Politics Extra: Let the provisional counting begin

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Let the provisional counting begin

Here is a copy of U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley's enforcement order Tuesday that defines how provisional ballots (and those wrongly cast as provisional ballots) should be counted next week:

11%2014%2006%20order1.pdf

In the race for the 2nd Congressional District seat, U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, has an unofficial lead of 2,865 voters over Democratic challenger Victoria Wulsin with more than 8,200 provisional ballots and at least 1,500 absentee ballots to be counted in seven counties.

Schmidt's campaign manager, Matt Perin, predicts the congresswoman will net another 500 votes. Wulsin's campaign manager, Mary Huttlinger, said it may come down to an automatic recount if Wulsin pulls within 1,100 votes or 0.5 percent of total votes cast.

38 Comments:

at 3:31 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

Now you might label me as a conspiricy theorist, but I'd like to relate my absentee balot experience with the clermont county board of elections...and more so, I'd like to hear if anyone else had a similar experience:

I am an active duty service member stationed in Washington, DC i.e. the place that went 90% for Kerry in 2004.

I registered to vote (as an Independant) and requested an absentee balot using the standard federal post card.

After receiving enough campaign mail to heat my house for a year, yet no absentee balot, I contacted the clermont county board of elections.

Me: Where is my absentee balot.

[gets my name etc.]

BOE: Your balot is was sent out, but it came back, marked "return to sender."

Me: Read me the address.

BOE: Blah blah [address is correct except for the zip...] blah 2003.

Me: All zip codes are at least 5-digits, I thought everyone knew that, its 20003.

BOE: Thats what I meant to say, the zip code on the envelope says 20003.

Me: Hmmm. Strange. Well, thats the right address then, send it again.

BOE: Okay, we will.

Me: [crosses fingers hoping that my balot arrives in time].

Friday before election day...

Me: [Checks mail...overjoyed that balot has arrived...looks at envelope]

The Handwritten address on the envelope has a zip code of...

...drum roll...

2003

The printed address inside the evelope had the correct zip code.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on ... wait a sec...i caught you the first time. Thank God [begin sarcasm] (that omnipotent creator which my-left-leaning-liberal-self doesn't belive in, yet somehow simultaneously manages to hate) [end sarcasm] that the US postal system was able to decipher the correct address the second time around.

And before the accusations of me wearing tin-foil hats begin...to quote Napolean, "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence."

But chrimony...voting is the second most important thing i do as a citizen...if only the IRS could emulate the board of elections.

at 3:39 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

at 4:10 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

But chrimony...voting is the second most important thing i do as a citizen...if only the IRS could emulate the board of elections.

I'm with you on the IRS !

Let's see, a zip code that went 90% Kerry and you didn't get your absentee ballot from Clermont County ?

Hmmm ?

You must have been a terrorist threat !

Is that moisture in the air, I smell ?

HAD ENOUGH, VOTE DEMOCRAT 2008 !

at 4:33 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

Lady Victoria is up to an ol' Democratic stand by. Cry voter fraud. Disenfrachisement, count every vote (as long as they're the ones who were for us, or meant to be cast for us). Dr. Wulsin lost this race. It's crystal clear. Notice that the George Allen didn't cry or ask for provisionals or demand a recount. Notice Conrad Burns didn't cry disenfranchisement. They took their losses like the standup people they are. Hey, yeah, I've already had enough of this. And yeah, I won't forget what to do in 2008.

at 5:33 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

To the bold italics guy: the voter was a resident of Clermont County. The fact that he wanted his ballot sent to a Democrat precinct in DC is immaterial. All of Washington DC is heavy Dem. Particularly with DC, Republican staffers and military personnel at the numerous bases vote Republican by absentee ballot back home even if they sleep in DC.

Voters make a place heavy Dem or heavy GOP, not the resients.

I travel a lot for my job, and I am an independent. If I have a ballot sent to Naples Florida or Boston Mass, it has no effect on my vote. And my vote will be counted in my home county anyway, which is Hamilton in case you care.

