Reply #339: letter from members of Congress to Blackwell

[Zan_of_Texas]

http://www.spidel.net/ohblackwellltr12204.pdf
14 page letter


December 2, 2004

Letter to Kenneth Blackwell
Ohio Secretary of State


BRIEF EXCERPT
Spoiled Ballots

According to post election canvassing, many ballots were cast without any valid selection for president. For example, two precincts in Montgomery County had an undervote rate of over 25% each -- accounting for nearly 6,000 voters who stood in line to vote, but purportedly declined to vote for president. 33 This is in stark contrast to the 2% of undervoting county-wide.34 Disturbingly, predominantly Democratic precincts had 75% more undervotes than those that were predominantly Republican.35 It is inconceivable to us that such a large number of people supposedly did not have a preference for president in such a controversial and highly contested election.

Considering that an estimated 93,000 ballots were spoiled across Ohio,36 we would like to know the following:

11. How many of those spoiled ballots were of the punch card or optical scan format and could therefore be examined in a recount?

12. Of those votes that have a paper trail, how many votes for president were undercounted, or showed no preference for president? How many were overcounted, or selected more than one candidate for president? How many other ballots had an indeteminate preference?

13. Of the total 93,000 spoiled ballots, how many were from predominantly Democratic precincts? How many were from minority-majority precincts?

14. Are you taking steps to ensure that there will be a paper trail for all votes before the 2006 elections so that spoiled ballots can be individually re-examined?

....

If you have any questions about this inquiry, please contact Perry Apelbaum or Ted Kalo of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff at [phone]

Signed,
John Conyers
Tammy Baldwin
Jerrold Nadler
Melvin Watt