Reply #48: Not so fast

[mtnester]

as an on the ground election protection volunteer, who also lives in the state, as much as that ruling was good, and that Jennifer Brunner is doing everything she can as SOS, the local board of elections are also doing their own thing under the horrid excuse that since Jennifer Brunner will NOT allow people to take the voting machines home overnight (yes, that happened) they will not be able to get the machines out to ever location in time, so they are "consolidating" voting locations.

In my county alone, 25 voting locations have been done away with, and even my OWN busy polling locations, which has been the same for decades, is being consolidated over to one of the largest on the area which already has lines that tend to be long, and crap for parking. This county also conveniently "forgot" to include the prepaid postage on the request for absentee ballot forms...the ones that SAY place your request in the prepaid envelope...and then tried to BLAME that on the Ohio SOS office when questioned about it, even though it was not the Ohio SOS office who does that mailing, it is the local county office. That went over like a lead balloon with them once I sent a fax copy of the note about postage and the lack thereof. The county had to go to the local post office and beg for then to watch for these requests and they would pay for them. Also, look for the amount of machines/voting stations to dwindle dramatically. My answer to the "we cannot take the machines home therefore cannot staff as many locations since we cannot take the machines home" is 'GET YOUR ASS UP AT 0300 AND MAKE IT HAPPEN YOU LAZY ASS FUCKERS! MY ASS WILL BE UP AND AT THE ELECTION PROTECTION PREP AREA BY 0400, AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO PICK UP AND DROP OFF MACHINES ON MY WAY THERE YOU SORRY EXCUSES FOR BOE OFFICIALS"

So, there will be long lines, trouble with voter ID, challenges, unexpected voter purging which slows things up as well....God HELP Ohio if it is cold or rainy (like it is SO many times on election day)...it will be 2004 all over again. (I was on the ground then too, last person in line at 7:30 FINALLY voted at about 1:00 in the AM...no kidding...the lines were like that all DAY.)

There will be scary protesters within eye and ear shot of any entrance location to traditionally Democratic leaning polling locations, as well as new locations they think will go Democratic. Consolidation of locations is happening in areas they think will trend Dem, and locations that have never seen lines like in 2004, so the shock may turn voters away.

2006 was a stumper for Repubs...they thought that Diebold and ES&S machines would be enough....it was not as the voters were more savvy after he 2000 and even MORE so the 2004 debacle. So, the last 2 years have been spent, by Repubs, retooling the method. And the method is suppression, deception and caging. It will be filled with diversionary tactics, and when that does not work, legal maneuvering. I fully expect to receive a restraining order before my day is out..or an attempt at one anyway.

Columbus Ohio (Franklin and Fairfield Counties) and Cleveland Ohio (Cuyahoga county and others) will suffer WORSE lines...and Jennifer Brunner knew that, thus early voting. But even with a huge number of early voters, it will not be enough to make election day better here. Just watch if you want, but what we really need is help that day. It is not too late to volunteer. The first election protection training session will be October 28....you all have time

If you are a lawyer, paralegal, or law student;
http://www.nationalcampaignforfairelections.org/page/s/vol08ep

For poll monitoring in North Carolina, Florida, New Mexico, Ohio, Michigan, or Louisiana, go to:
https://secure.pfaw.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=signup_election

and click on a partner...however, according to their higher ups, Ohio and PA are expected to need the most volunteers.

So, do we need people to come out in droves? Yes. DO we need boots on the ground to overcome the fully ORGANIZED voter suppression efforts...YES. Do I hope we get some type of federal standardization to make voting EASY in this country and STOP bully local county BOE's from "doing their own thing" which usually ends up suppressing voters...YES...but that will take a Dem super majority, and a Dem in the WH...so we have to get over this hurdle first.