Free Republic

More than 200,000 Ohioans who registered to vote this year for the first time or updated their voting information since Jan. 1 could be affected by the latest court ruling requiring the state to set up a new registration verification system by Friday, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said. Brunner said she would comply with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling late Tuesday but said she is deeply concerned that the decision is a veiled attempt at disenfranchising voters... The court's 9-6 opinion, written by Judge Jeffrey Sutton, suggested that voters whose driver's license number or Social Security...

Updated: The tip was accurate, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer got the story out first. See update after background. Okay, that's what we have at the moment. Yesterday's majority decision, penned by former Ohio Solicitor Jeffrey Sutton, said, "Nothing about this case, or the relief (Ohio Republicans, who brought the suit) seek will allow them to prevent a single voter from casting a ballot in the November election ... "At most, the identification of a mismatch allows a county board to investigate whether the mismatch has a legitimate explanation (say, a recent change of address)." The practical effect, Sutton...

This ACORN nut fits my perception of Obama and his supporters perfectly. (VIDEO AT LINK) How in the heck anyone could vote for Obama is, to borrow a phrase, above my pay grade. And after listening to this clip from the Howard Stern radio show, I’m beginning to favor going back to requiring poll testing before people can vote: Good grief.

On the eve of the Democratic convention, Trib colleague David M. Brown reported that Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign paid more than $800,000 to an offshoot of ACORN for services the Democrat's campaign says it “mistakenly misrepresented” in finance reports. An Obama spokesman said then that the FEC reports would be amended to show Citizens Services Inc. -- a subsidiary of ACORN -- worked in "get-out-the-vote" projects. The original FEC finance reports listed the ACORN underling activities as polling, advance work and staging major events.

Something smells at 2885 Brownlee Avenue in Columbus, Ohio. I strongly recommend that the Ohio Republican Party get on the case before it’s too late. Today’s the last day to challenge voters who registered early in Ohio before the run up to Election Day. Here’s the stench: An entire houseful of young, non-Ohioan Democrat activists have used the Brownlee Avenue address to register themselves to vote in the Buckeye State and secure absentee ballots under extremely shady circumstances — all while mobilizing a large effort to register thousands of others for absentee and early voting. The activists are leaders of...

Posted by /Plain Dealer Washington Bureau Chief October 15, 2008 11:22AM WASHINGTON -- Ohio's Republican U.S. senator has stepped into the fray over claims of attempted voter fraud, asking the Justice Department this morning to assist the Ohio secretary of state in investigating alleged law-breaking involving ACORN. Jennifer Brunner, the secretary of state, has not asked for that help. But Voinovich's office says it can't hurt to have another set of eyes. "It's necessary because there have been enough allegations out there, enough suggestions, and right now the people of Ohio don't have confidence" that the election will not be...

There is a PAC called Vote From Home that is working to get out the vote in Ohio among students, the homeless and other left-leaning groups this election. Now it turns out that they're trying to take advantage of Ohio's loose new early voting laws to actually cast ballots themselves. This, despite the fact that most of them have NO PREVIOUS TIES to the state and are only there for a couple weeks to get out the vote. Michelle Malkin has now picked up on this story as well. However, today is the deadline for challenging registrations in Ohio. Hopefully...

POSTED: 9:35 am EDT October 15, 2008 UPDATED: 10:11 am EDT October 15, 2008 CLEVELAND -- The FBI has raided the Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority Wednesday morning, officials say. Other buildings are expected to be raided throughout the day. The raid at the CMHA's West 25th Street location is being conducted as part of federal corruption probe. In June, several homes and county offices were searched by the FBI and IRS as part of the probe.

Washington -- Two prominent former U.S. senators who support John McCain warned this morning of "a potential nightmare" on Election Day and afterward if measures aren't taken to monitor precincts in battleground states including Ohio. John Danforth, a former senator from Missouri and a former United Nations ambassador, said he is deeply concerned "that this election night and the days that follow will be a rerun of 2000, and even worse than 2000." It could be worse than the hanging chad controversy and recounts in Florida, and lead to political accusations and court fights that could delay the country from...

