Kerry
Can Win Ohio
By
David Swanson and the International Labor Communications Association
opEdNews.com
The
media has collapsed and Kerry has conceded, but we don't have to.
According
to CNN, Bush is ahead in the count in Ohio
by 136,221. According to the Toledo Blade, Ohio
Secretary of State Ken Blackwell has said the number of provisional
ballots could be about 175,000. Blackwell also told the Blade
that in the last election 90 percent of the provisional ballots ended
up being declared valid and being counted, a figure also reported by
CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen.
There
is good reason to believe that the provisional ballots are
disproportionately for Kerry. This is because many of them are
the result of Republicans challenging voters at the polls.
Therefore,
Kerry can win, and we need to demand that every vote be counted.
The
provisional ballots are expected to be counted in 10 days.
Meanwhile, state law allows Republican and
Democratic challengers to examine the envelopes and to challenge their
eligibility to be counted.
We
need massive public pressure in
Columbus
,
Ohio
, to demand a fair count. If you can't go to
Ohio
, call the Democratic National Committee at 202-863-8000
and tell them that you want the count monitored. Send them an
Email on this page:
http://www.democrats.org/contact
Write
letters to the editors of your local newspapers.
Call
your local radio and television stations.
Write
or call your Congress Members and other elected officials.
Tell
them all we want an accurate count.
In
addition, numerous possible cases of Republican wrongdoing in
Ohio
are being investigated, and we must be prepared to act quickly and in
great numbers. Various such cases in
Florida
four years ago were discovered too late.
There
are numerous complaints from
Ohio
of lines at the polls being longer in heavily Democratic precincts,
also a result of Republican challengers and part of the Republicans'
plan. Other complaints include rejected registrations, polls not
open on time, and voters turned away. See:
http://ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=866
and
http://www.alternet.org/election04oh/20384/
and
http://www.michaelmoore.com/electionwatch/state.php?state=OH
and
http://cleveland.indymedia.org/features/election_protests/
Also
watch for a related release later today from the Institute for Public
Accuracy:
http://www.accuracy.org/
We
may also need to demand investigation of the voting machines in
Ohio
. A year ago the head of Diebold, the company that produced the
machines, boasted of his intent to help Bush carry
Ohio
.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm
Remember
what happened in
Florida
in 2000:
http://ilcaonline.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=835
For
updates, watch http://ILCAonline.org
For
questions or information, contact:
David
Swanson ILCA Media Coordinator http://ILCAonline.org
dswanson@aflcio.org
202-974-8037
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