Ohio Poll Worker's Account of Vote-Switching Machine

On Election Day, November 6, 2012, I was a Precinct Election Official (poll worker) and Presiding Judge in Wayne County, Ohio. I personally witnessed an electronic voting machine switching votes from Republican candidates to Democrats. Early Friday morning I sent the following letter to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted. I sent an identical letter to Nancy Hamilton, Director of the Wayne County Board of Elections. While I don't have any expectations that it will change the outcomes of any of the elections in Ohio, I am very concerned about the reliability of the voting machines and want to see a thorough investigation into the matter. For the record, I'm not speculating about the cause of the vote switching, only testifying to the fact that I saw it happen. And I'm urging the Secretary of State to launch an immediate, thorough investigation.

Letter to SOS Husted/Vote-switching machines

Pro-Life Senators Stand in the Way of Ending Nearly All Ohio Abortions

The year was 1985. I was working as a store manager at a shopping mall and after years as a party girl, had begun to take my Christian faith seriously. Whenever I did paperwork in the back room, I would listen to 640 WHLO out of Akron, which at that time was a Christian station. As 20-year-old young woman who had been raised in an agnostic, union-Democrat home, I had never—not even once—considered the issue of abortion in a serious way. Of course, like most girls my age, I had been taught in public school health class that abortion was a way to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy, and as such, it carried with it approximately the same moral implications of birth control pills. That is, approximately no moral implications.


That all changed for me when I was confronted with the horrific truth that abortion snuffs out a human life. That an actual baby, created in the image of God, dies in the process. I first heard that message from Dr. Jack Willke, who in 1985 had (if I'm recalling correctly) a weekly radio program that was syndicated and broadcast on WHLO. Dr. Willke didn't have a powerful speaking voice or impressive rhetorical skills, but his message could not be clearer: abortion stopped a beating heart and killed a human being.  Dr. Willke carefully explained both the biblical and the scientific reasons that abortion is a crime against humanity. I was instantly transformed from being agnostic on the abortion issue to being pro-life.  Instantly.

All these years later,  Dr. Willke is still fighting the good fight, trying to save unborn babies. This week, he has taken to the newspapers in Ohio, fighting for the Heartbeat Bill:

"I'm now 87-years-old and thought I would never live to see the end of abortion. I have renewed hope. After 40 years in the wilderness, we are a senate vote away from the Promised Land of  protecting babies whose heartbeat can be heard—more than a school bus full of children each day, tens of thousands of Ohio babies each year. Only one thing stands in the way of the most pro-life bill in America: those who call themselves "pro-life!"

The Heartbeat Bill passed the Ohio House last June. Since then, it has been stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate. Republican senators who ran on pro-life platforms and are now refusing to bring the bill to a vote.

Unfortunately, Ohio Right to Life, a de facto wing of the GOP establishment, has been complicit in blocking this bill (see my previous diary on this topic),  preferring to regulate abortion, saying that the bill would not hold up to a Supreme Court challenge and that there would be a danger of reaffirming Roe v. Wade.

Dr. Willke, an Ohio Right to Life Board member disagrees:

“While I used to believe there was a danger of reaffirming Roe v. Wade by passing such a protective bill, after 38 years of abortion on demand, I no longer believe that would be the result. Whether Roe is affirmed or not, the results are the same: Unborn babies are killed for any reason virtually any time until their birth. We must not wait any longer to protect babies in our state."

The Heartbeat Bill has widespread support both in Ohio and across the nation. The list of supporters includes Congressmen Jim Jordan and Steve Chabot, State Treasurer (and Senate candidate) Josh Mandel, Dr. James Dobson, Janet Folger, Ken Blackwell, Frank Pavone, Rep. Newt Gingrich, Sen. Rick Santorum, Gov. Rick Perry, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Rep. Louis Gohmert, Rep. Steve King, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Jay Sekulow, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, Grover Norquist....on and on.  The bill's supporters say it is the most supported bill in America.

The Ohio Senate now has the opportunity to pass historic legislation to make Ohio the state that pushes the first domino that topples the 40 years of reign of terror upon unborn babies in the United States.

The current makeup of the Ohio Senate is 21-12 in favor of the Republicans.

Only 17 votes are needed to pass the most consequential, monumental law related to human life since Roe v. Wade.  Pro-life Republicans are holding up the legislation.

Dr. Willke reminds them:

"Because they told us they would end abortion, we sacrificially wrote checks, tirelessly stuffed envelopes, made calls, knocked on doors, distributed ballot cards, and voted these legislators into office. We didn’t elect them to regulate abortion, but to end it. Ohio Senate Republicans can no longer call themselves “pro- life” while refusing to pass the fully protective Heartbeat Bill!"

Dr. Willke poignantly adds:

 "At 87, I may not have long to live,  but unborn babies with beating hearts have even less time. While the Republican Senate delays bringing this to a vote, babies die. Talk is cheap and abortion regulation is woefully inadequate."

There is also a move by some in the senate to completely neuter the bill by changing it to a mere informed consent law. This would completely cut the "heart" out of the Heartbeat Bill.


Republican senators who are blocking the bill (or trying to neuter it), while claiming to be pro-life, need to be called, emailed and held to account right now. As Dr. Willke said, babies are dying while these senators are strutting around crowing about what a great job they've done at "regulating" abortion.


Now is the time for political courage.


Contact the Ohio senators below and urge them bring the bill to a floor vote immediately. If your senator is not listed, you can find the contact information here.

Senate Pres. Tom Niehaus......614-466-8082     niehaus@ohiosenate.go


Pres. pro tempore Keith Faber........614-466-7584     faber@ohiosenate.gov


Whip Shannon Jones..614-466-9737      jones@ohiosenate.gov


Floor Leader Tom Patton........614-466-8056      patton@ohiosenate.gov


Scott Oelslager...614-466-0626      oelslager@ohiosenate.gov


Peggy Lehner.....614-466-4538       lehner@ohiosenate.gov


Dave Burke........614-466-8049       burke@ohiosenate.gov


Troy Balderson...614-466-8076    balderson@ohiosenate.gov


Kris Jordan........614-466-8086     jordan@ohiosenate.gov

The Romney Smear Machine in Ohio

In a way, you have to feel sorry for Mitt Romney. His record is nothing to brag about. He was the Founding Father of Obamacare, his fiscal record in MA is a mixed bag, and he's flip flopped on nearly every issue that conservatives hold near and dear. In some ways, he's become the GOP's affirmative action candidate. Everyone knows he's not at the top of the conservative class, but because he can (allegedly) attract the underrepresented independents and moderates, he is given a pass on his shortcomings and a leg up from the GOP establishment and many in the media.