Sorry, but your conspiracy dog won't hunt here.

at 6:15 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

Yeah, count all the valid votes. Wulsin will have to pick up over 2/3 of the provisional votes to overcome Congresswoman Jean Schmidt's lead. No way. But count all the valid votes and get it over with. I'm sick and bloody tired of reading the screechy suspicions of the conspiracy fruitcakes on this and other blogs.

at 6:17 PM, November 16, 2006

thirstycoon said...

Just count the votes. It's what we're supposed to do in a democracy. Why would Jean want to be in office if she hadn't been voted into office? If by any chance, Victoria won, she should go to Washington.

at 6:39 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

Once once more the actions of Ken Blackwell have made Ohio a source of derision.

The problems with elections go well beyond electronic voting. Partisan secretaries of state continue to skew the rules to favor their parties and political allies. States are adopting harsh standards for voter registration drives to make it harder for people to register, as well as draconian voter identification laws to make casting a ballot harder for poor people, racial minorities, the elderly and students. Some states (Ohio) have adopted an indefensible rule that provisional ballots cast at the wrong table of the correct polling place must be thrown out.

at 6:55 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

Cincy911ConspiracyTheorist:

You are wrong about Allen. The margin in that race was 0.3 percent: one-quarter of Schmidt's lead. The rest of your statements are not to the point. With logic like that...

By your reasoning, we should wait to see how the Allen race unfolds to start talking about who should lead the Senate.

at 7:05 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

This story is losing steam. Wulsin lost. End of story. Count the votes so we can record the final result for posterity.

Those Warren County absentee ballots should add an additional 500 or so votes in Schmidt's favor.
Predictions? I'll begin the thread by guessing Wulsin lost by 3,500 votes.

at 7:47 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but your conspiracy dog won't hunt here.

WTF, an independant for sure !

I think we just sniffed out the flea bag on point !

Thanks mean jean !

at 10:14 PM, November 16, 2006

Brah Coon said...

Don't cut and run! Be a 'lil Marine for us, Vic! Stay the F'ing course baby! Don't leave us with that flag dress drapped abomination prancing around the halls of congress! Oh well, what will be will be. We can only hope Pelosi will catch her alone in the ladies cloak room and pull her hair and scratch her face for calling her pal Jack Murtha a big wuss.

at 11:42 PM, November 16, 2006

Anonymous said...

Alter or abolish, Murtha isn't a coward or a wuss. However, he IS a corrupt idiot. What? You never heard that he was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam bribery investigation? That's the corrupt part. The idiocy comes from his insane, yes, insane call for the rapid withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The next time Congresswoman Jean Schmidt runs into that sourpuss idiot Murtha on the floor of the House, I hope she tells the SOB to go to hell. And if that San Francisco feminist socialist wench, Pelosi, doesn't like it, it would be advisable that she keep it to herself. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt runs in 5-10 26.2-mile marathons each and every year which translates to this: she's in shape and could clean Pelosi's clock any hour of any day. Stuff that in your marijuana pipe and smoke it!

at 12:39 AM, November 17, 2006

Anonymous said...

God help us. You all need to just chill. They are counting the votes and we will have a winner.

The loser is all of us. Both of the canidates suck!!! One can't ever get any votes except in Clermont County where we all know funny things happen. And oh yea all she does is trash her opponents.

The Vic is no better. Her record as a "so called doctor"(go treat somenote AIDS patients with Malaria) is not good. And her views are so far out there that she would represent the real views about about 15% of our district.

There will be no winner when the count the votes. We of the 2nd District will have one of the worst representatives in the country. You really think we will get anything done from here. Thank you Clermont County for being so closed minded in your selection of Jean. Yea it looks like she will win.

Everyone out there screwed up the past 2 years when you had chances to put a real representative out there. You did this for stupid reasons and now we have no representation in the 2nd district.

Count the votes, yes they will and then we all lose.

at 1:45 AM, November 17, 2006

Anonymous said...