Almost as if she anticipated a court ruling a few hours later, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner promised yesterday to give county elections workers access to a list of possibly problematic voter registrations. The full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals then ruled 9-6 that Brunner must provide access to a state database showing new voters whose registration information does not match records with the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles or federal Social Security Administration. The decision -- a 50-page maze of majority, concurring and dissenting opinions -- reversed a 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel of the 6th...

I strongly recommend that the Ohio Republican Party get on the case before it’s too late. Today’s the last day to challenge voters who registered early in Ohio before the run up to Election Day. Here’s the stench: An entire houseful of young, non-Ohioan Democrat activists have used the Brownlee Avenue address to register themselves to vote in the Buckeye State and secure absentee ballots under extremely shady circumstances — all while mobilizing a large effort to register thousands of others for absentee and early voting. The activists are leaders of a group called “Vote From Home ‘08.” The group...

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner also has to make the eligibility information available to all 88 county election boards and use government records to check for voter registration fraud. Nine of the 16 members of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with an opinion that upheld a lower court's ruling in the lawsuit filed by the Ohio Republican Party against Brunner.

SACRAMENTO – A national bus tour rallying Americans to reject the Obama/Biden ticket and instead support the McCain/Palin campaign will conduct a rally at the California State Capitol Park tomorrow, Wednesday, October 15th 10:00 AM (the rally will be held at the Veterans Memorial obelisk near the intersection of 12th + N streets). The “Stop Obama Tour” is being launched by the Sacramento-based organization, “Our Country Deserves Better” committee (website: www.OurCountryDeservesBetter.com), an independent federal political action committee led by former California State Assemblyman, Howard Kaloogian. Spokespersons leading the tour include Sacramento military mom (and national pro-troop movement leader), Deborah Johns;...

DAYTON, Ohio -- See-Saw In Ohio -- Teeter-Totter Tips To Obama 21 Days Till Votes Are Counted: In an election for President of the United States in Ohio Tuesday, 10/14/08, Barack Obama captures Ohio's 20 electoral votes, according to this latest WHIO-TV/SurveyUSA latest poll. Interactive tracking graphs, a WHIO-TV/SurveyUSA exclusive, trace a teeter-totter that tipped in John McCain's favor when WHIO-TV/SurveyUSA first polled Ohio mid-September, achieved equilibrium at the end of September, and now tips to Obama mid-October. The numbers: Obama 50%, McCain 45%. A month ago, McCain led, on the strength of a 16-point advantage among white voters. 14...

10/15/2008 Presidential Debate: October 15th in Hempstead, NY Please watch John McCain debate Barack Obama in a Presidential Debate, focusing on domestic policy, on October 15th in Hempstead, NY. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10/15/2008 Campaign Rally: Wednesday October 15th in Dover, NH Please join Governor Sarah Palin for a Campaign Rally in Dover, NH on Wednesday October 15th. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10/15/2008 Road to Victory Rally: Wednesday October 15th in Laconia, NH Please join Governor Sarah Palin and Your New Hampshire Ticket for a Road to Victory Rally in Laconia, NH on Wednesday October 15th. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10/15/2008 Road to Victory Rally: Wednesday October 15th in...

COLUMBUS -- A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered Ohio's top elections official to set up a system by the end of the week to verify new voters' eligibility and make it available to Ohio's 88 county election boards. The full 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld a lower court's ruling that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner must use other government records to check the thousands of new voters for registration fraud. A three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit had disagreed last week, but the full court's ruling trumped the panel's decision. Ohio Republicans sued Brunner, a Democrat....

Reported by: Deb Silverman Web produced by: Ian Preuth Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin plans to make a stop in West Chester Friday. She is expected to draw thousands when she makes her appearance at the Square of Union Centre. That's a new park near Lakota West High School. The campaign expects to notify more than 150,000 local supporters about the visit through an automated telephone call. Gates open at 8:30 Friday morning. Governor Palin is expected to speak at 11:30 a.m. Tickets will be required. They can be picked up starting Wednesday at the Butler County GOP Office...

