Posted by Michael Earl Patton

Contrary to a federal court order and instructions from the Ohio Secretary of State, most of the Ohio ballots for the 2004 election have been destroyed.  There were many allegations of impossible vote counts and suspect behavior by some officials counting those ballots immediately following that election.  On August 31, 2006 a suit alleging civil rights violations was filed against Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell in federal court. 

Judge Marbley ordered the ballots to be preserved as they were evidence.  Ken Blackwell also ordered the ballots to be preserved.  The law requires the ballots to be preserved for 22 months following an election and the orders to preserve the ballots went out before the deadline.  Even so, 56 out of 88 counties in Ohio now report the destruction of at least some of the ballots—60% of the total ballots have been destroyed through various means and circumstances.

Locally, one of the most noteworthy examples of suspicious behavior during the 2004 election was exhibited by Warren County.  Unknown to Homeland Security, Warren County election officials said that there was a “level 10” emergency and all election watchers were ordered to depart from the vote counting process.  Warren County claims that the unused ballots were destroyed 60 days after the election, contrary to what the state law appears to require.  If some of the unused ballots were used to substitute for cast ballots, it is now impossible to check.

More details are available here.

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