It appears that in additional to the abominable job done by many poll workers in not having those "flagged" as needing additional ID give the last four digits of their Soc. Sec. #, as well as the "flagging" being done as a result of returned postcards, which the local BOEs were supposed to follow up on before the election, a major problem is the delay required before counting these provisional ballots. Of course they should all be counted, and the counting should have begun the next day. Hard to believe our legislature voted such hogwash. Other states seem to be straightening out their problems quickly but Ohio will be last or among the last to resolve the mess they have created, looking like laughingstocks and screwups. Let's get some names here of just who is responsible. There must be a better way to run elections, and I hope Ohio figures it out sooner rather than later.

at 7:26 AM, November 17, 2006

Anonymous said...

I live in DC, am not a registered member of a party, but received my absentee ballot...hmmm-wonder if someone is lying?

at 10:27 AM, November 17, 2006

Anonymous said...

Yes the Allen-Webb race was closer than this one, but ALL the votes had been counted IAW Virginia law. The only thing Allen could do was ask for a RE-count, but he chose not to.

This is an entirely different situation. IAW Ohio law, all the votes HAVE NOT yet been counted. The State owes a complete account of ALL BALLOTS CAST, not only to the candidates, but also to the voters.

at 2:12 PM, November 17, 2006

Brah Coon said...

TNP said " Stuff that in your marijuana pipe and smoke it! "

Well Pal, I'd do better to stuff it under my marijuana PLANT and GROW it - because it's booooolcrap.

I'll admit; Murtha appears to be only marginally more bright than Our Brilliant Leader, Bush The Younger. However, if you call refusing a bribe ( as Murtha did) a crime, what do you call the needless war of aggression and resulting deaths of thousands of Americans that Dubya has caused?

at 2:38 PM, November 17, 2006

Anonymous said...

The blog author has the right to remove any blog from this site. The blog from Alter or Abolish 10:14 and from TNP 11:42 should not be published. Requesting that people fight is just one part of the problem that we have in this violent area in which we live. While we have the right for "Freedom of Speech", the blog author does not have to print everything that is sent to him/her.

at 3:05 PM, November 17, 2006

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous: when you learn to tell a " blog" from a "comment" then come back and explain the free speech/violence in area connection.

at 12:22 AM, November 18, 2006

Anonymous said...

Alter or Abolish at 2:12 pm, 11/17,
let's get a few things straight. Your boy Murtha didn't refuse a bribe; he postponed it. The FBI video that caused him to be named as an unindicted co-conspirator showed that clearly.

And the President did not "cause" the War Against Terror, Iraq Phase.
Any bloody fool who isn't led into tomfoolery by the MSM would know that the killing, maiming and imprisoning of the thugs and murderers of Islamic Jihadism in Iraq is part and parcel of the global war we are currently fighting. Bush led us into a tough, ugly phase of the war, no doubt about it. But, and pay attention, twit, it's necessary. The volunteer military knows it. Most GOPers know it. Most residents of Manhattan know it. Everybody in the Pentagon knows it.
The bright lites who don't seem to know it, your leftist compadres, had better be learning it, and soon, or else we'll wake up some morning in the next two years and find one or two of our ports or our cities have been turned into a sea of radioactive glass.

War is awful. I know, 'cause I'm a war veteran. But there are things in life that are much, much worse--loss of freedom, oppression, starvation of family and friends, violence perpetrated against our homeland, etc. And so we fight the enemy on HIS home ground, not ours. I hope you and your Jackass Party friends pick up on that real soon, 'cause you're running the Congress now. God help us.

at 11:03 AM, November 18, 2006

Brah Coon said...

Dear TNP: when one assumes - one runs the risk of making an arse of one's self. You are doing a fine job with your assumtions that I belong to the " jackass party" and am a Leftist or Leftist fellow traveler (my leftist compadres as you say).

I associate myself with what is derisively refered to as the " Isolationist" wing of the Conservative movement. We prefer the moniker, Paleoconservative, but hey, whatever. We don't get all uptight about labels.
We were supporting the troops before supporting the troops was cool - by pointing out the absurdity and futility of what you call the " Iraq Phase" -- before our troops were sent there.

