A voting fraud scheme in Lorain County has bubbled to the surface. This message was forwarded from Jennifer Wasilk, of Amherst City Council (emphasis mine):
Voters in Lorain County have reported that this week they have received phone calls from unidentified callers who are posing as Board of Elections workers. The caller tells the voter that an absentee ballot has already been sent to them and that they haven’t mailed it back. SENIOR CITIZENS APPEAR TO BE THE TARGET OF THESE PHONE CALLS. Ohio voters must request an absentee ballot be sent to them. None of these voters requested an absentee ballot, because they plan to vote at the polls on Election Day. Whoever is responsible may be doing this to intentionally confuse people into thinking that they may be receiving an absentee ballot and that they shouldn’t go to the polls. The Lorain County Board of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State do not know who is doing this. They need to know so that this potential voter fraud can be stopped.
If you receive one of these calls:
1. Ask the caller what organization that the caller is with. Note if the caller claims to be from the Board of Elections. The Board of Elections does not make these calls.
2. Write down the phone number, if you have caller ID.
3. Call the Lorain County Board of Elections. Report the information that you get from the caller, and ask if an absentee ballot has been requested in your name. You may ask for Deputy Director Jim Kramer at 440-326-5902.
But the Democratic cheating is more widespread than this.
How does a PAC have political ads already in the can, ready for release, just 2 days after the PAC was created? According to Ohio law, no funds can be raised or expended until after a Designation of Treasurer form is filed. Prior to that filing, there is no PAC. A PAC is created by filing a Designation of Treasurer form. According to Ohio campaign finance laws, at the time of the filing of the Designation of Treasurer form, the PAC starts with a zero $ balance. Having ads already produced indicates that there were funds available and funds expended BEFORE the PAC was formed, which is ILLEGAL. Among those behind the PAC are a firm in the employ of House Speaker Armond Budish. There’s also an issue of illegal coordination that needs to be explored. Here’s a press release from Ohio House Republicans on 10/25/2010 calling for an immediate investigation (emphasis mine):
Two weeks before one of the most influential mid-term elections in a generation, an organization known as “Our Future Ohio” has surfaced in Ohio to benefit struggling Democratic candidates throughout the state.
“Ohio has a new ominous hazard that will assist the Ohio Democrats’ efforts to steal the election from voters who have had enough of their oppression,” said House Republican leader William G. Batchelder (R-Medina). “Questions need to be answered about this threat. How did “Our Future Ohio” file on a Thursday and have fully produced political ads just two days later?”
To date, the group has spent more than $2.3 million to attack leading gubernatorial candidate John Kasich and Ohio House candidates Matt Carle and Ron Young. “Our Future Ohio” has named Alan Melamed as their spokesman. Melamed is the President of Melamed Communications, and the company’s website lists the House Democratic Caucus and Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) as clients.
“This reeks of impropriety surrounded with so many questions that the public should know,” said Asst. Leader Louis Blessing (R-Cincinnati). “Coordinated expenditures between a corporate-funded PAC and candidates is illegal. The facts remain; Mr. Melamed, a self-proclaimed “chief strategist” for the Speaker, House Democratic Caucus and Melamed Communications, has been paid as a vendor by the House Democratic Caucus and House Democratic campaigns.”
Batchelder further stated that the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee intends to file an elections complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission against “Our Future Ohio” and the House Democratic Caucus for illegal coordination. He expressed great concern and urgency that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner institute her own investigation into this scandal.
The Democratic cheating is more widespread than this, though.
In Cincinnati, a few high school students were released during the school day to be transported in order to vote early at the Hamilton County Board of Elections. The students were supplied with a list of the Democrat Party’s slate of candidates. No information was supplied to the students about any candidates that were not Democrats. Afterward, the students were rewarded for their votes with ice cream. A former school principal (who distributed the slate cards) and a current social studies teacher (who accompanied the students while they were being transported) have been identified among those alleged to have facilitated the voting excursion. The current Hughes High School principal also potentially faces discipline. Here are excerpts from an article exposing both the former principal and the current teacher that was published by the Cincinnati Enquirer:
Cincinnati Public Schools will hold a disciplinary conference this week with the principal and social studies teacher who were involved in an Oct. 13 voting outing for Hughes High School students that spurred a lawsuit and public outrage . . .
. . . The lawsuit alleges three vans carrying 31 students were transported to the elections board and given only Democratic sample ballots . . .
The article then names these three adults, but stated there were other adults, volunteers, who took part. Cincinnati Public Schools policy stipulates that such volunteers accompanying students during the school day shall have already completed satisfactory background checks, but, in this case, the current principal did not ascertain beforehand whether background checks had been conducted for the adult volunteers.
But the Democratic cheating is more widespread than that.
The Ohio Elections Commission is a bipartisan body charged with investigating electioneering complaints brought before them. The OEC has ruled against the House Democratic Caucus Fund for ads that claim Republican state reps Barbara Sears (from the Toledo area) and Todd Snitchler (from the Canton area) voted to allow child molesters and sex offenders to work as school bus drivers. Here’s a 10/27/2010 press release from the Ohio House Republicans:
The Ohio Elections Commission today ruled that the smear campaigns launched by the House Democratic Caucus Fund against Reps. Barbara Sears (R-Monclova Twp) and Todd Snitchler (R-Uniontown) are false. The ruling discredited the Democrats’ claims that, in opposing House Bill 19, Sears and Snitchler voted to allow child molesters and sex offenders to work as school bus drivers. The House Democratic Caucus Fund agreed to a stipulation that they violated the false statement statute in lying about the voting records of Rep. Sears and Rep. Snitchler.
“The Democrats have shown that they know no bounds when it comes to their dirty gutter politics,” said Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee director Mike Dittoe. “All they’ve done is waste time by distracting from the facts.”
Sears filed the elections complaint on the grounds that the House Democratic Caucus lied in two television ads. Contrary to these ads, prior to HB 19, criminals who were convicted of molesting and abusing children were already prevented from being school bus drivers. House Bill 19 actually weakened the restrictions on convicted criminals who could pose a threat to Ohio’s schoolchildren.
“I’m pleased that the OEC cleared my and Rep. Snitchler’s names and provided the people of Ohio with accurate information,” said Sears. “As a mother, there is nothing more important than protecting our children and keeping our communities safe. Fear mongering should not have been used to try to frighten parents and sway their votes.”
Previously, the Ohio Elections Commission had ruled against House Democrats for two other claims advertised against Snitchler. The OEC has also ruled in favor of House Republicans who advertised that Democrat state reps Ray Pryor, Connie Pillich, and Nancy Gardner voted to cut state school funding by $32 million. The OEC ruled against the Ohio Democratic Party for ads against Pillich’s Republican challenger, Mike Wilson, alleging that he wanted to cut funding for police and safety forces.
In past election cycles, I’ve posted blog articles discussing other ways that Democrats game the system. Examples can be found at the links here, here, here, here, and here. So these episodes of cheating are not an anomaly this year. This is part of the Democrat Party’s modus operandi.
Buckeye RINO 