And so, all eyes are turned on the battleground state of Ohio tomorrow. If you live here you, like me, you probably want to throw something every time you hear the name "Mitt Romney." That's because he has outspent Rick Santorum 12-1. My phone has been ringing  constantly the past week—up to 8 times a day— almost all of the calls from the Romney campaign or his superpac, Restore our Future.  The calls are nasty. Many of them start with, "I have an urgent message about Rick Santorum..." They have the feel of teenage girls gossiping about the head cheerleader at school.


The TV ads are even worse. In one, quotes from Santorum about Title X are taken out of context to give the impression his pro-life credentials are not to be trusted. This was rolled out the weekend before the primary, too late for Santorum to respond.


The ads from Camp Romney have been overwhelmingly negative attack ads against Santorum. Romney is not trying to convince us to vote for Romney—he's trying to convince us to vote against Santorum. Judging by recent shifts in the poll numbers, it appears this vicious carpet bombing strategy is working. Yay for Romney.


I'm not sure how Romney's defenders can defend this. To me, it is a reflection of the candidate's character. Romney's squeaky clean image stretches the bounds of credibility when his almost single-minded campaign strategy is to severely disparage and destroy his opponents. The ability to perform a severe character assassination is not a characteristic I'm looking for in a president. This is the domain of the Left. Our side should be better than this.


If you live in Ohio, I'm asking you to vote for Rick Santorum. Others have made the case for why Santorum is the best candidate here and here. But on the eve of the Ohio primary, as a simple matter of strategy, we must vote for Santorum to stop Romney from being the nominee. Newt has no chance of winning Ohio or any of its delegates. He hasn't campaigned here, I haven't received a single call from his campaign, not a single mailing, and there are no Gingrich signs in Ohio.


A vote for Gingrich is a vote for Romney. Don't waste your vote.

The Arrogance of our Republican Overlords

The Ohio Republican Party (ORP) is in the midst of a public squabble that is not only causing division within the upper echelon of the party, but is exposing the arrogance of those who consider themselves to be the upper echelon of the party.


It's no secret that ORP Chairman Kevin DeWine and and Governor John Kasich are not the best of friends. Both Kasich and House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) called for his resignation shortly after Republicans swept into office in 2010, taking over the House, Senate, and all statewide offices.  Batchelder and Kasich had accused DeWine (cousin of former Senator and current Attorney General Mike DeWine) of not putting party resources behind some incumbents and not supporting Kasich.


DeWine refused to resign and the party tensions continued to ferment. During the heat of the battle over Kasich's union reform law repeal this past fall, DeWine played host to Mitt Romney, who visited a call center where Romney made one of the biggest blunders of his campaign, refusing to support Kasich and the union reforms. Romney reversed himself the next day. Some have blamed DeWine, speculating that the event was either a ploy to embarrass Kasich or incompetance on DeWine's part.

This week things finally came to a head.  Party Chairman Kevin DeWine, knowing that Republicans were working behind the scenes to unseat him, went public. He complained to the entire State Central Committee that he was being targeted by Kasich and in a speech posted on the ORP website, blamed the divisions on the desire for "profit, arrogance, and the petty pursuit of power."


Speaker Batchelder shot back with a memo to the House Republican Caucus, condemning DeWine's public rant (and listing his failures as leader of the ORP).


This is a lot of inside baseball, especially if you don't live in Ohio. But there was a line in DeWine's speech that stood out to me. It really gives us some insight into how these people think and why we are stuck with ineffective RINO's year after year after year and  why we conservatives feel like we are hitting our heads against a brick wall. DeWine said this:

"The only people who can dash Barack Obama’s hope to slip back into office are the people here in this room."

Did you know that? Did you know that the 66 members of the Ohio State Central Committee are the ONLY people who can stop Barack Obama? I, for one, had no idea that Kevin DeWine, et al were so powerful. If I had known, I would have been in Columbus kissing rings and paying homage to our Republican Overlords.


This is the all-powerful Ohio Republican party that chooses our candidates for us and slaps fake Tea Party endorsements on their mailings and picks winners and losers before the primaries.  Kevin DeWine, thinks we are too emotional and not bright enough to figure these things out for ourselves. When challenged before the 2010 primary, he wrote this:

"Finally, I've seen and heard a lot of ridiculous accusations lately about the role of the Ohio Republican Party in this primary election. Understandably, much of it is motivated by the heightened emotions of political primaries and too often spread with little to no accountability through email, blogs, and social media sites. Unfortunately, most of it is flat out false, and it's typically generated by people who find the truth just too inconvenient for their agenda. I want you to know you can always contact my office or email me directly if you want answers to any rumor or accusation about something we're doing. This election is too important to let "noise" distract us from the real goal of winning in November."

So we, the people, are the "noise" and they, the Overlords, are the only ones who can save us from Obama. They know what's best. We just need to be quiet and go along with their grand plans for our state.


Got that? Now who is going to save us from our Republican Overlords?




Cross Posted at RedState

Ohio Primary Chaos

The Democrats, with an assist from the Republicans, have made a mess of the Ohio primaries. That's primaries - plural. In addition to the March 6th primary for the Senate and other state and local races, Ohio will also hold a second primary on June 12th for House races and presidential candidates. Maybe.

This all started in November, 2010, when the GOP swept the Ohio House and Senate and every statewide office. The Democrats, who told us for years that 'elections have consequences,' suddenly began to tell us what they really meant by that: 'elections have consequences when the Democrats are in power.' As it turns out, when Democrats lose, they have tantrums and storm the Bastille capitol and gin up emotional support for referendums to overturn laws they don't like. They managed to overturn SB5, Ohio's union reform bill, by turning Ohio's representative government into a direct democracy (allowed by the Ohio Constitution) and getting a majority of Ohio voters (most of whom had never read the law and didn't know what was in it) to vote it down.