As for Murtha; LOL yah man, he " postponed" a bribe! Postponed it for so long that it looked exactly like not accepting a bribe to a grand jury. He was no ham sandwich.

Regarding the discredited " war on terror" spiel that you cling to, you know, the one that goes: saddam=osama=iran=hamas=hizballa=new ottoman turk empire -- it has proven to be SO transparently ridiculous and false that NOBODY is buying it any more. If you have some secret info that " everybody in the pentagon" thinks otherwise -- you need to alert the non MSM ASAP!

at 1:11 AM, November 19, 2006

Anonymous said...

Alter or Abolish, my mistake. You just write like a member of the Jackass Party. I didn't think there were any serious isolationists left, since the advent of intercontinental bombers, ICBM's and the like. But hey, my mistake. And you may well call killing our enemies before they get another chance to kill us an "absurdity." I don't. I call it a necessity. You would too, if you didn't think we could roll up the sidewalks, tuck our heads under our wings, fortify all our beaches and talk the thugs and murderers of Islamic Jihadism into being nice to us. But hey, my mistake; I may be expecting too much of you and your "Paleoconservative" compadres. You may well, however, begin to question your own lala-land assumptions about the War on Terror being "discredited,"
"transparently ridiculous" and "false" when the Dems begin to dismantle the NSA electronic snooping, eliminate the Patriot Act, give constitutional protections to enemy combatants and cut off funding for our troops in Iraq. And suddenly there's a homicide bomber on the city bus ripping your kids to pieces or maybe one of al Qaeda's finest sets off a dirty bomb in a stadium restroom during the Rose Bowl. You are a glib fool, and your comments, dressed up in cool Brit terms like "arse," make you sound silly. Judging from your comments, perhaps you are.

at 2:42 PM, November 19, 2006

Brah Coon said...

Dear TNP: Hey Mate, you're running low on petrol aren't you?

You keep talking about " our enemies". Who specifically are they? Did they just wake up one day and decide to hate America and kill Us because they ...are like The Joker, The Riddler or The Penguin from Batman?

I got news for 'ya - half the world hates our guts - the other half is pointing and LAUGHING at us. Could it be something we said, something we did? NAW! They are ALL Evil and We are good - they hate the blinding light of our goodness! - Our Values!

That's one way to look at it. The other way is to closely review our foreign policy! Check that sucker out real good! We might find some very serious flaws.

at 4:00 PM, November 19, 2006

Anonymous said...

Alter or Abolish, you may not be an
American or a Brit. You might be an Aussie. If so, that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. I served in the combat zone in Southeast Asia with ANZAC troops and have nothing but respect for them.

Check out the trouble spots throughout the world: Indonesia, Thailand, UK, Chechnya, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Syria, Saudi Arabia, France, Spain, Belgium (soon), Italy and Turkey. What's the common denominator? Of course, it's Islamic Jihadists, and brother, that's who we're at war with.

Is the enemy monolithic? No. But do they display a type of unity? You bet. For example, why would the non-Arab Persian leaders of Iran persist in such overt hostility toward tiny Israel? Israel, if left alone, poses no threat to Iran. And Iran's Islamic Fascist government couldn't possibly care less about the "Palestinian people" and their relationship with the Israelis. So why does Ahmadinejad continue to blast and bluster against Israel? Because Israel is an outpost of the West and of democracy in the totalitarian Muslim Middle East and as such stands in the way of the establishment of the so-called Muslim "Third Caliphate." Who else opposes Muslim domination around the world? The USA, long may we prosper. Sooo, the US, the UK and Israel are the only effective opposition to the global rise of the anachronistic cretin throw-backs to the 7th century who call themselves "holy warriors," and also refer to themselves as al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, al Aqsa Brigade, Islamic Brotherhood, etc. That's who we're fighting. That's who will destroy our cities, kill our people, cripple our economy and destroy our precious liberty if we let them. And I don't give a damn why they are seeking our destruction! I couldn't care less what their "reasons" are, justified or not! All I know is that we are at war, and we must win it at all costs. And win it we will, even if the rest of the world hates us or laughs at us, as you put it.

