Tag Archives: 2008 election

August 18, 2012 · 5:15 pm

OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE HUSTED TANGLED IN HIS OWN WEB,By Louise Annarino, August 18,2012

OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN HUSTED TANGLED IN HIS OWN WEB, By Louise Annarino, August 18,2012

Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive. – Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808) 

Republican Secretary of State John Husted has a difficult task. His party expects him to help deliver the State of Ohio’s 18 electoral votes to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney while remaining fair and impartial managing the Ohio election process.

President Obama narrowly won Ohio in 2008 by 4 percentage points, or 207,000 votes. Certainly it could not be to hard to close that gap. The Republicans dominate and control the Ohio Legislature: 10 Democratic senators vs. 23 Republican senators; 40 Democratic representatives vs. 59 Republican representatives (http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page). Ohio Republicans used their legislative strength to reduce the Democratic voting pattern advantage, which seems to be growing stronger with changing demographics. Many of their moves aroused the ire of the electorate, fired up the Democratic base which had become complacent, and required Governor Kasich to appear to act with a less partisan agenda. The overturn of SB 5 intended to eliminate collective bargaining, weaken Ohio public employee unions, lessen union dollars and workers normally applied to elect Democratic candidates, and remove a balance of power in the workplace to ease the way for privatization of state government functions was the first sign a straightforward, open approach would not work in Ohio.

The agenda has not changed, but a web of deceit and manipulation has been hung over Ohio politics to disguise it. The Republican legislature next passed HB 194 and two weeks later HB 2249 (protecting in-person early vote for veterans in context of affirming no in-person early vote for all others under HB194) which rolled back the early access to the polls accomplished under former Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D), which successfully corrected the problem of persons unable to vote in 2004 due to hours-long lines in strong Democratic polling venues. I was a poll worker during that election. The first sign that then-Secretary of State Ken Blackwell was attempting to suppress Democratic votes was the use of electronic machines without a paper trail, the increased number of machines to Republican leaning wards/precincts and decreased number of machines in Democratic ones. The wait was so long in some of the poorer areas of Columbus, that people had to leave the line to go to  work after waiting 4-5 hours to vote. At Kenyon College, students and others waited 7-8 hours.

HB 194 was headed for repeal when opponents collected the necessary 300,000+ signatures to place it on the 2012 ballot. Fearing another SB5 fiasco, a firing up of the base to turn out even more heavily in November, the Republican legislature repealed HB 194, but not HB 224. Democrats argue that repeal of HB 194 restored early voting to where it was BEFORE the Hb 194, i.e. Brunner reform period. Republicans argue HB 224 still stands. The only part of HB 194 included in HB 224 was banning voting during the 3 days before election day: Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

On July 17, Obama for America, Ohio Democratic Party and the DNC filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Secretary of State John Husted to restore early voting rights for all Ohioans.”Ohio election law, as currently enacted by the State of Ohio and administered by Defendant Ohio Secretary of State, arbitrarily eliminates early voting during the three days prior to Election Day for most Ohio voters, a right previously available to all Ohio voters,” the lawsuit states.(Election Law Blog (pdf).) By law, IF the court agrees with Republicans the only loss of early voting established in 2008 would be those 3 days, the week-end and Monday before the election. Boards could vote for week-end voting for other week-ends. And, if Obama campaign wins the suit, boards could allow voting on that final week-end as well.

Republicans insist the real purpose of the Obama campaign lawsuit is to disenfranchise military voters. HB 224 merely clarified that HB 194 restrictions on early voting did not overturn other sections of Ohio and Federal laws allowing overseas and active military longer voting periods, including early voting. This lawsuit cannot have such an effect and this action is not requested in the relief sought by the Obama campaign. This is argument is a red herring, another strand on the web of Republican deceit.

Llocal election boards to set dates and times for early voting. Each board has two Democratic and two Republican members. Tie votes are decided by the Secretary of State. SoS Husted issued a memo that if the board vote resulted in a tie, he would set the date/time at regular business hours:8-5,M-F. At first glance this approach seems fair and impartial. Until one considers its impact.

