DeWine's Response to Questions about Ohio [View All]

[KaliTracy]

Form Letter -- but I intend to write back and send him a copy of the Conyers' Report!

January 25, 2005


Dear XXXX:

Thank you for contacting me regarding your support for a recount in Ohio
for the Presidential election. I appreciate knowing your views on this
issue.

As you know, Ohio Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, recently
certified President Bush as the winner of Ohio based on official results
from county election boards, with the final tally of 2.86 million votes
for President Bush (or about 51 percent of the vote) and 2.74 million (or
49 percent) for Senator John Kerry. The decisive 118,775-vote lead by
President Bush was not close enough for a mandatory recount; however, the
Green and Libertarian party presidential cadidates funded a recount that
also showed President Bush winning Ohio by over 118,000 votes.

On January 6, 2005, the Senate voted 74-1 to defeat an objection by
Senator Barbara Boxer with regard to certification of Ohio's electoral
votes. I voted to defeat this objection because there was no clear
evidence of voter fraud and another costly recount could never change the
election outcome. Those funds could go to many more important uses, such
as improving local schools, funding vital human services, or rebuilding
our state's economy. {emphasis mine}

Again, thank you for contacting me. If you have any additional questions
or concerns, please feel free to contact me anytime.

Very respectfully yours,

MIKE DEWINE
United States Senator


(edited for punctuation)