'04 Ohio election was fair, Blackwell says
Ex-secretary of state defends outcome, process
Thursday, July 24, 2008 8:19 PM
BY JACK TORRY
The Columbus Dispatch
WASHINGTON—Former Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell rejected charges today that the outcome of the 2004 presidential race in the state was tampered with, saying that “checks and balances” on the county level make it “virtually impossible for either party to rig an Ohio election.”
Appearing before a House judiciary subcommittee that is investigating charges of voter suppression in the 2004 election, Blackwell told lawmakers that both Democrats and Republicans run Ohio's 88 county boards of election.
“They decide on the distribution ratios for voting equipment, they decide the location of polling stations, and they select the voting equipment used in their counties from lists of equipment certified by the secretary of state's office,” he said.
“All these local safeguards ensure that local concerns about access to polling stations are handled locally and that both parties have a say in the final decisions,” Blackwell said.
When Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., sharply questioned Blackwell about observers' allegations of irregularities in the Ohio vote, Blackwell replied that “a lot of people have Jonathan Swift imagination.” Blackwell added that “just because someone ... makes a charge” doesn't mean it has “ validity.”
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