White collar and affluent workers  who tend to vote Republican, are often able to get time off work to run out and vote,allowed to arrive late or leave their desks early. Blue-collar and service-workers, those with part-time jobs, those with more than one job because their pay is so lousy, single parents with kids to pick up at school or a babysitter after getting off work, those who rely on public transportation, older voters who require transportation by others to the polls and others who tend to vote Democratic find it much more difficult to vote. An 8-5/M-F schedule disproportionately disenfranchises half the voters of Ohio, 51% if we use data from the last presidential election. Husted’s policy sounds as if he is treating everyone equal,and he may be sincerely trying to do so. However, his stance actually creates a disparate outcome for many Ohio voters, in violation of equal protection rights.

The fact he foretold his fall-back decision would be business hours may sound like a Moses move, but in effect it was a message to Republicans on the election board that they had nothing to risk. In heavily leaning Republican areas they could vote with Democrats to remain open longer and vote on week-ends, since the Republican victory was already assured by the demographics. In heavily leaning Democratic areas, voting “no” to longer early voting hours and week-ends would create a Republican advantage by suppressing Democratic voters to an 8-5 schedule of little use to them. Republicans on election boards in Democratic areas knew Husted’s plan was more restrictive than anything they might have been pressured to agree to.

SoS Husted and Ohio Republicans argue that every Ohio voter (i.e. someone who voted in the 2008 election and is still at the same address,with same name) will be mailed an absentee ballot request form they can fill out and mail in to request an absentee ballot. This is supposed to make up for the fact they can’t get to early in-person vote. However, this assumes that the apps will actually be mailed, correctly and on-time. It also assumes that voters who have never voted on an absentee ballot will believe it to be secure. Many persons, especially those from less affluent backgrounds have experienced enough corruption and mishandling of their rights in other venues only feel secure voting in person,watching their ballot go into the box, or seeing the tape print out their vote. They should be able to have the same right to vote in-person as active-duty military living in Ohio.Veterans should also have the same in-person voting right as active duty military.

The reason we have poll-workers on-site is to make sure things go right. They answer questions, offer a second or third ballot if one is miss-marked, explain how the operation works to avoid such errors. Being human beings, it sometimes happens that something goes wrong. A voter taps the wrong name on the machine, fills in the wrong spot on an absentee ballot, forgets to tap the VOTE button at the end. Poll workers watch for such mistakes because EACH and EVERY vote is a sacred trust.

Voting by mail has its downside. I was once mailed two absentee ballots.I called the Board of Elections and discovered two different files showed different information. An old address was in one;the new address was in a second but both ballots were sent to the new address. I was told the ballot would have to be provisional due to my mix-up;and, that I could no longer vote at the polls since a ballot had been issued. Stuff happens. I never vote by mail now. I don’t trust the ballot request, nor  the ballot return will be properly handled.  I tried mailing my ballot that year with a return receipt requested but no one would sign for it. I sent it with a proof of delivery. I always wonder if my vote counted that year. There are valid reasons Ohioans want to vote in-person.I have yet to hear a valid reason they should not be able to do so at a time and place intended to get out the vote,not suppress it. Tangled webs are hard to escape,but I have confidence SoS Husted could easily do so if he truly is working to help Ohioans vote in a non-partisan manner.

No doubt by the time you read this things will have changed again. The two Democratic election board members from Montgomery County (Dayton area), Thomas Ritchie Sr. and Dennis Lieberman,have been suspended by SoS Husted and face a hearing to fire them on Monday morning, for voting to restore week-end voting despite Husted’s order. “Their Board had voted earlier to have evening and weekend hours in a bipartisan vote.  The SOS sent out a directive Wednesday afternoon ordering uniform hours across the state of 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday until the last two weeks when the hours will be 8am to 7pm Monday through Friday.  He ordered NO weekend hours.  There was a tie vote on this second motion.  Instead of breaking the tie vote.  Husted threatened to fire the Dems if they did not withdraw their motion.  There is a hearing on Monday about defying his directive with the intention of firing both Dems.  After announcing the hearing, Husted cast his vote with the Republicans.  That sent a message to all the Republicans around the state–vote against extended weekend hours.”(Mary Woods)

The Franklin County (Columbus area) Board of Elections next meets at 3 pm Monday,August 20 at 280 East Broad Street. Enter on the ground level through door on east side of building and sign in at guard’s desk to the left and he will direct you to the meeting location. Several groups are planning a rally to remind SoS Husted he works for all Ohioans, not just Republicans; and, that the effort to suppress ANYONE’S vote is unacceptable to Ohioans. Marchers will meet at the SoS office ,180 E. Broad St. at 2pm and march to the 3pm meeting at the Board of Elections,280 E.Broad St.

In the meantime, check your registration at http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/elections/Voters.aspx. or call (614) 466-2655/ (877) SOS-OHIO (767-6446). You can update your address, make a name-change,learn what ID you will need to vote and find answers to your questions. You can also pick up a voter registration form at your local library. Whatever you decide to do, do it TODAY. time is getting short. Early in-person voting starts October 2d. http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/Upload/elections/directives/2012/Dir2012-35.pdf

1 Comment

Filed under POLITICS

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 6, 2012 · 2:04 pm

AFTER THE HONEYMOON

http://photos.mercurynews.com/2012/05/super-moon-shines-on-as-brightest-and-closest-of-2012/10379/#7

AFTER THE HONEYMOON

Louise Annarino

May 6, 2012

Yesterday’s moon appeared 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than normal full moons as it passed closest to earth  all year. As our orbits grow farther apart, and the  light of reflected sun dims, will the moon be any less a presence in the night sky? Or only our perception of it as we look at it from narrower angles? Does such sudden appearance of a moon larger than we can imagine after months and years of only giving the sky an occasional glance while we go about our  daily routines diminish the moon, or us?

In the bottom cavern of my Mom Angela’s china closet, was a stack of photo albums on the right, and a cardboard whiskey box chock full of photos on the left. The photos in albums always seemed more precious for the effort Mom made to enshrine them for posterity. Four triangular holders encased the corners of each photo. They had to be licked before pasting the edges of each photo onto the black pages. It was a work of art;black and white photos against the black page,starkly elegant. This took time, so what was so special about these photos?

The photos in the albums were of my parents when they first met during the war, of each others family members standing with them in first introductions, of days spent at the beach on Staten Island when my Dad Angelo had a few hours leave, of Angelo and his sailor buddies while stationed in Honolulu, of Angelo aboard ship, of Angelo and Angela’s childhood events: first communions, confirmations, graduations; and, of simple things like Angelo riding a bike, Angela and her younger sister Millie eating ice cream cones.

These photos of my parents were 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the parents I knew in the flesh. They were the moments my parents first fell in love. They were on their honeymoon. They offered a glimpse of their true being, not parents, just  people in love with life and with one another. It was a new perspective for me. It was a honeymoon for me to look at those photos, and I looked at them every few weeks.

Mom would often end up sitting beside me before the open doors, the albums spread around me, one open on my lap. I enticed her by shouting questions to her as she worked in the kitchen. Soon, we were back in time, Mom’s face aglow as she remembered much more of her life before kids. Story after story unfolded and she became a glorious creature right before my eyes. I no longer saw her in a sauce splattered apron, hair pulled back, small brother clinging to her leg whining, an exasperated look at the clock moving too fast to get everything done on time. She became the fullness of being that was Angela, bigger and brighter than Mom.

I would corner Dad with an album, climbing on his lap to make him take it seriously and keep him from falling asleep in the chair. Running  a restaurant meant twelve hour days, six or seven days a  week. Dad usually fell asleep as soon as he hit the chair. But when he looked at the album, his first response was a happy chuckle. His tired eyes lit up, his grin awakened his spirit, his happy energy seeped from his body to mine. As he embellished the stories behind each photo, I learned about his youthful shenanigans not caught on film, how many planes he shot down during each battle he fought in the South Pacific, aboard a destroyer. How he was introduced to Mom and immediately asked her to dance; his first words to her, “I’m going to marry you.” He gave me his war medals,battle ribbons and bronze stars to keep in safety, sensing a kindred spirit in his lone daughter. He became the fullness of being that was Angelo,bigger and brighter than Dad.

Yesterday, as the moon was gathering its fullness, Ohio State University welcomed President Obama for his 2012 campaign kick-off. At such a huge rally,  President Obama appeared 14% bigger and 30% brighter than normal. He showed us his fullness of being. He has been the president for over 3 years now. We have come to view him from narrower angles. We have gone about our daily routines, giving him an occasional glance. Others have tried to cast a cloud over him, take pieces out of him, dim his light and reduce his impact on our nation and on our world. But, yesterday, we looked up and gave him our full attention, and we saw him as he is – a leader who understands the tides of war and peace, who pushes the economic flow with a subtlety of purpose that increases growth without eroding profitability and productivity, who monitors the winds and tides of our environment, who strives to keeps us healthy-educated-employed. He has done so since elected, turning back the destruction he found upon his ascendance to the presidency.

The work of the moon is sometimes imperceptible but inexorable. The work of President Obama is often the same. He keeps moving us forward in the right direction, despite sustained opposition of other forces. At yesterday’s rally, we took out the photo album and rejoiced together. We each recalled the honeymoon of 2008 and the inauguration. Life got complicated after that. Reality set in, we each got busy. We lost track of the larger vision. The 2012 campaign is a chance to shine some light on what we have accomplished, where President Obama has taken us, how far we have yet to go. But, we can now see it more clearly and act with more confidence in him, and in ourselves.

The honeymoon is over; let the real work begin. Let’s knock on doors, make phone calls, register voters, get them proper I.D., get them to the polls. Let’s win this election!

Leave a comment

Filed under POLITICS

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

May 5, 2012 · 3:56 am

WALK THE LINE

WALK THE LINE

Louise Annarino

May 4, 1970

 

Walking the line is not the same as toeing the line, nor following the party line. Walking the line is a solitary function, calling for balance, effective pacing, trusting self, and imagining success. President Obama, as every political leader before him has had to  walk the line every day: balancing the diverse interests of Americans to maintain unity of purpose to move the country forward, making friends abroad while protecting our civilians at home and our military abroad, promoting civil rights while keeping the peace in our communities. I think about what it means to walk the line today, as I recall the civil discord on college campuses during the Spring of 1970;when lines were crossed and lives were lost.

 

On May 4, 1970, I was sitting on the Oval at Ohio State University (OSU) with a few thousand protesters.We had to sit in groups of 4 to avoid arrest (an order under martial law that only groups fewer than 5 could gather anywhere on campus)when a young man began running from group to group. He started at the library end of the campus Oval. As he ran we could see people collapsing, pulling their hair, clinging to one another; but, we were still too far away to hear anything. We had to sit and wait. When finally we heard his message we understood. A group scream was emerging in bits and pieces from every soul on that Oval. I am still screaming for those killed at Kent State University (KSU)(for full account see http://www.kentstate1970.org/ )on May 4; and, for those killed on May 15 at Jackson State University. (for full account see

http://www.may41970.com/Jackson%20State/jackson_state_may_1970.htm ).

 

The events of Spring 1970 started years earlier. Students who had been protesting a variety of interests suddenly recognized their interconnected, common interests and a common enemy, when The United States escalated the Viet-Nam War and invaded Cambodia. Fore several years students had been engaging in protests, sit-down and  hunger strikes,and marches to draw attention to racism, sexism, repression, student rights,campus safety, ecology concerns,and The War. It is hard to imagine any institution of higher education left untouched by the voices of dissenters seeking change.

 

For example, at Ohio State rapes and other crimes against women and minorities had been hidden behind a veil. In 1968 through 1969, students had repeated hunger strikes to demand the university install safety phones and lighting across campus, to openly disclose the dates-times-locations of crimes against women and minority students. Groups of students organized fair housing investigations to root out discrimination against African-American students seeking off-campus housing, submitting a list of those landlords discriminating to the university which approved all off-campus housing, and which itself owned over 1/3rd of the off-campus units. Other groups of students responded to Rachel Carson’s SILENT SPRING by pressing for environmental protections such as energy efficiency, recycling programs, food safety and responsible use of chemicals on campus. The draft, the lottery, the elimination of student exemption and the escalation of the war increased campus tension.

 

In February 1970, the presidents of OSU Afro-Am and of the student body of OSU asked for a meeting with the President of Ohio State to discuss a list of 21 requests prepared by African-American students. The president refused to meet with these student leaders or accept the list for his perusal, and the board of trustees likewise refused to do so. The list or requests became a list of demands, and a student strike was called. African-American and white students, male and female students,ecology proponents, anti-war students, and LGBT students found their common problem: a patriarchal institution which enforced “in loco parentis”and believed students should be seen and not heard; a government who sent 18 year olds to die and fight a people with whom they had no argument but would not allow them to drink beer or vote; and institutions which would deny the most basic civil rights, personal safety, and equal treatment to fellow students who by now viewed themselves as a community apart from the larger society.

