Amid new allegations of voter fraud, the Ohio Secretary of State conceded today that the eligibility of nearly one third of newly registered voters is in question.
The latest developments raising questions about the integrity of this battleground state’s voting system came 18 days before the Nov. 4 presidential election:
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said a preliminary review showed that 200,000 of the 666,000 voters who registered since Jan. 1 must have their eligibility verified to comply with a federal court order.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien confirmed that he is investigating alleged voter and registration fraud involving 13 newly registered voters who came to Columbus for a get-out-the-vote campaign and used the same address, a small East Side home.
The Ohio Republican Party requested information about newly registered voters from elections boards in all 88 counties to look into reports of fraudulent voter registration.
Elections officials across the state said they fear chaos if they must verify the validity of thousands of newly registered voters in the busy days leading up to the election.
O’Brien told The Dispatch that he is investigating allegations that 13 out-of-state residents recently registered to vote, all claiming to live at 2885 Brownlee Rd.
The individuals apparently were in Columbus working for Vote From Home, a group working to increase young-voter turnout in Ohio and using the house as their base of operation, O’Brien said.
“None of the people who registered had prior contacts with Columbus and Franklin County,” O’Brien said. “You must be a resident of the state of Ohio in order to register and cast a ballot, and that’s the issue being examined - whether they were proper residents of Ohio.”
Two of the individuals voted in person at Veteran’s Memorial while a third returned a completed absentee ballot by mail, said Matt Damshroder, deputy director of the Franklin County Board of Elections.
Another seven using the address requested absentee ballots by mail, but it is not yet clear if they have submitted them. Three others registered but did not request an absentee ballot or participate in early voting.
Election fraud is a fifth-degree felony with a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Voter Fraud: Franklin County Prosecutor Looking into VotefromHome House of Fraud
We reported to you yesterday about the house at Brownlee Road in Columbus, and about some of the people registered there. Michelle Malkin was all over it and it appears the outcry has been enough to get the Franklin County Prosecutor on the case:
