Why Hurricane Ike Demands Paper Ballots on November 4-by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

[kpete]

Published on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 by The Free Press
Why Hurricane Ike Demands Paper Ballots on November 4

by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

Hurricane Ike has made it clear that paper ballots must be made available for all voters in Ohio and throughout the nation on November 4.

Ike has blown all the way up into the Great Lakes region with devastating impact. Power has been knocked out and airports shut by gale-force winds up to 78 miles per hour. Days later, hundreds of thousands of Midwesterners remain blacked out, and casualties still mount. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has declared a state of emergency, with up to 2 million Ohioans still without power.

A repeat performance on election day could change the course of US history if paper ballots are not universally ready.

A bitter battle now rages here in the Buckeye State over whether the Secretary of State's office should provide as many paper ballots as voters might want.

Under current arrangements, half or more of Ohio's may show up to the polls and be forced to cast their ballots on electronic touch-screen machines. Of 5.4 million ballots cast in 2004, George W. Bush's official margin of victory was less than 119,000 votes.

more at:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/09/17-2

[mod mom]

1. FYI Bob Fitrakis has a new radio show on AAR affiliate WVKO in Columbus-5pm est

Of course Harvey was his first guest. Yesterday was the premier show.