Miami County, Ohio Election Official Resigns Under Weird Circumstances

[freshwest]

Source: Crooks And Liars

By karoli

This is worrisome, not because a Republican election director resigned, but because it raises more questions than answers... ...

There appears to have been a significant delay in getting absentee ballots out in this county, too. Due to be mailed out on October 2nd, it seems that it took longer than it should. And then there's the weirdness surrounding orders from Secretary of State Jon Husted, ordering local officials not to contact voters by phone about issues with their absentee ballots. Instead, they must contact them by mail, which means a far longer delay in processing those ballots. Here's one story from Butler County, Ohio, via Democratic Underground...

....

I can think of a couple of possibilities. One, that this Republican elections director had some shreds of integrity in him and defended an election worker who reached out directly to voters in his mostly rural district if there was an issue with their ballot. Or two, that he saw issues with the new voting machines in this county which were possibly raised by that election worker fired, and found himself being forced to resign after the worker was fired. Or, perhaps it was just a tawdry affair between a worker and her boss. Or his boss. Who knows?

Ohio just raises the hackles on the back of my neck in every general election, and this one is no exception. This story has more to it than just stress and a random firing of an election worker. I smell it, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe one of the crack investigative reporters out there like Lee Fang will be able to get a fix on what's going on.


Read more: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/miami-county-ohio-election-official-resigns

---

This may have come about from this thread posted here on DU, which is referred to and linked by the Crooks and Liars piece.

If so, good work, DU, but the work on this is not over. There are more questions in the mind of the reporter, and this should continue to get our attention.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251158764

[msongs]

1. obama should appoint an attorney general who will investigate all this crap pronto nt

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Ohio's all set. Nothing to see here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014274111

[flamingdem]

3. When can they bring the Feds in?

According to Kos OFA has already dealt with 2000 irregularities. I hope they have the man/woman power to handle the sh*tstorm that's coming down.

[Firebirds01]

46. Talked to the lawyer heading the Ohio team

they are wellll aware of this.

[flamingdem]

48. good to hear

[wordpix]

56. good! Now I hope they DO SOMETHING including about the mail-in ballots with .65 postage due

It's worrisome

[flamingdem]

4. Dayton Daily News - makes it sound like job stress

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/miami-county-board-of-elections-director-quits-jus/nShxF/

---snip
Home
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Posted: 7:44 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, 2012

Miami County Board of Elections director quits just weeks before the election

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MIAMI CO: Elections director resigns prior to Election Day gallery
MIAMI CO: Elections director resigns prior to Election Day

By Jeremy P. Kelley and Nancy Bowman

TROY —

Steve Quillen, Miami County elections director, resigned Thursday evening, less than three weeks before the Nov. 6 presidential election.

Quillen, in a hand written, one sentence statement, told the Board of Elections he was leaving “due to the stress of the upcoming presidential election.” A Republican, he has served as elections director since March 2002.

Quillen said Friday he is confident the elections office staff can move forward and conduct a smooth election. “The election is in good hands. Everything is going to be fine,” he said.

Quillen said he had been “looking at the forest instead of the trees” while attempting to juggle pre-election and Election Day tasks. He said he was stressed with the convergence of the absentee ballot delay, early voting being extended until the day before the election and the daily early voting, among other tasks.

“I had to really step back and control my tongue,” he said. Asked if there was a negative environment in the elections office due to his stress, Quillen said, “I didn’t want it to go that far, to do that.”

“All I could concentrate on was all I had to do before the election. I am 65 years old and don’t need this stuff,” he said.

The elections board met in an executive session Thursday afternoon with county Prosecutor Gary Nasal, its legal counsel, to discuss personnel issues, then called a special meeting Friday morning.

The board accepted Quillen’s resignation Friday. It also asked Pam Calendine, deputy director, to contact the Secretary of State’s Office to ask for what board Chairman Roger Luring described as “assistance on a temporary basis” for the election.

“Nothing occurred here that in any way affects the integrity of the election,” board member Jose Lopez said. He said he and fellow Republican board member Robert Huffman Jr. would contact party officials about nominating someone to fill the vacant role.

