| OHIO
RECOUNT MUST START NOW
Nov. 19, 2004 -
Attorneys for Green Party presidential
candidate David Cobb and
Libertarian Michael Badnarik have sent letters to each Ohio
county election director asking them to begin preparations
immediately for the recount of the presidential vote.
Although a demand for a recount is
usually not made until after
the vote has been certified, there are concerns that waiting
that long would not allow enough time for the recount to be
completed before the Ohio presidential electors meet on December
13 in Columbus.
The Ohio Secretary of State's office
has told the press that certification of the vote would occur
around December 6, allowing only a handful of days for a full
recount prior to the December 13 meeting.
In letters dated November 17 and sent
by overnight delivery,
Cobb and Badnarik's attorneys say that "such a timeframe
will not allow for a meaningful recount and will undermine
our clients' rights under applicable law, including Ohio recount
law." Cobb and Badnarik will file the recount demand
jointly.
The letters go on to say that "the
lack of a meaningful recount will also violate the rights
under federal and state constitutional and statutory law of
all Ohio citizens who cast a ballot for President on Election
Day. Immediate action is necessary so that the recount procedures
may begin as soon as possible."
"This is consistent with our
standing up for the right to vote
and for each vote to be counted. What's the point of having
a recount if it won't be completed in time? Everyone knows
what happened in Florida in 2000 and no one wants to see that
happen again,"
said Blair Bobier, Media Director for the Cobb-LaMarche campaign.
Bobier said the formal recount demand and the bond of $113,600
would be officially filed on Friday.
Cobb and Badnarik are represented
by John Bonifaz, General
Counsel of the National Voting Rights Institute and Ohio attorney
Nancy
Holland Myers.
The Cobb-LaMarche campaign is now
in the process of recruiting
volunteers and raising funds for monitoring the actual recount
process.
The Cobb-LaMarche website is http://www.votecobb.org.
The website for the national Green
Party is http://www.gp.org.
The Ohio Green Party Website is
http://www.ohiogreens.org.
To see an investigative report
by Greg Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy,
which asserts that the Ohio vote was improperly decided, see
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/kerry_won.php.
For an article detailing a dozen
ways in which the Ohio vote was potentially manipulated, see
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/810.
(From Nov.
16) RECOUNT IN OHIO A SURE THING
(From Nov.
11) GREEN & LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO
DEMAND OHIO RECOUNT
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