Next up was redistricting. Ohio lost two congressional seats in the most recent census. In a perfectly reasonable move, the Republican legislature re-drew the lines to (effectively) eliminate one Republican and one Democrat district. The Dems howled, even though several of them crossed party lines to approve the new map (and offered no map of their own, although they were appropriated funds to do so). Being the good Socialists that they are, they thought it only fair that the state's districts should be drawn to make everything fair. In their minds, that would look like an equal number of Republican and Democratic House members from Ohio, despite the fact that such a map would have no actual connection to demographic reality.

Immediately after Gov. Kasich signed the new map (H.B. 319) into law on September 26th, the Democrats began their legal challenges in earnest, threatening to repeal it through the referendum process.

Because of the likely challenges and in order to give candidates and boards of election more time to adjust to the changes, the legislature passed Sub. H.B. 318, designating separate primaries in March and June, the later for races affected by the redrawn maps.

The General Assembly tacked on a $2.75 million appropriation to help local Boards of Election with implementation of the new plan. It was also added to try to prevent a referendum, because the Ohio Constitution does not allow a citizen referendum on bills containing current budgetary expenses.

Two days after Kasich signed the bill, a group called Ohioans for Fair Districts filed a suit in the Ohio Supreme Court to affirm their right to challenge the map through the referendum process. The 6-1 Republican-majority Ohio Supreme Court agreed with them and on October 14th ordered Secretary of State Jon Husted to accept the referendum petition signatures he had rejected two days before. The group now has until the end of December to collect 237,362 signatures in order put their repeal proposal to the voters in March. It's a tall order for a short, 90-day window, but these same activists (unions, community organizers, #occupiers) have been perfecting this since Kasich became governor. If they are successful, Ohio will be left without a Congressional map six months before the primary.

If this happens, it could fall to the courts to redraw the lines. Another option would be for the General Assembly to pass an emergency bill that would go into effect immediately and would not be subject to referendum. However, the 2/3 majority requirement in each house would likely be an impossible hurdle.

Adding to the confusion, a Batavia, Ohio woman filed a lawsuit in the Clermont County Common Pleas Court saying that the delays have violated her right to a fair election under the Ohio and U.S. Constitutions because come January, Ohio will be without a Congressional map on the books. She is asking the Clermont County court to step in and draw a new map. This could have the effect of establishing jurisdiction in the Ohio courts rather than sending the matter to the federal courts if it comes to that.

The most immediate issue is that in some cases, congressional candidates don't even know in which districts they reside, let alone which districts they might represent. Sub. H.B. 318 says,

"Because this act will not take effect before the December 7, 2011, candidate filing deadline established in Title XXXV of the Revised Code for the 2012 primary election, it is the intent of the General Assembly to allow any individual filing to be a candidate for nomination for the office of member of the United States House of Representatives to file on or before four p.m. on December 7, 2011, based on the sixteen-district congressional district map enacted."

The General Assembly also expressed the same "intent" for presidential candidates. A nice sentiment, but if the maps are thrown out in a March referendum, this becomes a moot point - or the subject of some serious legal wrangling.

Oddly enough, the legislature stated that it was their intent that presidential candidates filing before Dec. 7th were filing based upon the new map. The same bill sets the presidential primary for June and sets the filing date for 90 days prior to the primary election. So why the December 7th "intent" date for presidential candidates?

A call to the Ohio Secretary of State's office confirmed that they are recommending that presidential candidates file by December 7th just to be safe "because of the potential referendum and court challenges.'

Some of the campaigns (two that I am aware of) didn't find out about this escalated timeline until last week, which has sent them scrambling to figure out the process for filing and quickly organizing their ground game in a state they've barely seen out the window of their campaign jets as they've flown over on their way to Iowa. From Cain's campaign last week:

"Join us from 7-8 pm for a special meet and mingle with Presidential Candidate Herman Cain as he connects with the people of NE Ohio and hears from you. Due to recent election rule changes we have a very limited time to get the necessary signatures for the Senate and Presidential candidates to get on the ballot for 2012. This is a recent and surprising outcome from the challenges to the Congressional map. It is urgent that you take the time to help get this done."

If they're hoping to find some help with the requirements on the Ohio Secretary of State's website...uh...good luck with that. The Presidential Guide is coming soon. I did track down the 2008 Guide, but there have been many changes to Ohio's election laws since then, so much of the info is outdated.

I've been asking around about the Dec. 7th date and nobody I've talked to knows the reason for it. Even seasoned political insiders I contacted seem baffled by it.

[Update 11/29 2:00 PM]:

I received a copy of an advisory issued on Nov. 10th by SOS Jon Husted regarding the filing dates. He notes that since Sub. H.B. 318 does not take effect until 1/20/2012, candidates must file based upon current law and the premise of a single primary in March and abide by the 12/7/2011 filing deadline. Husted then explains that the law could be subject to repeal by referendum and recommends the earlier filing date (that he just said is required by law):

"As with any law enacted by the General Assembly, Sub.H.B. 318 could be repealed or subject to a stay as a result of a referendum petition. Accordingly, this office recommends that all candidates, regardless of whether they will run in the March 6 or June 12 primary election, file on or before the December 7, 2011 filing deadline."

And then it gets really weird:

"For those offices that ultimately appear on the June 12,2012 ballot, Sub.H.B. 318 renders the December filings null and void on the effective date of Sub.H.B. 318. Those candidates will have to file new declarations of candidacy for partisan candidates by 4:00 p.m. on March 14, 2012."

So if Ohio does end up with a June primary for House and presidential candidates, those candidates will have to file twice - once in December and again in March. The good news is the state will refund the December filing fees if their applications are declared null and void and they are required to file new declarations of candidacy.

This is a very strange turn of events. Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted's office has done a rather poor job of making this information clear and transparent. The SOS website is in the process of being redesigned and information is difficult to locate and in some cases, missing or not up-to-date. Though much of this information is considered a moving target, Husted could help to clear the confusion by providing regular updates and explaining the process.