Secretary of State spokesman Matt McClellan confirmed that Miami County’s BOE had been in contact Friday, but he said the secretary’s guidance was simply to get the position filled as soon as possible, even if it has to be on an interim basis, given how close the election is.

“The hiring and replacing of employees of the board is the responsibility of the board members, and we’re confident they’re going to handle the situation appropriately,” McClellan said.

Luring announced Quillen’s resignation to elections personnel who were on hand at the elections office to assist with early voting.

“These things happen on the eve of an election,” he said. “This is a bump in the road, but a small bump and I know you will get us through this.”

Luring said the resignation has “absolutely nothing to do” with a delay in absentee ballots being sent to requesting voters.

[freshwest]

7. OTOH, it could be just as Karoli said. Ohio-- 2004--

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4071

Ohio-- 2012-- with Husted's manuevers mentioned in previous threads and in the C&W piece here:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/20/1147033/-This-week-on-the-War-on-Voting-Ohio-gets-weekend-voting-hours-man-busted-for-tossing-registrations

And isn't this what is happening to the man in the previous DU post:

http://www.policymic.com/articles/14658/how-romney-can-win-voter-id-laws-passed-in-pennsylvania-ohio-could-swing-election-2012/244912

Local news papers don't like to make waves, especially in GOP areas. So this may be a good rebuttal to the Crooks And Liars piece, but the intent to deny voters by the GOP is clear as their ideas stink.

[flamingdem]

8. I wonder how many votes Husted needs to trash/suppress/flip

to make up for Obama's lead. To do that and not get caught is his problem. Interesting what you're saying about small town papers not wanting to rock the boat. National reporters need to get on this story now so they can work with local reporters. At least DU is on this now as well as other sites someone has to react - like Ed or Rachel.

Do you remember though that the HIG story was reported maybe 8 days ago here and didn't get people as upset as they are today. I guess it was the Forbes mention that really set off alarms, and that came after someone here warned that we shouldn't be discouraging voters or causing confusion with conspiracy stuff.

Any overview of the actions of Husted alone shows that we have to push this local story from Miami and every other related story as much as possible. Someone is going to get caught.

[Firebirds01]

47. 22 per district

that is the magic number that needs to be flipped.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. "I am 65 years old and don’t need this stuff,"

[dmr]

37. That may not be as funny as you think.

... "I am 65 years old and don’t need this stuff" ...

That sounds like someone who is angry about something.

Who leaves a job in a huff at a critical time? Not many people would do that, unless there was something wrong; or something they didn't want to be a part of.

I think that statement is serious; one that wasn't easy to make; and it may be a 'tell'.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

39. I'm reminded of "True Blood" when the Sheriff quits.

[dchill]

32. "integrity of the election,” - Why do I suspect...

That means something completely different to a Republican board member than it does to the average Democrat, or otherwise reasonable human?

[brewens]

5. You'd sure think there would be a rat willing to cash in if there was any

real organized conspiracy. Given the scruples of these people it's hard to imagine that not happening. Blow the whistle on the scam, talk shows, book deal and the whole schmere!

[WinkyDink]

55. Any cash will have been taken care of already, IYKWIM.

[Cha]

6. Thanks freshwest..no matter why he resigned we know

the work will never end on getting all our Votes Counted!

[freshwest]

28. Expecting some court cases and the election will not be decided on the 6th in some states.

Last edited Sun Oct 21, 2012, 04:40 AM - Edit history (1)

That's why not only GOTV is essential, but staying involved after the election. Actually, I feel like saying 12 more year instead of 4, LOL. Because 8 years is not enough to undo the damage of too many years of GOP rule. I truly believe it will require almost a generation of activism to overcome what's been done. Folks need to work on this year around. Because the GOP certainly does, and they control the media that does so much harm. Thanks, Cha...

[countryjake]

9. Miami Co. in 2004...where almost 19,000 votes mysteriously appeared..

AFTER all of its precincts had already reported their official results.