God bless America, and may America bless God by returning to Him, soon!

at 5:19 PM, November 19, 2006

Brah Coon said...

Ummm...whatever dude. It's hard to debate geopolitics with an Apocalyptic Christian Zionist (my assumption, but I'll risk it) who would have U.S. foreign policy summed up in two words: HASTEN RAPTURE!

at 8:07 PM, November 19, 2006

Anonymous said...

Alter or Abolish, you wrote "It's hard to debate geopolitics with an Apocalyptic Christian Zionist...," and that's true, especially when the man is right. Your labels don't particularly spin the propeller on my beanie, and I have no illusions of hastening the Rapture. That aspect of Christian Eschatology is controversial anyhow. But you needed to be made aware of who we're fighting and why. I did my best to do that. I hope you were paying attention.

at 10:50 PM, November 19, 2006

Brah Coon said...

I see. Well, Let me rephrase it. It's pointless to debate geopolitics with a Christian Eschatologist.

at 9:02 AM, November 20, 2006

Anonymous said...

To Nov 16 4:33pm:

First of all Dems realize "VOTER" fraud is not a big issue in the state, in fact there was only 4 documented cases of "VOTER FRAUD" in Ohio during the 2004 election. We are concerned with "ELECTION FRAUD". For those non believers-just wait! Now that John Conyers has subpoena power and Marc Dann has promised to investigate the '04 election in Ohio the public will be informed on what transpired.

If anyone believes that a Dem win in '06 reflects no fraud read this:

What Really Happened On November 7th?

That unadjusted poll indicated that the Democrats' 2006 total House vote margin was 11.5%, or nearly 4% greater than the 7.6% reported vote count margin.9 This represents nearly a three million vote discrepancy between the validated exit poll results and the reported vote tally for the US House of Representatives. What could account for such a dramatic difference?

It will no doubt be objected that if such substantial manipulation of the vote counts is possible, why would it stop short of bringing about a general electoral victory? While we would like to credit the heightened scrutiny engendered by the untiring efforts of election integrity groups, an awakening media, and a more informed and vigilant public, an alternative, more chilling, explanation has been suggested? simply that the mechanics of manipulation (software modules, primarily) had to be deployed before late breaking pre-election developments greatly expanded the gap that such manipulation would have been calibrated to cover.

Landslide Denied: Exit Polls vs. Vote Count 2006
Under-sampling of Democrats in the House Exit Poll and
the Corruption of the Official Vote Count
- Jonathan Simon, JD, and Bruce O’Dell -
Election Defense Alliance
http://tinyurl.com/y5fk4r

at 10:34 AM, November 20, 2006

Anonymous said...

tnp wrote, "you needed to be made aware of who we're fighting and why". The so-called Muslim "Third Caliphate", interesting answer. Have you contacted Dubya and let him in on that one? You may be correct, so yours should be added to the dozen or so reasons this Administration has given us for going into Iraq. And if you've got a new way to measure "victory" in Iraq, go ahead and add that to the ever-changing yardstick we've been hearing.

As far as the Iraq "phase" being necessary, if you mean we broke it so we bought it, I agree. I also agree with John McCain; if we want to "win" in Iraq, we need bigger numbers. That would be the Pentagon's "Go Strong" option, which was pretty much ignored by Rummy since his dream was a LEANER, meaner military.

But, if by necessary you mean our national security depended on the immediate invasion of Iraq, you are wrong. Time has proven that. The Pentagon has always said it was a poorly thought-out plan, Intellegence Services have always said the Administration drew their own conclusions, the Neo-Cons have come out and said they never envisioned occupying Iraq, the State Dept has stated this war has been completely mismanaged, the Congress agrees we need a change, and the best this Administration can do is say we never actually said "stay the course". But as a fellow vet, I respect your opinion.