Also at fault are Ohio Republicans, who are licking their wounds from their SB5/Issue 2 loss instead of making the case to the public for maintaining the new district maps they've enacted. The last comment I could find from GOP party chairman Kevin DeWine was a month ago. Why isn't he on the news every day explaining the importance of not dragging this out and leaving the state in limbo? The ORP Facebook page is extremely busy patting John Boehner and Rob Portman on the back and giving them "tremendous credit" for their work on jobs, despite the failure of the Supercommittee, but they're not talking about this extremely critical issue.

One way or another, we will have primary elections in Ohio next year. When they will be held and where the district lines will land is a question nobody can answer at this point.

Ohio Issue 2 - A Proper Redress (Part 1)

I'm going to be writing a series of blog posts over the next few days, addressing the specific issues related to Ohio Issue 2/SB 1. For today, I'd like to share a Letter to the Editor I sent to the Daily Record (Wooster) today. I had to heavily edit to keep it from becoming a manifesto with a length rivaling War and Peace.  I plan to address some of these issues with more specificity in the coming days. 

Those of us who are voting YES on Issue 2 have been accused of everything from wanting to destroy the middle class to putting the lives of our firefighters in danger.

The truth is, most of us are just concerned citizens who see the budget crisis on our doorstep and realize that reforms are needed. While many public employees do already pay 15% of their health care and 10% of their pensions—some even more— many do not. The average city worker in Ohio pays 9% for their health care, compared to 23% for the private sector. Akron’s teachers and city workers pay nothing toward their own health care. A YES on Issue 2 would require public employees to pay 15%, still well below the state average for the private sector. (And they’ll still be able to bargain for safety equipment, wages, terms, and conditions.)

In Columbus, the city pays both the employer (taxpayer) and the employee portion of the pension for city employees—they don’t contribute a dime toward their own pensions, a practice called pension pickups. Pension pickups cost Columbus $36 million in 2011. A YES on Issue 2 would stop the practice of taxpayers footing the bill for the public employees’ portion of the pension contribution.

Obviously, these perks are completely out of line with the private sector. We must remember that all Ohio taxpayers pay for these gold-plated benefit plans through our state tax dollars, which are redistributed to municipalities and school districts across the state.

This isn’t personal—the hard truth is that these benefit packages are no longer sustainable. School districts and municipalities across the state are projecting huge deficits over the next five years. The Akron City Schools are projecting a $142 million deficit by 2015, when personnel costs will consume 93% of the district’s budget. (Find your district’s projections here.) This will certainly lead to massive teacher layoffs and this scenario will be repeated in school districts, cities, and counties across the state.

Vote YES on Issue 2 to save jobs and put us back on the road to balanced budgets in our school districts, our cities, our counties, and our small towns. If you need to know more, www.iVoters.com is a great non-partisan website for information on all three of Ohio's ballot issues.


[Part 2 - Safety Workers]
[Part 3 - Teachers]

UPDATE: Ohio's stalled voter ID law- vote on Tuesday 10/4

UPDATE: The OH Senate will consider this bill on Tues., 10/4

In March the Ohio House passed HB 159, which introduced reasonable reforms to secure Ohio's election process, one of which was to require a photo ID in order to vote in person. Parts of the bill were passed into law in June. However,  the GOP-controlled senate and Republican Secretary of State, Jon Husted, balked at the photo ID requirement and it's been held up in the senate ever since.  It is finally scheduled for a vote on Tuesday, 9/27 as Sub. HB 159.

After the Republicans took over the House, the Senate, every statewide office and the Governor's office in 2010 and enacted bold reforms, the Senate Republicans have had the wind knocked out of their sails by the Democrats' ballot measure aimed at repealing Gov. Kasich's union reforms and their threat to do the same with election reforms and the new redistricting map.  They don't seem to have the stomach for another fight and, ignoring those who swept them into office, it's likely they'll take a pass on the photo-ID requirement. Senate President Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond) has said he expects the photo-ID provision to be removed from the bill.

Currently, Ohio law allows a voter to cast a ballot if they are in possession of anything from a driver's licence to a cable TV bill. There is no way for the poll worker to prove that the person in possession of the cable TV bill is actually the registered voter.  Sec. of State Husted can't imagine a scenario where someone would try to game this system:

"I believe that if you have a government-issued check, a utility bill in your name with your address on it, that no one made that up. They didn’t call AEP and establish utilities in their name to commit voter fraud."

To his credit, Husted has backed reforms in early and absentee voting, which will curb some of the abuses we saw in 2008. But his stubborn refusal to support the common-sense photo ID bill is baffling.  Here's what the new law would require:

When an elector appears in a polling place to vote, the elector shall announce to the precinct election officials the elector's full name and current address and provide proof of the elector's identity in the form of a photo identification or a non-photo state identification.

(2) If an elector does not have or is unable to provide to the precinct election officials any of the forms of identification required under division (A)(1) of this section, the elector may cast a provisional ballot under section 3505.181 of the Revised Code and do either of the following:

(a) Appear at the office of the board of elections not later than the close of the polls on the day of the election and provide the identification required under division (A)(1) of this section; or

(b) Write the elector's social security number, driver's license number, or state identification card number on the provisional ballot envelope, which number shall be verified by the board of elections with the bureau of motor vehicles.

 It's not complicated. If a registered voter shows up without photo ID, he will still be permitted to cast a provisional ballot if he writes his social security number, driver's license number, or state ID number on the provisional ballot.

Note that no photo ID is required to vote absentee and anyone can vote absentee in Ohio for any reason.  

