The Cincinnati Beacon - And then The Enquirer jumps on the story over a year later…

Back in June, 2006, we ran this item, featuring some letters to The Enquirer about Carl Weiser. On June 12, 2006, in response to Robert Kennedy’s article in Rolling Stone about Ohio voting irregularities in 2004, Editor and Publisher wrote an item that quoted Weiser, who said, “The folks who know Ohio elections best checked into it and found there was no conspiracy.” At the time, The Beacon was talking extensively with Dr. Bob Fitrakis (who we consider an “expert” in this field), so we wondered what “folks” Weiser contacted. No response was given to our inquiries.

Then, in yesterday’s Politics Extra blog, the very same Carl Weiser posted this item, which is quite extraordinary if you consider his quote to E&P:

The groups behind the lawsuit say they have uncovered evidence of possible tampering in Clermont County, a traditionally Republican-leaning county where Bush won easily.

For example: oval-shaped stickers were inexplicably found on at least 10 ballots in Clermont County, for several several state and local races as well as president and the same-sex marriage ballot issue.

The tiny white stickers would have blocked an optical scanner from counting a vote for the pencil mark that’s visible below. Two of those ballots from Pierce Township were preserved and observed by Enquirer reporters Thursday.

Brian Green, an elections attorney at Brunner’s office, confirmed that the stickered presidential ballot – which negated a vote for Kerry – is perplexing and that the Bush oval above it clearly has a darker, wider pencil mark. None of the other ovals marked on the two-page ballot are as dark or outside the oval to the same extent.

Clermont County elections officials said they no longer use stickers to remake spoiled or mismarked ballots. The county has since purchased newer optical scanners that would not count stickered ballots.

Clermont County Board of Elections Director Mike Keeley, who became director in March 2006, said he is unaware of anyone misusing stickers during the 2004 election. The county’s newer optical scanning equipment would not count votes if stickers were placed on ballots today, he said.

“That would show as an invalid ballot,” he said Thursday. “That was old equipment, old procedures, old process.”

The county’s former Board of Elections director, Daniel Bare, did not return phone calls for comment, but Bob Drake of Anderson Township, a mathematical education professor at the University of Cincinnati, signed a sworn affidavit saying Bare and other county election workers acknowledged stickers were used to cover stray marks on ballots during the 2004 election.

In an interview with The Enquirer, Drake said he and others “noticed some ballots had stickers completely covering (a) Kerry vote. A different shade of pencil where the Bush bubble was filled in. ... There should’ve been an investigation. There was criminal activity.”

So it’s interesting to see The Enquirer get on the right side of this issue after such a long time ignoring details, refusing to answer simple questions, and so forth. Obviously, Cincinnati’s very own Bob Drake was not one of the “folks” Carl Weiser had “checked with” when he got interviewed by E&P, but now, a year later, they are acting like they are on to something.

Just remember that we’ve been making them aware of this story the whole time. They only have jumped on now that the 2006 elections are over and their stories can have no impact on anything whatsoever.

Click the image to your right to see a full size scan of the picture in question, hosted from this article at Looking Glass News.

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