Cuyahoga County, Ohio absentee ballot misleading voters

The directions for this Ballot read:

"Punch the hole beside the number for the set of candidates of your choice"

So if you wanted to vote for Kerry you would punch out the blue chad and vote for Kerry. If you wished to vote for Peroutka you would punch out Chad 10 and vote for your candidate.

But if you wanted to vote for Bush or Badnarik and punched out the chads beside their names you would waste your votes. Badnarik is chad 2 and Bush is Chad 4 the one marked in Red.

Found a link to the story

www.mlive.com.../base/politics-0/1098314947158440.xml&storylist=politics

The elections board in Ohio's most populous county has fielded numerous calls from voters confused about the layout of absentee ballots.

The ballots are from traditionally Democratic Cuyahoga County, which is receiving more than 2,000 requests for absentee ballots every day. Both presidential campaigns have focused on the county in a state both candidates consider crucial to what's expected to be a close election Nov. 2.

The problem occurs if voters align the ballot portion, which shows a candidate's name, a number and an arrow, with the punch card, which also bears numbers. The numbers don't always line up.

For example, a Cleveland Heights absentee ballot book lists the numeral six next to Democrat John Kerry's name. If a voter tries to line up the arrow with the punch card, the number across from Kerry's name, however, could be for another candidate or for no vote.

It's also possible for Republican President Bush's name to be misaligned should an absentee voter mistakenly try to follow the arrows.

"It's incredibly confusing," said Aaron Greenspan, a 21-year-old absentee voter from Shaker Heights. "Every day that goes by, more people are going to send in these ballots and more of them are guaranteed to be wrong."

[edit on 25-10-2004 by BlackJackal]

So, is the state I'm so proud to live in..(cough, cough..) Doomed to be this campaign's Florida? Gak. Stay tuned voters for more: Live from Ohio, Swing State Mayhem!"

[edit on 25-10-2004 by Der Kapitan]

HAHA. That's pretty funny, but seriously, it looks like they forget to add a 1 for Badnarik and Bush. They got a week to fix. My question is, why didn't they just do 1,2,3,4. And why are the other candidates, called "other party candidates" instead of what their party actually is. This whole thing is a crock.

Originally posted by Jamuhn
HAHA. That's pretty funny, but seriously, it looks like they forget to add a 1 for Badnarik and Bush. They got a week to fix. My question is, why didn't they just do 1,2,3,4. And why are the other candidates, called "other party candidates" instead of what their party actually is. This whole thing is a crock.

I agree this is bull#, can someone not make a simple ballot. Remember the jokes about the dip#s in florida? I hope this gets resolved quickly.

I agree that the order of the numbering is totally off the wall but what concerns me is that this is an absentee ballot and they are being filled out as we speak. No telling how many are already sent in.

[edit on 25-10-2004 by BlackJackal]

Bout Time just posted an article that takes place in Cuyahoga County too. This time it has to do with democrats going door to door trying to register people to vote. Illegal people apparently.

Woah I didn't know that. I don't know what to say...

Here is a quote from the Story

Absentee voters are supposed to ignore the arrows and punch out the chad that matches the candidate's number, Jacqueline Maiden, a coordinator with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, said Wednesday.

The punch cards and arrows are designed to work with machines used by people who vote in person on Election Day, she said.

"When the ballots are placed in the machines, the numbers line up with the arrows," she said, sliding a sample ballot into a machine similar to the ones that will be used Nov. 2 to show how it lined up correctly.

The instructions tell absentee voters to punch the corresponding number but don't specifically say to disregard the arrows. That has some voters worried, epecially because the outcome of the election is predicted to be close.

Uh oh, I thought it was the other way round. Not good at all...

Originally posted by Jamuhn
Bout Time just posted an article that takes place in Cuyahoga County too. This time it has to do with democrats going door to door trying to register people to vote. Illegal people apparently.

I am not sure if there is any connection but this I know for sure Cuyahoga County is historically democrat so the only conspiracy reasoning behind it is to disregard any Bush votes to help win the state.

Maybe they're just trying to weed out people who can't read instructions.

Although, I must admit - they should probably now begin weeding out whoever designed this ballot.

I'm looking at a USA map. There is a North and South Carolina. There is also a North and South Dakota. I think I live in North Florida instead of Ohio. Ohio Electioneering was mentioned at ATSNN recently. Skewed ballots in Cuyahoga County, Kerry left off the ballot in Hamilton County and
phony voter registration forms POSSIBLY paid for with coc aine.... The election in Ohio is turning into a circus. It must be, as the clowns simply want to spend all their time here. Well, with all these dirty tricks, maybe Badnarik will stand a chance in Ohio. With so much happening here, I do not believe it all to be "accidental". I think it is badly coordinated from some place.

Growing Concerns over Election Fraud in the U.S. Presidential Election in Ohio
Posted by: SkepticOverlord On: Mon October, 25 2004 @ 00:52 GMT
Swing states and "battle ground" states are certain to contain interesting coverage come election night and during the inevitable litigious follow-up. Fraudulent registrations continue to appear in Ohio, with plenty of similar tales elsewhere.
There are 5 reader comments on ATS.
Click here to read the full story.

Mary Poppins Registers to Vote in Ohio
Posted by: FredT On: Tue October, 19 2004 @ 06:05 GMT
What do Mary Poppins, Dick Tracy, Michael Jordan and George Foreman all have in common? They all have registered to vote in Defiance, Ohio. The county Sherif has arrested a Chad Staton on felony charges of submitting phony voter registration forms. They are also conducting an investigation to see if he was payed with coc aine to perform the task.
There are 3 reader comments on ATS.
Click here to read the full story.

John Kerry Left Off Hamilton Co, Ohio Absentee Ballots
Posted by: Nerdling On: Tue October, 19 2004 @ 04:36 GMT
In a move sure to cause controversy it has been revealed that John Kerry is NOT on the absentee ballots for Hamilton Country in the state of Ohio. This was confirmed by election officials in Hamilton County. Ohio is classed as a swing state for this Novembers Presidential election and may hold the key to the White House. Whilst no official comment has been made by John Kerry it is believed that a statement may be coming to address the fault.
There are 29 reader comments on ATS.
Click here to read the full story.