I have spent the past two Monday evenings at my county Board of Elections, training to be a poll worker and a Presiding Judge for the upcoming election. Doing so has giving me an insider's view of the Ohio voting process. These people run a very tight ship. There is redundancy built into nearly every step of the election process to assure there is no cheating or fraud.  Here are a few examples:

• There is a locked metal transfer case that contains supplies to be used in each precinct on election day. The Presiding Judge is instructed to break the lock on the case in the presence of other poll workers and check off the supplies on the "chain of custody sheet." 
• When setting up the voting machines (which have two locks and only one key for each lock) a Democrat and a Republican must be present and participate in the set-up. 
• If there is a problem with a voting machine a Democrat and a Republican poll worker will assist in resolving problems with the machines.
• There is a plastic lock on the voting machines that must be cut in the presence of a Democrat and Republican poll worker.
• If a ballot needs to be canceled on the electronic voting machine both a Democrat and a Republican poll worker must cancel the ballot together. 
• When a voter arrives to cast a ballot, their name must be checked against the list of registered voters in the precinct. If their name does not appear on the list they must cast a provisional ballot and provide proof to the Board of Elections that they are eligible to vote. 
• When returning the supplies (including the memory cards from the voting machines) to the Board of Elections on election night, a member of the opposite party must ride with the Presiding Judge to the Board of Elections. 

As you can see, there are layers and layers of security, oversight, and redundancy in place to assure voters that Ohio's elections are fair and secure. 

Except when it comes to voter identification. Showing a utility bill does not prove that the person attempting to vote is who they say they are. It just proves that they are in possession of the bill or bank statement. That is not proof of identity. It's not difficult to imagine dozens of ways people could fraudulently vote in Ohio as the law currently stands.  Say your grandmother doesn't feel like heading out in the bad weather on election day. Another family member could just take a utility bill and vote for grandma. It would be quite easy for family members to trade places. 

More troubling would be someone with access to large quantities of utility bills who decided to cross-reference those with voter registration rolls.  Has it ever happened? We have no way of knowing. Detractors of this bill say that there is no evidence that there is a problem with voter fraud in Ohio (well, except for this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this).

But lack of evidence of only evidence that there is a lack of evidence. We do know that there is a gaping hole in the security and credibility our our voting process in Ohio.  We have no way to know who is voting unless legislators pass a photo ID requirement. 

Republicans should not fall prey to the hysterical protestations of the Democrats crying foul and threatening another tiresome referendum. Nearly everyone who votes in Ohio already has a photo ID. The leftist Advancement Project estimates that 887,000 Ohioans don't have the ID's, but the number of registered voters without ID's who actually show up on election day is likely far lower (see my blog post on this issue). 

And for those who actually don't have a photo ID and who do actually vote, the legislation says that the state will provide a free photo ID for anyone who does not have one. 

I'd like to point out that the requirements to apply for food stamps in Ohio are far more burdensome. The applicant must show up at the local County Jobs and Family Services office and provide:

• Proof of citizenship, or an alien registration card
• Proof of all income
• Social Security Card
• Birth Certificate
• Proof of housing (rent/mortgage) costs
• Proof of utility costs
• Proof of medical costs if aged 60 or older, or if disabled
• Proof of disability (if applicable)
• Proof of child support (if applicable)

If you are in Ohio, call Senate President Tom Niehaus and your state senators on Tuesday and tell them we need a photo ID requirement to assure our elections are secure and credible. Please share this on your social networks and remind them who elected them and who will support them in their next election. The Democrats collecting signatures and draining their war chests sure aren't going to vote for them. 

Crosspost: Redstate

Beermageddon coming to Ohio

As if Ohio didn't have enough union problems, what with Governor Kasich's bold reforms aimed at curbing the burgeoning budget and the ensuing protests, complete with a referendum repeal effort that gained enough signatures to earn a place on the November ballot.

Marvin Fong - The Plain Dealer

Now we learn that the Teamster's union is threatening to cut off Ohio's beer supply in the midst of the hottest Ohio summer in recent memory.  PR Newswire reports:

"More than 300 delivery drivers and warehouse workers employed by Heidelberg Distributing throughout Ohio put up informational pickets at key distribution facilities around the state today to warn the company and the public of labor problems that could cut off Ohio's supply to beer and wine products during the busy summer season."

What this means is that it is conceivable that Ohioans could have to tough it out through all those miserable, interminable political commercials without the benefit of their favorite alcoholic beverage.  And they may have to cast their votes without the comfort of their favorite brew.  And how will they ever drown their sorrows if their side loses?  

And perhaps most troubling is the stress this may cause in the Ohio legislature when the Teamsters are unable or unwilling to stock the full service bar in the Statehouse.  Bad things are likely to happen, such as lawmakers crossing state lines to drink and drive. 


As for me and my house, we may feel slightly inconvenienced if our supplies of IBC Root Beer and Monster energy drinks are cut off.  There are some benefits to being teetotalers. 


Aside from that,  this may turn out to be an early Christmas present for Kasich and Co.  Unions holding citizens' favorite beverages hostage during this blistering summer in the months leading up to a critical union referendum doesn't seem to be a brilliant strategy.   

Full-service bar coming to the Ohio Statehouse

The Dispatch reports:

"The first full-service bar will appear at the Statehouse on July 11 when the reinvented Capitol Cafe reopens in the lower level of the landmark state building. The cafe is closed for 10 days to accommodate a change in operators, to Milo's Catering and Banquet Services from Catering by Design.

"The big change will be the addition of a full-service bar, "complete with flat screen televisions," according to the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, the state agency responsible for the Statehouse and grounds. The bar will host special events and "private happy hours," but it also will be open to the public at times to be designated."

The big question is whether lawmakers will feel the need to liquor up before or after casting their votes.  Maybe both. 


So, who came up with this bright idea? We may not know where it originated, but authority to conduct operations in the Statehouse lies with the Capital Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB).  The board is made up of 13 members, five appointed by the governor (including his Chief of Staff);  two members each from the House and Senate, one from each party, appointed by Speaker of the House and President of the Senate; a former House Speaker and Senate President (again, appointed by the current respective leaders); the clerk of the Senate and the clerk of the House. 


It's not a stretch to say these are political appointments, though board members receive no benefits or salary. Governor Kasich appointed his friend, lobbyist Robert Klaffky, to the board in May. The Ohio Revised Code gives the board, "sole authority to regulate all uses of the capitol square. The uses shall include, but not be limited to, the casual and recreational use of the capitol square."  In other words, the board has very wide latitude over use of the capitol grounds. 


