Walden O'Dell - chief executive of Diebold Inc. was at Crawford, Texas

[AnIndependentTexan]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0828-08.htm

Published on Thursday, August 28, 2003 by the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Voting Machine Controversy
by Julie Carr Smyth

COLUMBUS - The head of a company vying to sell voting machines in Ohio told Republicans in a recent fund-raising letter that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

The Aug. 14 letter from Walden O'Dell, chief executive of Diebold Inc. - who has become active in the re-election effort of President Bush - prompted Democrats this week to question the propriety of allowing O'Dell's company to calculate votes in the 2004 presidential election.

O'Dell attended a strategy pow-wow with wealthy Bush benefactors - known as Rangers and Pioneers - at the president's Crawford, Texas, ranch earlier this month. The next week, he penned invitations to a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser to benefit the Ohio Republican Party's federal campaign fund - partially benefiting Bush - at his mansion in the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington.

The letter went out the day before Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, also a Republican, was set to qualify Diebold as one of three firms eligible to sell upgraded electronic voting machines to Ohio counties in time for the 2004 election.

Blackwell's announcement is still in limbo because of a court challenge over the fairness of the selection process by a disqualified bidder, Sequoia Voting Systems.

In his invitation letter, O'Dell asked guests to consider donating or raising up to $10,000 each for the federal account that the state GOP will use to help Bush and other federal candidates - money that legislative Democratic leaders charged could come back to benefit Blackwell.

[NYC]

1. How much more obvious can a conflict of interests become?

How do they get away with these things?

[NEOBuckeye]

2. Easy. We let them.

[RaulVB]

3. Yes, the American people and the MSM let's them get away with it (n/t)

[Name removed]

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[IAMREALITY]

6. BlueDog

I would, but I don't like getting that much hair in my mouth.

[Name removed]

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[Griffy]

9. LOL.. and FL 2000 and GA 2002 were also fair nt

[Patchuli]

10. "there really isn't any substantial fraud"

And you base that claim on?

[Name removed]

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