Ohio Election Workers Convicted of Manipulating 2004 U.S. Presidential Recount

International Herald Tribune (2007-01-24)

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More Info: Election Integrity

Ohio Election Workers Convicted of
Manipulating 2004 U.S. Presidential Recount

International Herald Tribune / AP 24jan2007

Jacqueline Maiden, center, stands with Rosie Grier, left, and Kathleen Dreamer, during court proceedings, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007, in Cleveland. Maiden, who was the elections board's third-highest ranking employee, faces six counts of misconduct over how ballots were reviewed in Cuyahoga County in the 2004 presidential election. Grier, manager of the board's ballot department, and Kathleen Dreamer, an assistant manager, face the same charges. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) (Tony Dejak)

CLEVELAND – Two election workers were convicted Wednesday of manipulating a recount of the 2004 U.S. presidential election to avoid a more thorough ballot review in Ohio's most populous county.

Ohio gave U.S. President George W. Bush the electoral votes he needed to defeat Democratic Senator John Kerry in the close election and hold on to the White House. However, a special prosecutor did not claim that the workers' actions affected the election's outcome.

Jacqueline Maiden, elections coordinator of the Cuyahoga County Elections Board, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer each were convicted of a felony count of negligent misconduct of an elections employee. They also were convicted of one misdemeanor count each of failure of elections employees to perform their duty.

Prosecutors accused Maiden and Dreamer of secretly reviewing preselected ballots before a public recount on Dec. 16, 2004. They worked behind closed doors for three days to pick ballots they knew would not cause discrepancies when checked by hand, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Roger Synenberg has said the workers were following procedures as they understood them.

Kerry gained 17 votes and Bush lost six in the county's recount.

Maiden and Dreamer, who still work for the elections board, face a possible sentence of six to 18 months for the felony conviction. Sentencing is Feb. 26.

[Later note: both Maiden & Dreamer got 18 months in prison.]

Update on Michael Vu

Michael Vu (30, executive director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, $119,000/year salary) although unindicted, resigned on 6 Feb. 2007.

About Cuyahoga

Cuyahoga County contains the Democratic stronghold of Cleveland. Immediately following the 2004 election 562,498 votes were reported cast with 30,791 listed as absentee or provisional ballots. But the official results show 468,056 counted in Cuyahoga. Hence 94,442 ballots cast in the unofficial total officially disappeared. That's 16.8% of all the votes cast in Cuyahoga.

Other Ohio counties with large vote losses include Auglaize (15.7%), Coshocton (14.1%), Jackson (11.3%), Licking (14.1%), Lucas (10.6%), Morrow (17.4%), and Tuscarawas (11.7%). These happen to coincide quite nicely with pro-Democrat counties.