Executive Director of the CSRAB, William Carleton, in his annual report to the Senate Finance Committee,  explained the main purpose of the board's operations on behalf of the capitol:

"The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) was created in 1988 to renovate and maintain the historic character and integrity of the Capitol Square complex while providing for the health, safety and convenience of those who work in and visit the complex. "

Well, yes, I suppose providing booze right there in the Statehouse would be a "convenience" to those who work there.  We wouldn't want them stumbling across the traffic on Broad Street following an afternoon of binge drinking at the Hyatt, would we?  


Carleton also briefed the committee about the capitol's visitors:

"The Statehouse continues to be a place for all Ohioans to come and see their government in action. In 2010 alone, there were nearly 75,000 students and visitors who participated in guided tours. In addition, 111.230 individuals attended 422 special events held at the Ohio Statehouse. And an additional 300.000 individuals visited our Capitol to meet with their legislators. attendhearings or participate in an advocacy day. This is a testament that Ohio’s citizens want to visit the "People’s House” and see their government in action."

Will the student tours now include a stop at the bar to see their "government in action"?

It's not like these concerns are unfounded.  See here and here for a list of lawmakers with drunk driving arrests. This seems to be a true bipartisan effort. 

Included in the list is State Rep. Louis Blessing (R) who was arrested for drunk driving in 2002, and State Rep. Robert Mecklenborg (R), who was picked up in Indiana earlier this year for DUI. 

www.stopthemadness.org

Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder has thus far taken no action to discipline his friend, Rep. Mecklenborg, instead, issuing a concerned statement which includes:

"We are working with Representative Mecklenborg to find a solution that is in the best interests of the representative, his family and all concerned."

I'm not sure exactly what solution would be in the "best interest of the representative," who risked the lives of his passenger and perhaps hundreds of others on the roads, but I'm thinking that keeping the guy  away from the bottle might be a good start.  On the other hand, if he could just walk down the hall to the bar in the capitol, it might keep him off the roads. 


Incidentally, Speaker Batchelder is on the CSRAB and likely voted to put the bar in the Statehouse, so maybe that is his solution after all. 


This is just an all-around bad idea. Aside from the fact that lawmakers have a difficult enough time making good decision, and that the place is usually crawling with children,  the Statehouse should be a place of sobriety. Not just in terms of the absence of alcohol, but a sobriety of attitude.  Important and weighty matters are being considered and legislated in that building.  The atmosphere should reflect the seriousness of the task at hand.  Having a state-sponsored bar a few feet from the important government business being conducted will only serve to give Ohioans one more reason to suspect their government is not working for them. 

Contact information for CSRAB board members: 

Richard H. Finan, Former Senate President and CSRAB Board Chair  email 614.621.7762
Tom Niehaus, Senate President   email   (614) 466-8082
Bill Batchelder, Speaker of the House of Representatives email  (614) 466-8140
Jo Ann Davidson, Former Speaker of the House of Representatives email  (614)224-0777
Eric Kearney, Senator  email  (614) 466-5980 
Stephen Slesnick, House of Representatives email  (614) 466-8030
Beth Hansen, Chief of Staff, Office of the Governor 614-466-3555

Laura Clemens, Clerk of the House of Representatives   (614) 644-6721

Vincent Keeran, Clerk of the Senate

Tom Fries, Representing Ohio Building Authority   email  (614) 628-6937
Neal Zimmers, Representing Ohio Arts Council   email  (614)286-2586
Robert F. Klaffky, Representing the Public-At-Large   email   (614)224-7000
Roderick H. Willcox, Representing Ohio Historical Society  email  (614)334.6146

Buckeye Institute Report on the State of Ohio

The Buckeye Institute has a report out called State of the State:  Ohio's Weak Economy Struggles to Prop up Oversized Government.  It's a comprehensive report - 117 pages - on the state of Ohio's economic health, including an analysis of each county.  


Unfortunately, there's not a lot to celebrate in Ohio.  From 2008 to 2009, Ohio's private sector lost jobs in every single county. Ohio's state government grew 131% between 1990 and 2009 and from 2000-2011, Ohio lost over half a million private sector jobs, second only to Michigan.  The median household income decreased from $48,011 to $45,467, far below the national median of $50,221.  


Ohio's government workers fared a lot better.  They make more on average than private sector workers, and while the income of Ohio's private sector workers decreased from 2008-2009,  government salaries increased over that same time period - an average of $1000. The average state government worker had a salary increase of $1500.  The average private sector worker made $40, 215; the average state employee - $50,188; the average federal employee - $65,005. 


The report also observes that some of the private sector job growth results in increased government spending:

"Of Ohio’s industries in the private sector, five of  ten (Mining & Logging; Construction; Manufacturing; Trade, Transportation & Utilities; and Information) have fewer jobs today than they did in 1990 . Another three of ten (Financial Activities; Professional  & Business Services; and Other Services) have fewer  jobs today than they did in 2000 . The only two private  industry sectors that have added jobs since 2000 are Leisure & Hospitality and Education & Health Services . Leisure & Hospitality has just over the number of jobs it had in 2000 . On the other hand, Education & Health Services has grown by nearly 185,000 jobs .

While both health care and education are important  and are vital to a prosperous society, it is important to realize that this industry sector, though considered private, is largely funded by the government through programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and public education."

 Ohio also has the 18th highest state and local tax burden. The 23% of Ohioans making over $60,000 pay 81% of the state's income taxes.  The 77% making under $60,000 pay only 19% of the tax burden. 


The report blames a lot of the state's problems on burdensome union contracts and argues that making Ohio a "Right to Work" state is one way to begin to reform the system:

"To put these numbers in perspective, in the 1990s forced-unionization states added one job for every 19 people. At the same time, Right-to-Work states added one job for every 11 people . From 1990 to 2011, Right-to-Work states added a total of 10,628,400 jobs growing 34 percent while forced-unionization states, including Ohio, only added 6,634,800 jobs and grew just 11 percent .During this period, Right-toWork states gained about four million more jobs than forced-unionization states even though forced-unionization states had roughly 60 million more people than Right-to-Work states . In other words, from 1990 to 2010, forced unionization states added one job for every 33 people while Right-to-Work states added one job for every 12 people."

