An Open Letter to Gov. Taft & Sec. of State Kenneth J. Blackwell

[babsbunny]

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2006/2141


An open letter to Gov. Robert Taft and Sec. of State J. Kenneth Blackwell
by Harvey Wasserman, et. al.
September 8, 2006


Dear Governor Taft and Secretary of State Blackwell,

We the undersigned Ohio citizens and voters hereby request of you that all ballots and other relevant and related materials from the 2004 election in our state be gathered, indexed, and permanently preserved in a centralized state-run and state-protected facility, such as the Ohio Library, where the materials can be protected and made available to scholars, students and the general public in an orderly, reliable fashion for the foreseeable future.

We welcome the federal court order issued today protecting these materials. This order acknowledges the unique and precious nature of the rights represented by these ballots, which all American citizens treasure.

The logical next step is to establish a permanent archive for these materials.

We note that the state of Florida, as ordered by Governor Jeb Bush and Secretary of State Glenda Hood, has carefully preserved the ballots and related materials from the 2000 election there in a monitored, carefully maintained state facility in Tallahassee.

We believe the state of Ohio can do no less.