 

The strike grew larger. Students took over the Oval just as the 99% occupy parks and cities today. Faculty joined in, holding classes on the Oval and working the strike and its issues into their curricula, holding teach-ins as well as sit-ins.A massive march from the Oval to the on-campus home of President Novice Fawcett was planned for the next day when I got a call from a hometown friend who asked to meet me at the state fairgrounds. When we met, I discovered he was billeted at the fairgrounds with other members of the National Guard, who were prepared to attack students who marched on the president’s home. He warned me to stay away from the march so I would not be endangered. Instead I approached the house from the rear to simply be a witness, where I was met by soldiers armed with M-16s who looked as frightened as I felt. It was the first, but not the last time I would have rifles shoved in my gut, ready to shoot on command.

 

The day after the first march, the commanding officer of the Guard asked to speak to students from our podium on the Oval, following Woody Hayes who gave us a pep talk and encouraged us to maintain a peaceful protest as we had so far done. The Guard commander assured us his troops were young men our own age who felt much like we did and meant us no harm, and would remain armed but without bullets in their rifles. He was cheered. The next day, Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes declared martial law, and removed and replaced the Guard commander by a new commander who assured us his men were armed and would not hesitate to shoot us. It seemed unthinkable.

 

We soon had reason to believe him.The movement grew in proportion to the unprovoked beatings, nearly daily pepper and tear gas attacks, and numerous arrests for simply being on the Oval. Even the frat boys joined in when state troopers gassed and shot into fraternity houses along fraternity row, chasing striking students from the Oval into surrounding neighborhoods.

 

Then, Cambodia was invaded and a powder keg was set aflame in the minds of students who had tried every peaceful method to be heard. The students at OSU, Kent and across the country became louder, more verbally combative, and tore up brick walkways for weapons instead of running away from billy club and gas attacks. Gas canisters and bullets flew into dormitories and crowds. Every night campus ministers took our activity fee collections to bail students out of jail, fearing we would be arrested if we went to the jail ourselves.

 

On May 4, 1970 shocked cries were heard across the country, “They killed 4 of us!”. We had become one family;our brothers and sisters had been killed and maimed. We knew their names: Alison Krause, Sandra Scheuer, Jeffrey Glenn Miller,and William K. Schroeder. At OSU, we later learned, more than 30 students had been treated for gunshot wounds, some paralyzed as some students were at Kent State. Newspapers were not printing such stories. We only discovered such stories during “public hearings” on campuses over the summer, when few students were present on campus to hear or to give testimony. The E.R. doctors had carefully created and maintained the shooting record on our behalf.

 

On May 15, 1970, a small group of Jackson State students rioted upon hearing a rumor that the brother of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers, Fayette, Mississippi Mayor Charles Evers and his wife had been shot and killed. 21 year old pre-law junior Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, and 17 year old James Earl Green were killed. Injured by gunfire, including one student simply sitting in a dormitory lobby, were: Fonzie Coleman, Redd Wilson, Jr.,Leroy Kentner, Vernon Steve Weakley, Gloria Mayhorn,Patricia Ann Sanders, Willie Woodard, Andrea Reese, Stella Spinks, Climmie Johnson, Tuwaine Davis, and Lonzie Thompson. Police and state troopers picked up their spent shell casings before they called the first ambulance to the scene.

 

Campuses, including Ohio State, were shut down, classes suspended, and every student sent home. The momentum which had been building across the country was stopped by attacking,wounding and even killing participants; and shutting down a place for students to gather. The same strategy is seen today in the institutional response to the 99%, Egyptian, and Syrian protesters. When the threat to institutions becomes acute, the response can cross the line.

 

For years afterward, students crossed to the other side of a street whenever they saw a police officer approaching, hid in doorways when a helicopter flew overhead, shivered when they saw a National Guard jeep or truck, tensed when they heard a police siren in the distance, moved away slowly when a dog approached.

 

With the election of President Obama we hoped those days were behind us, but the backlash against an African-American president indicates it has not. The forces which treated students, women, African-Americans and people of color,and LGBT community as less deserving of their citizenship rights are still at-large funding campaigns of hate and division. We are stronger and wiser than they are. We will not let them cross the line. We will hold the line by holding on to one another. Give me your hand!

Leave a comment

Filed under POLITICS

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,