Published on Thursday, June 1, 2006 by Rolling Stone magazine

Was the 2004 Election Stolen?
Republicans prevented more than 350,000 voters in Ohio from casting ballots or having their votes counted -- enough to have put John Kerry in the White House.
by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0601-34.htm

~snip~

How might this fraud have been carried out? One way to steal votes is to tamper with individual ballots -- and there is evidence that Republicans did just that. In Clermont County, where optical scanners were used to tabulate votes, sworn affidavits by election observers given to the House Judiciary Committee describe ballots on which marks for Kerry were covered up with white stickers, while marks for Bush were filled in to replace them. Rep. Conyers, in a letter to the FBI, described the testimony as ''strong evidence of vote tampering if not outright fraud.'' In Miami County, where Connally outpaced Kerry, one precinct registered a turnout of 98.55 percent -- meaning that all but ten eligible voters went to the polls on Election Day. An investigation by the Columbus Free Press, however, collected affidavits from twenty-five people who swear they didn't vote.

In addition to altering individual ballots, evidence suggests that Republicans tampered with the software used to tabulate votes. In Auglaize County, where Kerry lost not only to Connally but to two other defeated Democratic judicial candidates, voters cast their ballots on touch-screen machines. Two weeks before the election, an employee of ES&S, the company that manufactures the machines, was observed by a local election official making an unauthorized log-in to the central computer used to compile election results. In Miami County, after 100 percent of precincts had already reported their official results, an additional 18,615 votes were inexplicably added to the final tally. The last-minute alteration awarded 12,000 of the votes to Bush, boosting his margin of victory in the county by nearly 6,000.


And then there's this:

Miami County, Ohio 04 Audit Log Missing-Votes Never Cast Included In Count

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x456314


and this:

None dare call it voter suppression and fraud
Bob Fitrakis

http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2004/983

[BainsBane]

10. Please tell me Husted is up for reelection

And Ohio will get rid of him? He is outrageous. Not contacting voters by phone?

[LisaL]

11. I don't know when he is up for re-election. I checked out his facebook account.

The new comments people leave appear to be pretty negative. He should know what people are thinking of his deeds in OH.

[freshwest]

14. I wonder if this will make them hold back? And remember the conviction from 2004.

They need to know that people are watching.

[BainsBane]

22. I left some comments there

But I don't live in Ohio, so I doubt he could care less. He doesn't seem to care what Ohio voters think. The GOP has probably promised him some cushy position.

[Ms. Toad]

15. The requirement to contact voters by mail is not new.

What is new is that those voters must come in, in person, to correct the errors unless they are oveerseas military or disabled.

In the past voters who make a mistake on their voter ID envelope were sent a form to fill out and return. The form does have to be signed by the voter (that is a statutory requirement), so a phone call alone won't work.

[LisaL]

16. According to the articles I have been reading, it is a new directive.

"Husted, a Republican, issued a directive Oct. 4 that limits the method of communication to first-class mail when a voter's absentee ballot identification envelope contains errors, such as a missing name or signature, or if the information on the envelope does not match voter registration records."

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/10/ohio_elections_chief_restricts.html

[Ms. Toad]

23. The articles are missing the big picture.

Which is more likely to disenfranchise voters?

Being notified by mail (rather than a call or e-mail) that there is a problem with your ballot?

Or having to appear in person at the board of election, during normal office hours, to make the correction?

The BOE I am specifically aware of voted on 10/9 to change its policy in response to Husted's 10/3 directive. It previously required notification by mail and also permitted correction by mail. Their new policy still requires notification by mail but also now requires in person correction - which matches the 10/3 directive.

Although I must say I am pleased this may be getting legs - regardless of whether I think it misses the big picture - since I have been trying to get the word out since 10/9 when I was told about the change by the Director at the BOE where I'm an observor

[LisaL]

24. I agree that demanding voters show up in person is even worse than having to notify them by mail.

SOS Husted is working overtime.
Will OH ever learn?

[Ms. Toad]

34. We can hope...

But it isn't a very strong hope.

Personally, I wasn't much impressed with Bruner than Blackwell. Both were extremely partisan - although toward opposite parties, and I don't think that serves anyone well. I want things fair, not slanted toward whatever party is in office. At least with expressly partisan behavior it is easy to identify (and fight against) the partisan actions.

