TBT: The Brutal Truth

That Damned F-Word!!

Jeanine Tater, a California resident who volunteered to observe in Ohio on behalf of the Democratic Party, stated in her affidavit “a Kerry witness named Steve [Spraley], discovered white oval shaped stickers on some of the ballots during the 3 percent hand count. I personally observed these stickers during the machine recount.”

The same stickers were also placed on the machines, the witnesses said. “I saw more of these stickers on both the front and back of the ballots,” Gifford asserted. He says he asked Republican election chief Bare “if he knew where they came from and he paused and said, ‘I am not aware of them.’”

The volunteers asked if they could take pictures of the stickers, but Bare would not allow them. One witness, however, used a small camera to quickly take footage of the tabulation machines in an attempt to document the stickers. The footage, which is blurry, is now being examined by experts.

During the meeting, according to Gifford, Drake, Spraley and other witnesses, the stickered ballots were counted for Bush/Cheney, even though the Kerry/Edwards oval was clearly marked underneath.

Several Clermont Board of Election employees, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that there were stickers placed on both the tabulators and the ballots. The same employees said that the stickers did cover the oval next to Kerry/Edwards.

Bare was unwilling to discuss the sticker allegations. “We will end this conversation,” he said. “All of that information has been fully discussed in a public meeting with witnesses present.” Bare refers to a Dec. 16, 2004 Clermont Board of Elections public certification, where the volunteers, represented by attorney Carolyn Betts (who prepared her own affidavit), presented the Board with a formal list of issues they wanted addressed.

The formal list, acquired by RAW STORY, is signed by Drake and two other volunteers, Tina Harald the county recount coordinator and Cindy Asrir, the Green Party Regional Coordinator. During that meeting, Bare said “with a Republican and Democrat both present, they labeled the damaged ballot “original” and created a new ballot with the same markings, labeling it “duplicate” and then had the Republican and Democrat sign each ballot.” According to Betts and confirmed by other volunteers present. The stickers were there to allegedly mark “spoiled” ballots.

Bare, when asked by this reporter about about the disparities between his alleged Dec. 14 statement and his public Dec. 16 statement, promptly hung up.

posted by Sizemore at 10:02 AM