Six Months Makes All The Difference for Brunner

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner committed the ultimate flip-flop in just six months' time. The flip-flop in question? Her decision to completely scrap electronic voting machines in certain Ohio counties and use optical scanning equipment. The Associated Press is reporting that they obtained a letter dated June 13, 2007 that was sent to Congress. In that letter, Brunner claimed that states, including Ohio, were just becoming comfortable with the 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and that Congress (at that time) should not change how voters use electronic voting machines. Brunner said she had no comment at the moment but was preparing a response for later today.

And what about the paper ballot shortages in Cleveland and elsewhere around the state that led the Obama campaign to take court action to keep certain precincts open? That problem exposed the real problem of paper ballots and a stronger turnout than expected can send County Election Boards scrambling to find extra ballots for voters.

And apparently many Ohio voters who used the electronic voting machines this past Tuesday in Ohio's primary election are largely in disagreement with Brunner's June 2007 opinion. Brunner demanded that Ohio counties that were still using the electronic equipment for the primary make paper ballots available to voters. And in those counties, voters were not very concerned with conspiracy theories of hackers changing their votes. Ultimately, a very small percentage of voters in those Ohio counties that used the electronic voting machines requested paper ballots. It appears Ohio voters are comfortable with electronic voting, despite Brunner's absurd conspiracy theories. This reaction to electronic voting seems to contradict the assertion in Brunner's December 2007 report on electronic voting in Ohio that the possible problems with the voting machines in question caused a lack of trust and confidence in Ohio's electoral process. Based on the primary this past Tuesday, that assertion is not only unfounded but is a prime example of partisan hyperbole and a fabricated claim used to bolster Brunner's pre-determined to scrap electronic voting in Ohio altogether.

Brunner's Cleveland Election Gamble Falling Apart

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's decision to require Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) to scrape their multi-million dollar electronic voting machines for no real reason has caused quite a stir. The New York Times politics blog has picked up on the saga.

Brunner's last minute decision to rid Ohio of touch-screen voting machines is reckless and a move done only to appease a fanatical base of liberal supporters who think Diebold, Halliburton, and Dick Cheney will rig every election. Brunner claims touch-screen voting provides no paper trail for ballots. False. In Butler Coutny, as one example, Diebold machines printed a paper receipt of each voter's ballot. Before printing, the machine had the voter verify their votes for each candidate and issue before tabulting the vote. Then the receipt is printed by the machine and the voter can see the receipt before leaving the polling place. Touch screens not only provide a paper trail but they keep ballots more secure. The use of paper ballots opens up vulnerabilities to tampering and illegal tabulation that Brunner is plainly ignoring.

Now individual counties, like Union County, are fighting in the courts to keep the touch-screen system and Brunner has a mess on her hands. If the touch-screen system had to be replaced, it should have been done after the 2008 primary--at the very least. Jeers to Jennifer Brunner.