Husted seems to me to be less blatantly partisan, and more intent on suppressing the vote - which, we all know hits Ds harder than Rs. But much harder to argue against because what he is doing isn't expressly partisan - for example, I remember not too long ago having long arguments with people on DU who insisted that voter ID laws were perfectly fine (and even needed). That perspective seems to have changed, thank goodness, but it is indicative of how much harder Husted's brand of voter suppression is than Blackwell's was.

[nobodyspecial]

43. My hope is he will be in JAIL

where he belongs

[lexw]

13. Really? Cheating?

Isn't that something humans teach their offspring at an early age NOT to do? These are the true dregs of our society. I hope we beat the hell out 'em in November.

[freshwest]

19. They only care about winning, not the skill or integrity. A different breed from us. I was taught

That a dishonest win is not a win. That the whole point of going through something is to find your own personal best, to change yourself and your life by work. That is earning by merit, and not birth. Democrats support having a meritocracy. The GOP wants to hold onto to what they think they are entitled since birth. In essence, they are the party of aristocracy.

[lexw]

52. Depressing

[Ms. Toad]

17. Although this appears to be accurately quoted

from the site, and from the underlying source, it is inaccurate.

And then there's the weirdness surrounding orders from Secretary of State Jon Husted, ordering local officials not to contact voters by phone about issues with their absentee ballots. Instead, they must contact them by mail, which means a far longer delay in processing those ballots.

The new directive (10/3) changes how the voter must respond, not how the contact by the state is made.

If there is a mistake on the voter ID envelope (address, ID#, or signature), a voter must complete a form to supplement the voter ID envelope. That is what the statute requires.

In the past, BOEs notified the voter by mail with the form, and voters could return it by mail. Husted's new directive requires absentee voters to come into the BOE, in person, to make the change. (last paragraph of Section B)

The issue is not delay (since the contact was previously made by mail), so much as that the voter must actually show up, in person, at the Board of Elections to make the correction. If the voter does not show up, the ballot will not be counted.

[LisaL]

18. It is a new directive.

They were able to contact voters by phone or e-mail before.

"Four years ago, Husted's predecessor, Democrat Jennifer Brunner, allowed elections boards to contact voters by phone or email if that information was available."

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/10/ohio_elections_chief_restricts.html

[Ms. Toad]

29. Mail contact was required in the BOE I am specifically familiar with

until 10/9, when it changed its policy in response to Husted's directive. The article does use the excuse of uniformity for the directive - so it is possible that boards across the state were following different practices regarding the initial contact.

[freshwest]

20. Which discriminates against the disabled, I thought your other post said there were provisions.

[LisaL]

21. And those who actually are out of state.

The whole point of voting absentee is that you don't have to show up.

[freshwest]

26. And those working their tails off and can't drop everything and run down to the courthouse, etc.

We need a movement to reinforce voting rights nationally. Instead we have people in Congress that want to repeal/defund the Voting Rights Act. And dozens of states passing all these laws to make it impossible for many to vote. Because they don't want us to have a voice in what they are doing to us. Naturally, they are all GOP.

[Ms. Toad]

27. That's the biggest part that bothers me -

I wonder what they would do if an out of state person who was also disabled requested them to bring the correction form to them...

[Ms. Toad]

25. There are -

I just didn't spell everything out in this post.

D.
Reasonable Accommodations
All county boards of elections must provide reasonable accommodations, as follows:
1.
Voters with Disabilities – Regardless of whether the voter requested assistance in casting the absentee ballot, if a voter requests assistance to supplement the voter’s identification envelope, the board of elections must send board employees, not of the same political party, to the voter to provide assistance.

[freshwest]

30. It looks like our DUer is not being offered this. And why the 'not of the same political party'?

Thanks for all this information. I hope that we can resolve our member's problem. I'm sure that he is not the only one being affected by this.

[LisaL]

33. He needs to call in and demand they show up.

Nobody is going to offer anyone anything.