Between 2007 and 2008, Ohio lost 5500 businesses.  They either left the state or closed their doors.  The report argues that the high tax burden and powerful unions are stifling job growth and a robust business atmosphere.   It concludes:

"Ohio can return to the great, prosperous state that it once was . However, the road to low taxes, low government costs, and high household wealth will not be paved through timid tweaks to a broken system . As Ronald Reagan said, our leaders must paint “a banner of bold colors—not pale pastels.”

Poll: Faith community against OH union/budget reforms. Not so fast!

The headline is an attention getter:

"New Poll and Petition: Ohioans of Faith Reject Gov. Kasich's Unfair Budget Proposal, Attacks on Workers"

This started appearing on Twitter feeds and Facebook pages last week and so it must be a fact, right?  If it's on Twitter, it's true.


The headline actually originated from the group Faith in Public Life (FPL), which is run by a collection of social justice gurus, community organizers, and bloggers who 'enjoy writing about the "religious right."'  Their board includes senior fellows at the leftist Center for American Progress. They tout as one of their big successes setting the 2008 post-election narrative and debunking "the false spin of the single issue “values voter.”  In other words, they want to re-frame the Christian voter as a social justice/community organizer/Democrat.  They don't like that there are sincere Christians who are genuinely against abortion and who have deeply-held beliefs in the importance of traditional marriage. These are deal-breakers,  meaning they could never in good-conscience vote for a pro-abortion candidate, whatever their party.  Never mind, FPL marches on, trying to convince the world that this is not true and that Christians are becoming Leftists at a dizzying rate.  That's their mission. 


It is in that context we take a look at their poll, taken March 25-27, surveying 2000 registered Ohio voters.  The group's press release concluded: 

"A new survey of 2,000 Ohio registered voters, commissioned by Faith in Public Life and conducted by Public Policy Polling, finds that Catholics and evangelical/born-again Christians in the battleground state of Ohio overwhelmingly reject restrictions on collective bargaining, as well as Governor Kasich's proposed budget that cuts spending on vital public services while preserving corporate tax loopholes and low tax rates for the wealthiest residents of the state."

•  Sixty-one percent of Ohio registered voters think restricting collective bargaining is the wrong thing to do, as do 57% of Catholic and 59% of evangelical/born-again Christian registered voters.
• Fifty-seven percent of evangelical/born-again Christians said 'to help make sure that citizens have a quality education and safe and healthy communities, even if it requires raising taxes on businesses and people with the highest incomes' is a more important moral responsibility for government than 'to cut taxes for all, including the wealthiest people and large businesses, even if it requires cutting education and other public services.

Wait....what?  Re-read that last bullet point.  Does it even make any sense?  It sounds like it was written by someone who does not have a good grasp of the English language.  

This is the problem with polls and surveys: they're only as good as the questions. Some questions are just poorly written and others are intentionally written to solicit pre-determined answers.  

Creative Research Systems gives guidelines for creating non-biased survey questions:

"The overriding consideration in questionnaire design is to make sure your questions can accurately tell you what you want to learn. The way you phrase a question can change the answers you get. Try to make sure the wording does not favor one answer choice over another.

Avoid emotionally charged words or leading questions that point towards a certain answer. You will get different answers from asking 'What do you think of the XYZ proposal?' than from 'What do you think of the Republican XYZ proposal?' The word 'Republican' in the second question would cause some people to favor or oppose the proposal based on their feelings about Republicans, rather than about the proposal itself."

Here are a couple of the actual questions asked by the Faith in Public Life (FPL) survey:

• You may have heard about Governor Kasich’s plan to address budget shortfalls, which involves cutting education and health care. Do you think Gov. Kasich's plan is a fair approach or an unfair approach to balancing the budget?

This was the second question in the survey.  Immediately we see the question is directing the person being interviewed toward a negative response.  It reduces and oversimplifies the debate and pits the budget shortfall against the emotionally charged issues of education and health care.  Then it asks if this is "fair."  The third question is:

• What do you think is a more important moral responsibility for our state government: to help make sure that citizens have a quality education and safe and healthy communities, even if it requires raising taxes on businesses and people with the highest incomes, OR to cut taxes for all, including the wealthiest people and large businesses, even if it requires cutting education and other public services?

Try reading that question out loud and imagining you heard it over the phone.  What are the chances you'd even understand what the caller was asking you?  There are so many odd grammatical constructs and run-on sentences that the listener would be hard-pressed to figure out how to answer, even if he or she had a strong opinion on the issue. In addition, again, it distorts the issue, as if the state can either cut taxes for the wealthiest people or have healthy communities.   Is it really accurate to assert (in a survey question, no less)  that our communities will become unhealthy if Governor Kasich's budget passes?  And to further assert approving of this budget would be immoral?  It's a fine example of the false dilemma fallacy, but it's a very poorly written survey question.  It's clear there is an agenda, designed to elicit a pre-determined outcome. 

Here's a video that demonstrates how easy it is to skew survey questions to attain a desired outcome:

Incidentally, we also find in the fine print of the survey that out of the 2000 registered Ohio voters that 45% were Democrats, 30% were Republicans and 25% were "independent or identified with another party."  I'm no expert, but I suspect that when you survey a majority of Democrats, you're going to get Democrat-leaning answers.  


As for the seemingly overwhelming number of Christians/Evangelicals supposedly opposed to Gov. Kasich's budget and union reforms?  Aside from an agenda that's clear in the questions, which seem designed to solicit certain answers,  I think many of us will agree with the great philosopher, Inigo Montoya:

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

I was privileged to hear Dr. David Noebel from Summit Ministries  speak on Saturday and he said:  

"The vast majority of Bible believing Christians have no idea what a Biblical worldview really is."

He noted that 28% of so-called Evangelical Christians voted for President Obama and probably would do so again.  


Let's start to turn this around by not taking surveys like this one at face value.  Faith in Public Life's mission is to "shape the public debate." One of their best propaganda tools is a survey that makes it appear that all or most Christians/Catholics/Evangelicals are in agreement with their agenda.  Don't buy it.  

How Good is Your "Excellent" Ohio school?

