of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections to resign their posts due to incompetence managing elections over the past few years in the Cleveland region. The Cuyahoga County BoE is the same board that managed one of the Ohio polling locations that got national attention for election malfunctions during the '06 midterm (prominently noted on the top of the Drudge Report too). Funny thing is that the Ohio GOP Chairman, Bob Bennett, is a member of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Actions like this would have been taken earlier, but for the past four years former Secretary of State Blackwell was too busy planning his Gubernatorial suicide march to actually provide oversight for Cuyahoga County's elections. Now SoS Brunner has been forced to clean up the mess in Cuyahoga County. Cleaning up Cuyahoga County is one of the first steps the new Ohio Democratic Administration is taking to ensure for a clean, honest 2008 Presidential Election in Ohio.
Who can blame Brunner for being forced into this call - when the Cuyahoga County BoE can't manage elections better than a drunk 12 year old huffing paint-thinner something needs to be done. That something is the call for the resignation of two Democrats and two Republicans from the board. One Republican board member, Ohio GOP Party Chairman Bob Bennett, is crying boo hoo hoo. He thinks that Secretary Brunner should exhibit a little more forgiveness for the the Board. Afterall, the Board's only had two employees convicted of voter fraud, had a five day delay in counting ballots following a primary, experienced problems designing ballots, and a whole litany of other issues.
Secretary Brunner has also suggested GOP Chairman Bennett may bring suit to protect his seat:
Brunner said that Bennett suggested he would not go without a legal fight. "I was a judge. Litigation doesn't faze me," she said. "I really prefer to just move on to allow the board to proceed without that complication."
Since Chairman Bennett wants to make this a political issue, it's up to us to encourage him not to drag the public through a lawsuit. We have Ohio election's best interests in mind.
Help us encourage GOP Chairman Bennett to step down:
Call Bob's Columbus Line: (614) 228-6636
Let him know it's time to step down and that we need fresh leadership on the board.
If you call Bob, remember to stay friendly and polite, but encourage him to step away from the Board that desperately needs new fresh, competent, bipartisan leadership.
...And I'll keep y'all updated with how the fight in Ohio is coming.