Ohio: Obama 49%, McCain 47% Florida: Obama 51%, McCain 46% Virginia: Obama 50%, McCain 47% Missouri: Obama 50%, McCain 47% North Carolina: Obama 48%, McCain 48% Barack Obama has pulled ahead of John McCain in Ohio, the weekly FOX News/Rasmussen Reports Battleground Poll shows. This week's poll shows a very stable race whose underlying dynamic strongly favors the Democratic presidential candidate. Obama holds a narrow advantage ranging from two to five percentage points in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Missouri, and he is tied with McCain in North Carolina. Keep in mind that George W. Bush won all five of these...

This is breaking, what does this mean?

An Ohio man who registered to vote several times cast a bogus ballot with a fake address in a vote-fraud case stemming from ACORN, officials said today, as they revealed nearly 4,000 applications from the left-leaning activist group were suspect.

CBS News' Michelle Levi reports that a PAC called Our Country Deserve Better is now running an ad that is essentially a compilation of most of the character and association attacks made against Barack Obama throughout the year. The ad, "Obama's Wrong Values," began running Sunday night in Reno, Nevada and has since expanded across the state. The group plans to air the spot in Colorado starting tomorrow and run it in Michigan – where McCain has pulled his advertising – by the end of the week. According to a PAC spokesman, the group has already spent just under $100,000...

Monday, October 13, 2008 Email to a Friend Overview Fox News/Rasmussen Reports polling this week in Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia shows a very stable race whose underlying dynamic strongly favors Barack Obama over John McCain. Obama holds a narrow advantage ranging from two to five percentage points in four of the five states and is tied with McCain in North Carolina. Keep in mind that all five of these states were carried by George W. Bush in Election 2004.

The community organizing group ACORN should be investigated under federal and state anti-corruption laws, said Mike Crites, the Republican candidate for Ohio attorney general. Crites, a former U.S. attorney, said authorities ought to investigate voter fraud allegations against ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. The group is accused of generating thousands of bogus voter registration applications.

WEST CHESTER TWP. — Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is scheduled to visit Butler County Friday, officials from her local campaign, said today, Oct. 14. The first local visit from the Alaska Governor is expected to draw thousands to the Square of Union Centre area of West Chester, a newly built community park situated near Lakota West High School and the heavily traveled Union Centre Boulevard in West Chester Twp. Officials from the Palin campaign said they are sending out more than 150,000 "robo-calls" this afternoon to alert local supporters of her pending arrival. Gates open at 8:30 a.m.,...

The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based think tank, filed a state RICO — Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — action against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now today, Oct. 14 on behalf of two Warren County voters, according to the Institute. The action filed in Warren County Court of Common Pleas alleges ACORN has engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity that amounts to organized crime. It seeks ACORN's dissolution as a legal entity, the revocation of any licenses in Ohio, and an injunction against fraudulent voter registration and other illegal activities. Plaintiffs Jennifer Miller of Mason and...

COLUMBUS - The Buckeye Institute, a Columbus-based think tank, today filed a state RICO action against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on behalf of two Warren County voters. The action filed in Warren County Court of Common Pleas alleges ACORN has engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity that amounts to organized crime. It seeks ACORN's dissolution as a legal entity, the revocation of any licenses in Ohio, and an injunction against fraudulent voter registration and other illegal activities. Plaintiffs Jennifer Miller of Mason, Ohio and Kimberly Grant of Loveland, allege that ACORN's actions deprive them...

LUCASVILLE, Ohio — A death row inmate convicted of murdering two women 22 years ago was set to death Tuesday without any family members present. ~snip~ The 5-foot-7, 267-pound Cooey had tried to avoid execution by arguing that his obesity would prevent humane lethal injection because viable veins in his arms are hard to find. ~snip~Cooey dined Monday evening on the special meal he ordered, including T-bone steak with A-1 sauce, onion rings, french fries, four eggs over easy, toast with butter, hash browns, a pint of rocky road ice cream, a Mountain Dew soft drink and bear claw pastries.

LUCASVILLE, Ohio -- Ohio has executed a 5-foot-7, 267-pound double murderer who argued he was too fat to die humanely by lethal injection. Richard Cooey died at 10:28 a.m. Tuesday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville. There were no immediate reports of problems finding suitable veins to deliver the deadly chemicals. His attorneys had argued that his weight problem could make it difficult for prison staff to access a vein. A prisons spokeswoman said earlier that Cooey received a pre-execution exam and was cleared. Cooey was the first inmate executed in Ohio in more than a year, and...

Monday, officials in the battleground state of Ohio heard testimony from voters about the organization. In one Ohio county, ACORN submitted at least 65,000 questionable cards. One witness said they were told they would be given $1 and some cigarettes to sign a voter registration card. Earlier this month, a search warrant served in Las Vegas stated that ACORN required its employees to get 20 new registrations a day or forgo a paycheck.

<p>Poll workers from opposing sides in the presidential race apparently clashed in a physical altercation Friday at a Cuyahoga Falls nursing home when one accused the other of improperly marking a ballot.</p> <p>George Manos, the 75-year-old Republican, told police that Edith Walker, the 73-year-old Democrat, jumped on his back and struck him in the head three to four times with her fists. Manos said two other elections workers had to pull Walker off his back, according to a report filed with Cuyahoga Falls police.</p>

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio - Sarah Palin caged the pit bull and put on the lipstick tonight, taking it easy on Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama for the first time in more than a week during a campaign event in an eastern Ohio farm field. The Republican vice presidential nominee barely mentioned Obama in a half-hour speech after she and running mate Sen. John McCain pummeled him last week for his connection to 1960s radical William Ayers. In an overwhelmingly positive speech focusing on McCain's record, Palin only obliquely mentioned Obama, portraying him as an extremist on abortion and almost apologizing...

Police are investigating after U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, was hit by a car while jogging Wednesday morning. Schmidt was running on Loveland-Miamiville Road near her Miami Twp. home at about 5:45 a.m. when she noticed a car coming toward her, said her spokesman, Bruce Pfaff. As the car approached, she turned and jumped out of the way, but the car ultimately caught her on her right hip, and she was thrown a few feet off the road. The car, Pfaff said, didn't "really swerve at her, but it didn't veer away from her."

Anyone know if they're appealing? They should.

Around the 2 o'clock P.M. EST. newscast on FOX, I saw zero doing a speech on his new econ plan. I noticed in the background, interspersed with our American Flag, a bunch of flags that look kind of like the Puerto Rican one, but in the center of the triangle is a big o.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Election officials in Ohio's most populous county have called on the prosecuting attorney to investigate alleged voter registration fraud by the community organizing group ACORN. The bipartisan Cuyahoga County Board of Elections voted unanimously Monday to ask prosecutor Bill Mason to investigate four incidents of people signing multiple voter registration forms at the request of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform. One of those voters, 19-year-old Freddie Johnson, told FOX News that he signed 73 voter registration forms over a five-month period. The Cleveland resident said he was trying to help paid ACORN solicitors collect signed...

Another poll that showed President Kerry winning Ohio by 6 points on October 22 2004. Kerry Leads Bush 49% to 43% In Ohio (October 22 2004) Jeremiah Wright apprentice also has the polls on his side but the elections will be against him.

Did anyone catch the flags in the press conference Obama held today?

US ATTORNEY IN OHIO TO FILE RICO ACTION AGAINST ACORN TOMORROW MORNING Cowbell theme added; click pic No link. Exclusive. Someone reliable tells me this. Oh, wait. I guess I have to say it:IMPACTING HARD... A Special Day: Due to unusual circumstances, the AoS Cowbell theme has been linked to a story not about economic news. Experts believe this is only the first time the precious Cowbell Theme has been so utilized. "It's unprecedented, as far as I know," said Michael Bellesiles, who cited an non-existent microfiche as evidence. "I haven't see cowbell used in such an aggressive, imperialist...

CINCINNATI (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from an Ohio prisoner who argued he is too obese to be executed. Richard Cooey is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday. The court denied his request for a stay without comment Monday. Cooey is 5-foot-7 and weighs 267 pounds. State officials said prison staff examined Cooey's veins and found no problems that would interfere with the execution. Cooey has one more appeal pending before the court. It argues Ohio's method for lethal injections could cause an agonizing death and violates the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual...