[Ms. Toad]

35. "not of the same political party"

that means not of the same political party as each other. In other words, they can't assign two Rs to do the running around (who could conceivably not manage to find the home they were supposed to go to). Anytime the BOE provides assistance in voting to a person with a disability, the assistance must be bipartisan -to provide checks and balances.

I doubt the BOE will offer to bring the correction form. It is a pain for them. But they should respond, if asked. I haven't seen anything specific about how the request must be made, so I would start by phone. Ultimately, it may require a written request.

[24601]

50. Having been a Maryland Election Judge (and a precinct Chief Judge), I'd point out that it doesn't

guarantee a (D) and an (R). The requirement is that the election personnel have different affiliation. Even if one is a T Party and the other an Independent, the requirement is met. I have assisted votes in the polling place using the touch screen machines and you get some interesting questions.

As an aside, election judges are officially partisan but the Hatch Act allows us civil service employees to take leave and do these jobs, presumably because they are executed in a non-partisan manner.

[Ms. Toad]

51. The laws vary from state to state -

I am not sure specifically how Ohio treats it form a statutory standpoint - but in principle you're probably correct.

If the Tea Party has candidates on the primary ballots, that would likely qualify (since that is how Ohio designates party affiliation - the ballot you pull in the primary) as a party affiliation. Independents likely would also.

But I suspect there were not Tea Party candidates in all precincts (or that some Tea Party "members" voted Republican or issue only ballots in the primary.) So however they voted in the last primary (or the last primary in which they voted) probably determines whether someone who considers themselves a Tea Party member is treated as a Tea Party member, a Republican , or an Independent.

[LisaL]

31. But they never explain who they consider a voter with disabilities.

Is that someone on official disability? Many elderly can not show up in person due to bad health-are they going to be considered disabled?

[Ms. Toad]

36. Thas should be enough - based on the statute cited in the directive.

ORC 3509.08

Any qualified elector, who, on account of the elector’s own personal illness, physical disability, or infirmity, or on account of the elector’s confinement in a jail or workhouse under sentence for a misdemeanor or awaiting trial on a felony or misdemeanor, will be unable to travel from the elector’s home or place of confinement to the voting booth in the elector’s precinct on the day of any general, special, or primary election may make application in writing for an absent voter’s ballot to the director of the board of elections of the elector’s county. The application shall include all of the information required under section 3509.03 of the Revised Code and shall state the nature of the elector’s illness, physical disability, or infirmity, or the fact that the elector is confined in a jail or workhouse and the elector’s resultant inability to travel to the election booth in the elector’s precinct on election day.

That is the statute for requesting assistance initially - it should be the same for correcting errors.

[freshwest]

38. You have really given us valuable information on this and I'm glad to talk with you.

I hope Splinter Cell has seen your information. I left a link to bring him from his thread, but that one is not getting any more responses although it's on the Greatest Page and I haven't seen his response. He was given many great suggestions, but I think your solution may be faster.

[Ms. Toad]

42. I sent Splinter Cell DUmail

I've been trying to get this information out since I learned about it through my observer duties. I reported it to OFA (who arranged my appointment as an early voting observer), but I am glad to have the opportunity to reach a wider voting audience. I think we need to work it both from behind the scenes (OFA) - and in the voting public so we know what is happening, and how to address it.

[FarPoint]

40. I live in the next county ...

I have to drive up in Miami County several days a week. Romney signs; little ones an HUGE ones; every 50 feet. The Romney people even dominate the digital billboards non-stop. Yea...it's weird up here. I'm scared there is going to ...no, there may already have been a stolen/bought election. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

[davidpdx]

41. I just hope voter turn out is so high they can't pull this off

[lonestarnot]

44. K & R!

[Firebirds01]

45. Miami County

is going red no matter what. The issue is that he wasnt sending absentee ballots to folks when they should ahve been sent on Oct 2. That is why he left. Montgomery county is taking care of their voting issues now. Montgomery county is the county who stood up to Husted when he tried to stop early voting.

[bemildred]

49. Thanks. nt

[underpants]

53. Venezuela has cleaner elections than Ohio

and I was born in Ohio

[JackRiddler]

54. Venezuela has the cleanest elections, period.

And why should that be surprising?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021515675