You live in Ohio and you send your kids to a school district with an "Excellent" designation. They're getting an excellent education, right?  Not so fast. Most parents understand that the designation has something to do with test scores, but we often feel like we're looking at the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"  We're not really supposed to know what's going on back there - the professionals know what they're doing, and if they say the school is "excellent," then surely it's true.  But sometimes when we pull back the curtain, we find that it's all been an illusion. From the Columbus Dispatch (HT: Colleen Grady):   

"Examining schools' passing rates on state exams often leads to debate about whether Ohio asks enough of teachers and students. Is the bar too low when, as in the case of the sixth-grade reading test, students must earn only 15 of 49 points (31 percent) to pass?

The minimum number of points to pass is called a 'cut score.'
Third-graders must earn at least 31 of 49 points to pass their reading exam and 33 of 52 points to pass math (in both cases, about 63percent). The third-grade tests are easier, which is why students are expected to correctly answer more questions than on other tests. No other Ohio exam requires students to earn that many points to pass.

On the flip side, no other Ohio exam requires students to earn so few points as the sixth-grade reading exam."

The chart below (from the Ohio Department of Education via The Dispatch) shows the "cut scores" required to "pass" the tests at various grade levels.  "Proficient" is considered passing in Ohio.  For example, on the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT), which tests students' 10th grade skills  - yes, you read that right...the Ohio Graduation Test is a 10th grade proficiency test -  students must get 20.5/46 correct, or 45.4% to pass the math section.  For reading, they only need 41.4%; science, 46.9%; social studies, 48% and writing, 55.2%  (if you're having difficulty reading the chart, you can try pressing ctrl+ on your keyboard to enlarge it).  

To receive an "Excellent" designation, a high school must meet benchmarks in attendance, graduation rates, and proficiency test scores.   Here's an example of a state report card from Chippewa High School, my district, which has had an Excellent rating several years running.   The requirement for "Excellent" is that 75% of  10th graders must achieve "Proficient" status on the OGT (85% by the time the students reach 11th grade).  Those would look like pretty rigorous standards if we hadn't seen the cut scores above and we didn't know that "Proficient" means getting an average score of 47% on the individual test sections! 

Another factor The Dispatch article discusses is the disparity that often exists between different schools with the same rating.  Two schools with "Excellent' ratings can look very different when we pull back the curtain and examine the test results further.  Looking at the chart above, we see in the first example, two schools with a 65% passing rate on last year's third grade reading test.  However, the first school, Ecole Kenwood, had an average composite score of 414.4, which is nearly in the "Accelerated" category.  The second school, Maybury Elementary, had an average composite score of 399.3, which falls into the "Basic" category, which is below "Proficient."  Furthermore, Ecole Kenwood had 52.2% of its students in the "Accelerated" and "Advanced" categories.  Maybury?  34.7%.   Yet in the school report card system, these schools look exactly the same. If you had the choice, which school would you send your child to?

How did we get here? 

Colleen Grady was on the State Board of Education (SBE) when this system was adopted.  She gave us some insight into the process on her State of Ohio Education blog yesterday:

"There are a couple of things left out of this story. First, when the state board adopted the original cut scores, the resolution included a requirement that the cut scores to [sic] reviewed and raised. (Some board members argued vigorously for higher standards to no avail. All we could get was a commitment to come back in the third year and revise cut scores upward.) It never happened. Second, the cut scores were set in the first year of test administration when scores and passage rates were expected to be lower.

That's right. Everyone in the room knew the bar was set very low and that proficiency was an illusion. We were complicit in a cruel hoax perpetrated on students, parents and taxpayers.

And the excellent and effective banners that hang in schools and districts around the state? Don't they signal quality education? Unfortunately, they often mean nothing of the sort."

I can tell you that Colleen was one of the board members who "argued vigorously for higher standards."  Unfortunately, she was outnumbered on the board. 

Now let me add a huge disclaimer before I go on:  Test scores aren't the only way to assess a student's abilities, skills, and proficiency. For some students, it's a terrible measure of what they know because some kids are just poor test takers.  And some kids are born knowing how to test well.  In a perfect world, each child could receive a comprehensive assessment that would include multiple factors, some of them not test-related.  However, when we're talking about the public schools and public tax dollar accountability and millions of students in the state of Ohio, testing of some sort is probably a necessary evil.  

The good news is that Ohio is most likely heading to a new assessment system, at least for the high school level.  Within the next few years, the Ohio Graduation Test will probably be replaced with....something....most likely a test aligned to national standards, which means it will be completely different than the OGT.  I do feel for the poor teachers who have to continually make major changes in their curriculum and teaching methods in order to comply with the "flavor of the month" from the State.  I can't imagine how frustrating that must be. 

In the meantime,  if you're interested, you can do some further checking into your child's school by running a power user report at the Department of Education site.  Click on "Begin," then "Test Scores," then "Proficiency Levels (building)," then select the year and school and run the report.  You'll be able to see the breakdown of student test scores for the school by proficiency level.  

Why is all this important?  First,  it's always good to make informed choices when it comes to our children's education.  In Ohio, we do have options available to us; there are public schools, private schools, homeschools, charter schools, and open enrollment. If you live in a district with a poorly performing school, you may be eligible for the EdChoice Scholarship, which may provide a tuition voucher for your child to attend a private school.  If you're armed with information, you can feel more confident in your educational choices. 

Second, it's a reminder to us that elections have consequences - state and local school board elections are important! How many of us can name our representative on the state school board?  How about our local school board members?  I know I've been guilty of walking into the booth on election day and wishing I had taken the time to find out who these people running for the school board were!  It's often difficult to find information about school board candidates, but our children's education is has to be made a priority and we need to elect school board members who will adopt high standards and won't settle for dumbed-down test scores. 

Third, it's important to let our current legislators know that we want rigorous standards in Ohio. In the coming months Governor Kasich and the Ohio legislature will making decisions about which direction to go  in the area of testing. The details will be hashed out at the State Board of Education.  If you don't believe that a school with a 47% pass rate should be designated "Excellent" and you want more meaningful assessments for your children, then demand it from our elected officials.  A stunning 39% of Ohio students must enroll in remedial courses in their first year of college.  In other words, their high schools did not adequately prepare them for college. We must demand and expect more for our children. 

I hope I've been able to demystify Ohio's state report card system a bit.  I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

[updated 3/21/11 12:47 PM]