Date for HEARING in New Ohio Recount Case Can Now Be Set

[WilliamPitt]

Received via email:

DATE FOR HEARING IN NEW OHIO RECOUNT CASE CAN NOW BE SET

Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb's pending request
to have the flawed recount of Ohio's presidential vote be done again, this
time in conformance with state and federal law, moved a step closer to
judicial resolution with the filing last week of the final necessary
documents before the matter can be heard by a federal judge.

Attorneys acting on behalf of Cobb and Libertarian presidential
candidate Michael Badnarik, filed a legal Memorandum on February 3,
countering the "remarkable assertion" of Secretary of State J. Kenneth
Blackwell that he is not a proper party to the recount litigation and that
the lawsuit filed by the presidential candidates should be dismissed.

"Mr. Blackwell and Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro are doing
their utmost to keep the public and the proper authorities from finding out
what went wrong with Ohio's presidential election and the bungled recount
which followed it. Collectively, they have refused to testify before
members of Congress and they have sought sanctions against attorneys
prosecuting legitimate election claims. It is not at all surprising that
they are claiming a federal court has no jurisdiction in the oversight of a
federal election. It's not surprising, it's simply ridiculous," said Blair
Bobier, Media Director for the Cobb-LaMarche 2004 Green Party presidential
campaign.

The matter is pending in the Eastern Division of the United
States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, before Judge Edmund
Sargus.

Whether the Ohio election and subsequent recount were conducted
fairly and with uniform standards has become a national issue since Cobb and
Badnarik first demanded the Ohio recount back in November. The recount set
the stage for investigations conducted by Representative John Conyers of
Michigan, rallies featuring the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and the historic
challenge to Ohio's Electoral College votes on January 6, before a joint
session of Congress. The issue has galvanized activists all across the
country and has resulted in Congressional legislation, a well-attended
national conference and the emergence of a New Voting Rights Movement.

Problems with the recount included a lack of security for the
ballots and voting machines-including allegations of interference with
voting machines by representatives of the Diebold and Triad corporations-and
the refusal of some counties to do a full hand recount when Ohio law
required them to do so. One of the most significant problems with the
recount was that few of Ohio's 88 counties randomly selected sample
precincts for the recount as is required by state law.

[Darknyte7]

1. I like what I'm reading about the judge hearing the matter...

This is a link to his profile: http://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/jsargus.htm

He was appointed by President Clinton in 1996.

[gkhouston]

6. an honest judge in Ohio?

Good, I was hoping we'd find one eventually.

[annabanana]

2. they do "grind slow".....

don't they? Do you think it will be followed to a conclusion? I salute them all for their efforts on our behalf.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Thank you, Will Pitt,

for staying on this very important story, and for keeping all of us informed. This one is vital to our democracy. The antics of the GOP in Ohio just make me ill.

[corbett]

10. Hear! Hear!

WRP Da Man!

[demodonkey]

4. Go David Cobb!

David Cobb and the people supporting him on this are incredible. They really believe in the meaning of "NGU". It is an honor to have worked with them!

[Verve]

5. Thanks Will! Hopefully this judge can stand up to pressure and

do the right thing!

[Andy_Stephenson]

7. Thanks...oh

and please Will...Call me.

[housewolf]

31. Andy.... update request....

Where are you now? What are you doing? Are you gainfully employed? Have you had a chance to spend anytime at home? Have you gotten things settled with BBV?

Sorry for being nosey, just thinking about you and hoping things have evened out for you...

[SharonRB]

8. Thanks for posting this, Will.

We don't see you very often anymore, ever since you started FYI. Will they ever be able to get an accurate recount at this point? Do they have paper ballots for all counties/precincts to count? For those that don't, haven't the machines been cleared out by now?

I'm glad this at least is a Clinton-appointed judge. Maybe we'll get a fair ruling.

[troubleinwinter]

9. Kick!

[flyarm]

11. thanks Will!!!

i hope to god they get blackwell for fraud..and it works its way up the chain of crooks!!

fly

[liberalla]

17. YES !!!!!!!!

"i hope to god they get blackwell for fraud..and it works its way up the chain of crooks!!"

That would be a great beginning! The idea of blackwell becoming governor and prospering further from his criminal actions makes me ill.

[Amaryllis]

12. Hey, Will! I was just thinking today I missed having you around here.

[sunnystarr]

13. We must be on the same wave length ... I was thinking of Will today too!

(nt)

[KaliTracy]

14. Thanks for this update, Will! Much appreciated! n/t

[Melissa G]

15. Kick for Will and kick Blackwell out of office and into the slammer

while we are at it!

[ClassWarrior]

16. That's awesome. The flame still burns.

I bleev, Keef.

NGU.

[Wilms]

18. Good. n/t

[Quakerfriend]

19. Kick it for Cobb!

[Peace Patriot]

20. William, are you aware of what's going on in California, with the...

...savage efforts to destroy Kevin Shelley, one of our few honest Secretaries of State in the country, and a leader in demanding transparency from Diebold and other election fraudsters.

We need national allies to win this. Please help! See the latest:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...


And go to Post #7 here, for links to all the DU discusions about this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...


Cobb, the Greens, Arenebeck & Co. have gone so far beyond the call of duty, in trying to save this democracy, that it's difficult to find words to praise them. They are the heroes of the New American Revolution, and their names will be known throughout the world, for the rest of history--like the names of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson.

[Time for change]

24. This is heart warming news

Does anyone know what its likelihood of success is, or what would be done if it is successful and Kerry is found to have won Ohio?

[kster]

27. They say

there are no laws in the constitution regarding this,but I think if it is found that bush cheated and or someone cheated for him,would we even need the law? To right a wrong we only need common sense and moral values to do what is right. Just a thought.

[Time for change]

30. Yeah, but

I'm thinking that even if they can show that Kerry won, it will be next to impossible to tie it to Bush.

[Coexist]

21. thanks for the update n/t

[merh]

22. Don't forget folks, this is the federal action that the Kerry/Edwards

campaign joined -- Glibs are taking the lead in the litigation (not uncommon in litigation such as this) and K/E join in and are active participants.

Thanks Will!

[intensitymedia]

25. please keep us updated on this important story n/t

[bleever]

23. I do believe that the wheels continue turning. Rust never sleeps,

karma never goes on vacation, and a lot of good people are going to make sure that justice is done.

Thanks Will. (This almost erases the weirdness of my dream about you wearing a bunny suit.)

NGU.

[Imagevision]

26. While Kerry goes on the record as saying that it was the

Osama Bin Laden Tape brought out a few days before the election that caused more people to vote for Bush -- I wonder if Kerry could have received a family threat if he pursued investigations into the Ohio voting fraud issues, especially the role Blackwell played?

Something clearly makes no sense!

[Pooka Fey]

28. Hooray for David Cobb! Hooray for the Greens!!

[rigel99]

29. From my vantage point.. the Greens are the heroes

in this fight and David Cobb is a true fighter.

He gave this movement direction and momentum when Kerry was nowhere to be found. Keep defending the guy, but from what I heard, Edwards/Kerry differed on strategy and had a bit of an toss with each other over next steps in fighting the election fraud. Heard from some that Edwards will fight this as himself, defending himself as chief counsel.. I personally prefer that style to anything Kerry or his really lame duck attorneys are doing.... I just have not seen Kerry show leadership, being out of the country when Boxer did her eloquent thing..

it's real clear now, Dean won the party, Barbera won the 2008 nomination. Let's all get behind the woman who did something versus moaning about kerry anymore....