If you current bunch of Republicans would just pull your heads out of your azzes and nominate someone whose neither a patholgical liar or a check-bouncing crook, we wouldn't have to worry about provisional ballots. You'd probably get a lot of us libertarians and independents back, too. But until then, I'll vote for a one-hit wonder any day.

Sully, SMSgt(Ret), USAF

at 10:54 AM, November 20, 2006

Anonymous said...

Alter or Abolish, call me what you like and cut and run if you must. But I know who we're fighting and why. If you don't, tough. We will win this bloody war over the next ten-twelve years with or without you and all three of the other "Isolationist Paleoconservatives."

BTW, if half the world hates us, why are they trying to get into our country? Answer: because this is the greatest country in the history of humanity and the best place on earth to live, work and raise a family.

at 1:00 PM, November 20, 2006

Anonymous said...

SMSgt(ret) Sully, Thanks for your service to our country.

We have had a muted level of success so far in our struggle with the 7th century cretins of Islamic Jihadism in Iraq. I say "muted," because the MSM only reports deaths and destruction with any consistency, and I don't believe the American people have an accurate idea of what's happening in that woebegone nation.
The planning for the post-Saddam situation was lacking, no two ways about it, partly because we have allowed sanctuaries in Syria and Iran from which foreign fighters and supplies have continued to flood into Iraq to fuel the Shia-Sunni-Kurd fighting and partly because the enemy is in this global conflict for the long haul. And they know the American people hate war, hate death, hate violence and especially hate "collateral damage," i.e., civilian casualties, all of which are trumpeted nitely by the MSM. So the enemy hangs on, and the Dems begin to cry "uncle" publicly, much to the encouragement of the jihadists.

To precipitously withdraw from Iraq, ala Kucinich and other Dem dimwits like him, would be an unmitigated disaster. The fact that we've had no more 9/11-type attacks in our homeland is evidence that the Administration is doing a bunch of things right. But the strategy and maybe the tactics, too, need changing in Iraq, because we MUST win there. And on the global stage, we MUST prevail as well. Islamic Jihadism is simply the latest worldwide threat of barbarism to face our nation and our friends. And just as we triumphed over German militarism in WWI, Nazism and Japanese militarism in WWII and the Soviet Union and Red China in the Cold War, we will come out the other side of this long-term fight the victor. But like all the other challenges we have successfully faced, it won't be easy. The current difficulties in Iraq are an example.

at 5:54 PM, November 20, 2006

Brah Coon said...

TNP: Don't make me get ALL Bonn Scott on yer arse! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI0uIhdQm1U

LMFAO!

at 10:13 AM, November 21, 2006

Anonymous said...

Hey TNP- IT'S ABOUT TIME SOMEONE COULD PUT THESE DEMWITS IN THEIR PLACE. THANK YOU FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY.

at 10:53 AM, November 21, 2006

Anonymous said...

Hey Alter etc., here's one for you to peruse:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/
article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51648

I hope you and your "Isolationist
Paleoconservative" buddies are ready. If you have your way, or if the Dems do, our enemies will be in our face pretty soon.

at 4:10 PM, November 21, 2006

Anonymous said...

Anonymous at 10:13 am, 11/21, Thanks for your kind words. They were a shock, because I'm so used to the cynical sarcasm of my blog antagonists. I hope you and yours have a marvelous Thanksgiving celebration. We do have a lot to be thankful for, don't we!

at 8:01 PM, November 21, 2006

Brah Coon said...

Welp TNP -- it's like my old grandpa used to say: You can ride up and down the street all you want, like Paul Revere, -- but if you're the only one seeing Red Coats 'a coming --- you're just another nut on an old grey mare.

at 12:08 AM, November 22, 2006

Anonymous said...

Alter etc., your grandfather was partly right. The difference is that I recognize who the enemy is, why we're fighting them, how much danger our nation and our friends are currently facing and what's at stake world-wide. I don't think you do, or if you do, you don't seem interested in expressing it clearly.

Regardless, my Isolationist Paleo-conservative antagonist, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Previous Posts

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Let the provisional counting begin

38 Comments: