Warren County defends Election Night Lockdown decision

[VolcanoJen]

Eyeroll alert. :eyes:

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/11/10/loc_warrenvote10.html

Excerpt:

LEBANON - Warren County officials, facing scrutiny of their decision to lock down the administration building on election night, say they were responding to a terrorist threat that ranked a "10" on a scale of 1 to 10.

The information, which Commissioner Pat South said was previously deemed confidential, is coming out a week after the public was barred from viewing the Warren County vote count. The Ohio Secretary of State's office doesn't know of any other county in the state to impose such a restriction.

County officials initially said they feared that having reporters and photographers present could interfere with the ballot counting. They subsequently cited homeland security concerns.

Now, they say an FBI agent told them that Warren County ranked a "10" on a terrorism scale. However, state and federal homeland security officials said Tuesday they were unaware of any specific threat against the county.

County officials locked down the administration building on Justice Drive after the polls there had closed. Officials say having both a polling place and the board of elections in one location increased security concerns.

"It wasn't international terrorism that we were in fear of; it was more domestic terrorism," South said Tuesday. "I much prefer sitting here today telling you why we did implement security rather than why we didn't."

County board of elections officials had compiled a list of people who were approved for after-hours access, but that list didn't include reporters.

It also didn't include an approved ballot-count watcher.

"I was denied admission myself," said Jeff Ruppert, the Warren County counsel for the Kerry-Edwards campaign. "I had to present credentials."


More...

[otohara]

1. Terror Threat My Ass

I suggest a recount w/ people and the press present, immediately

[NoSheep]

2. Recount em NOW!

[Kukesa]

3. "Validity of votes debated over Internet"

It's all our fault for spreading this vicious gossip on the Internet!

Here's an article from the "Dayton Daily News"

Link here:

http://tinyurl.com/6lnua

It's all our fault!!!

[Philostopher]

4. Yeah, because there are so many terrorists ...

hiding in the corn stubble and half-built subdivisions down there in Warren County. Credible terrorist threat my ass. Don't know what they did there, and we'll probably never know the truth, knowing Ken "Warren failed but I delivered" Blackwell, but they'd have to bring a terrorist up here to my door and show me his terrorist credentials for me to buy this one.

It smells funny, I gotta be honest. Ohio smells funny this year, and not just because they gave it to Bush. It smells like institutionalized racism and vote suppression, that's what it smells like.

[VolcanoJen]

7. I can't believe these guys blamed the FBI.

Don't these Warren County yahoos understand that reporters can check into their claims that the FBI warned them about "terrorist threats"?

Idiots. I'm surrounded by idiots in southwestern Ohio.

Ohio does stink this year, nownow. Ever since the election, I'm finding it difficult to find anyone in my corner of the state who actually voted for Bush! Even some of my best customers at work, businessmen mostly, admit to voting for Kerry at the last minute and being shocked that he didn't win our state.

[Philostopher]

13. The funny part is ...

I think a lot of the 'outed' Republicans I know seem even more shocked that they gave Ohio to Bush (I can't bring myself to say he 'won' it, with all the crap Blackwell pulled, even if he did get more votes) than I do! They've all been very quiet about the whole thing.

I want to believe it's 'buyer's remorse,' but it's too soon for that -- that will set in later, I guess. As I've noted in another thread, I've got my steaming pot of 'shut the f*ck up' started, and I'm going to be happy to serve it when their jobs are outsourced, their employers shut down facilities here in the U.S. to go to Indonesia or Taiwain, their elderly relatives suddenly can no longer afford their care facilities and have to move in with them, or any of the other stuff comes down that we all can pretty much bet is going to come down.

[VolcanoJen]

16. Of steaming pots...

!Vulgarity Warning!

That line made me giggle... and reminded me of a GM I once had, a super guy, hard worker, and funny as hell, who used to say, "Oh, go eat a big bowl of fuck" when he was pissed off.

:D

[Kukesa]

8. I agree and am holding my nose. n/t

[rabid_nerd]

5. WARREN COUNTY OH NEEDS THIS

[VolcanoJen]

6. Oh, the Brooks Brothers Riot!

Every time I see that photo, I laugh hysterically.

Which is pretty sad, really. But I do. :+

[baldguy]

9. Democracy is not afraid of daylight.

Fascism is.

[Kukesa]

10. Love your message; I'm stealing it to use as my own. n/t

[VolcanoJen]

11. Here's another one for ya...

"We're gonna kick the darkness until it bleeds daylight."

It's a line from U2's "I Believe In Love," but I think it's originally a Bruce Cockburn line.

At any rate, it's one of my favorites, and seems appropriate to the situation. :D

[VolcanoJen]

12. Olbermann: Kings Island is on Red Alert!!

I laughed my ass off when he said that last night, after reporting the latest Warren County shenanigans.

Olbermann - He's On Our Side!

[mongo]

14. Could this be the fraud HQ.

Where the other tabulators where hacked into?

Gee, I guess we'll NEVER KNOW.....

Someone needs to hire a PI to follow these guys around for a few months, put listening devices in their offices, homes and cars, etc.

If nothing else to make them all VERY nervous.

Haven't they already broken the law by not allowing the "approved ballot-count watcher"(s) in? Is anyone down there demanding that charges be brought against these people?

[Ducks In A Row]

15. Residents of the country should ask why they weren't warned

there they were, walking about, doing their business, and all those terrorists were roaming around them.

I think the residents of the country should run those assholes out of the country.