Fox News/Rasmussen Reports polling this week in Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia shows a very stable race whose underlying dynamic strongly favors Barack Obama over John McCain. FL O 51 M 46 OH 0 49 M 47 VA o 50 M 47 MO O 50 M 47 NC O 49 M 49

FOX News/Rasmussen Reports Poll: Obama Leads in Ohio, 49% to 47% Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has gained a lead over his opponent in the swing state of Ohio, according to a recent poll. Barack Obama has pulled ahead of John McCain in Ohio, the weekly FOX News/Rasmussen Reports Battleground Poll shows. This week's poll shows a very stable race whose underlying dynamic strongly favors the Democratic presidential candidate. Obama holds a narrow advantage ranging from two to five percentage points in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Missouri, and he is tied with McCain in North Carolina. Keep in mind that...

The reporters from Palestra.net just posted a look at what they've found so far in Ohio's early voting period. It's long, but really interesting and pretty damning. They've got the requisite ACORN "victim" talking about registering so often she can't even guess how many times she's signed up. However there's also some really interesting stuff about supposedly non-partisan volunteers pushing for people to vote for Obama, groups bringing in large numbers of homeless people to vote, and people not having to show IDs to vote. They've done a really good job pushing this story so far (two of their reporters...

Teenager: I Registered To Vote 73 Times Ohio ACORN Lands In Hot Water POSTED: 3:01 pm EDT October 13, 2008 UPDATED: 3:31 pm EDT October 13, 2008 A Cleveland teenager who claims he registered to vote 73 times over a five-month period has set of alarm bells among election officials in Ohio's most populous county. The bipartisan Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Cleveland voted unanimously Monday to ask Prosecutor Bill Mason to investigate multiple registrations by four people, including 19-year-old Freddie Johnson. All four said they signed forms at the behest of a community organizing group, the Association of...

Ohioans contribute $5 million to McCain, $3 million to Obama Link only: http://www.wkyc.com/news/politics_govt/politics_article.aspx?storyid=98517&catid=130

John McCain’s chief strategist Steve Schmidt said Monday that the campaign is “well within striking distance” of Barack Obama. “We are running in a very difficult political environment, that’s not a secret to anybody that’s out there,” Schmidt said during an interview on National Public Radio. “I believe in this race we are approximately six points behind. There’s a lot of the media right now that is writing Senator McCain off for the third or fourth time this year. That means we have ‘em just where we want ‘em in this race.” “We have an ability to close that distance...

Congresswoman Schmidt More Seriously Hurt Last Update: 12:47 pm Congresswoman Jean Schmidt Tri-State Congresswoman Jean Schmidt is back in Cincinnati after cutting short a trip to Afghanistan because of injuries suffered when she was hit by a car on Wednesday. Schmidt was jogging on Loveland-Miamiville Road in Miami Township early that morning when a car went off the road and hit her. That car did not stop but another passing motorist offered the Congresswoman a ride to the hospital. Doctors said she suffered cuts and bruises, so the Congresswoman went ahead with a planned visit to Afghanistan. But, during a...

WITNESS: People from ACORN are always asking me to sign a registration to vote. So, I do it to help them for their job. QUESTION: Did you tell them that in fact you’d already registered to vote? WITNESS: Yes, but, I mean, they ask me or come up with a sob story of why they need the signature. And I just write it for them. I did’t know that you only had to register once. I wouldn’t of did it. QUESTION: Did you tell them that you’d already registered? WITNESS: Yes. QUESTION: What did they tell you? WITNESS: And they...

THE POLL: The Ohio Newspaper Poll, presidential race among likely Ohio voters (20 electoral votes). THE NUMBERS: John McCain 48 percent, Barack Obama 46 percent. OF INTEREST: Three weeks ago, this poll had Republican McCain leading 48-42 percent. Democrat Obama has been closing the gap as economic concerns simmer, with 22 percent of Ohio voters saying they are very or somewhat worried about losing their jobs and 18 percent very or somewhat worried about losing their homes. More than half of Ohio voters, or 53 percent, said they either strongly or somewhat disapproved of the federal government's $700 billion bailout...

Ohio's Fraternal Order of Police will come out today for Republican presidential candidate John McCain at press conferences in Cleveland and Columbus. The organization represents more than 24,000 police officers and backed President Bush in 2004. While its hardly going to shift the dynamic in the Ohio race, the effort is one of almost daily events planned by the campaign to keep McCain in front of voters. It's a safe bet that at today's events, police officials will attack Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama over his loose ties to Bill Ayers, a professor of education at the University of Illinois...