The forms in question in the latest Montgomery County Board of Elections screw-up are missing according to Steve Harsman- so the people at the Board of Elections can’t defend themselves?
Really?
The problem is, the form, a “post election ballot inventory” is just a worksheet county officials use to verify used and unused ballots – isn’t part of the official record- it’s a form that’s used to tally ballots- and would take someone a long time to forge. These forms were “all over the office” according to former BOE workers.
The investigation should be pretty simple- do the numbers on the forms that were distributed to every BOE in the state- and various news organizations, match what was turned in to the Secretary of State?
If yes- there wasn’t a cover up, but 600 voters were disenfranchised- with no attempt made to fix the problem caused by ineptitude of the BOE- or-
the numbers don’t match, in which case, someone lied.
Either way- we have a problem of confidence in both the board of elections, and the secretary of state’s office.
There are at least three people working to bring down Mr. Harsman in this effort- and anyone defending him, without looking at the facts should also be suspect. Note, Harsman is a Democrat, and both Dem members of the Board, Tom Ritchie and Dennis Lieberman have been on the board throughout these follies. At some point, someone is going to cut the strings and let loose the full story of what really goes on in the BOE.
As it stands, today I was given information by two former workers that should prove that the BOE routinely performs services of preference for party candidates that aren’t available to independent or challengers. The partisan nature of our Board of Elections must stop- and it’s time for a complete housekeeping clean sweep.
Dennis Lieberman – Woot, there it is, If Dennis is related to Debbie Lieberman the County Commissioner who just recently took over the helm – I’m guessing the election in ’06 was for her, and 600 ballots were not for her … so they trashed them … Just an educated guess though …
Of Harsmans own admission at least 184 people were denied their constitutional right…. so I guess it’s ok because those 184 (that they cannot deny) didn’t really matter. Just yesterday it was a lie… but today its kind of a lie but not really because some were disenfranhised and some weren’t. I also find it notable that there were no apologetic press releases from the board to the citizens of this county for this admitted mistake.
The tactic of blaming poll workers does not hold weight either…training and oversight of poll workers is the direct responsibility of the Board. I would also like to know when the Board informed the public of this admitted mistake and when the board filed the indescrepency with the SOS office?
It is coming apart ladies and gentlemen. Lies and half truths do not withstand scrutiny, nor do the arguments I have heard in the Boards defense. The only thing I have witnessed so far is half truths, bullying, threats, and denials. It is proof enough that the Board is unwilling to police itself and that those with elected positions dependant on having an “insider” in the board are struggling to preserve a status quo that has blatant flaws which impinge on the rights of honest citizens.
I suspect the Board will have an impromptu discussion to ensure they are funnelling any further information through a single person to ensure the stories match…so that todays apparent contradictory statement fiasco doesn’t happen again… that’s right circle the wagons a little tighter!
Now it’s 184 messed-up votes, I thought we were talking 600; and could someone please tell us who or what they were voting for in ’06? Remember, no ? is a dumb ? …
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation’s primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.
Steve Harsman maybe be great at telling lies but there is simply nowhere to run and nowhere to hide for him on this issue. He can make any claims he wants to but the facts will stand on their own in any venue. The board members that are trying to protect themselves and Harsman have all put themselves in the same ship now. I have talked to numerous former staff members of the BOE and they would love to tell their stories about Steve Harsman and Betty Smith. The entire Board of Elections ship is sinking.
As I pull apart the DDN’s article I find how the board spun the results—
Yes there is only a final discrepency between page one and page two of 184…. but this number is decieving… why you ask… simple math- they base their reporting to the DDN based on FINAL TALLY which does not take into account precincts like KT2J that distributed 28 more second pages than the first page offsetting the final tally… in essence erasing 28 ballots from the final tally of the over 600 ballots not issued.- each discrepency must be calculated line by line and then added- you don’t add the numbers together then tally the discrepency. It was a clever way to spin the results but again on further examination the truth emerges. This is not advanced accounting- just simple math.
Gary and David Esrati just FYI.
The Liebermans’ are related. Dennis helped get his wife Debbie elected to the County Commission. Does anyone remember this DDN story.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/01/25/ddn012608lieberman.html
If Dennis Lieberman can sweep his wife’s DUI under the rug and the politcal party can keep her in office imagine the combined resources Board members Lieberman and Gantt have at their fingertips to protect Harsman and Smith. This is exactly what we are seeing play out in the media. Esrati and the whistleblower(s) are up against this level of corruption and need the help of anyone that can expose more information. Has David contacted the ACLU or any groups like that for help?
@Former Repub Employee- yes, I know Dennis and Debbie are husband and wife.
I’ve contacted the ACLU already about the Commission petition bs- limited resources are being dedicated to fight the voter ID requirement and SB 5. I’m on my own- which is why I’m asking for donations to the legal fund on this site.
Kudos for the great example of citizen journalism on this one. No hateful rhetoric, no gross accusations. Here we see a reasonable presentation of facts and good, hard-hitting questions – as it should be.
It will be interesting to see what happens…
They deny the allegation that they failed to notify poll workers and voters but they admit 20% of the precincts got it wrong? 20% of 548 precincts is 109 (rounded down) precincts that did not hand out both ballot pages. There are 4 poll workers in each precinct meaning 436 poll workers had no idea there was a two page ballot? What more proof do you need to prove they did not notify poll workers and voters?
There is no way around the fact that they need to clean house. This is so embarrassing for the residents in Montgomery County. Bring on the investigation!
Just FYI former Board of Elections staff member Kym Brush is the wife of Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Gregory Brush. The Clerk of Courts is a unionized office that is represented by the same labor union (allegedly) that Board member Tom Ritchie works for. A simple investigation by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s department would be able to prove if this is true.
The handwriting of the former Board of Elections staff member that hand wrote the ballot numbers on the disputed document belongs to Lynn Thomasson (the Sheriff’s Department can easily prove this) a well paid employee that now works for Gregory Brush and is a friend (allegedly) of Steve Harsman, Betty Smith, Greg Brush and Tom Ritchie. It sounds like Steve Harsman, Tom Ritchie, Greg Brush, and Kym Brush and the labor unions may (allegedly) already be manipulating possible witnesses. This latest DDN article simply does not pass the smell test along with what motives this new Board of Elections witness may have. I think the Sheriff’s department should investigate this DDN story and serious questions about a conflict of interest.
No DDN article passes the smell test except that they all stink uniformly! For the stupid, by the stupid about the stupid = DDN