Blackwell put off decision on machines
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Julie Carr Smyth
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Columbus- Secretary of State Ken Blackwell knew for more than a month that he would impose the January voting-machine decree that sent machine vendors and county elections boards scrambling.

Yet Blackwell delayed announcing the decision, according to memos and e-mails from a lawsuit settled Monday, while he and top aides assessed its practical and political fallout.

The order, which has since been reversed, was ultimately made Jan. 12 - four weeks after Blackwell signed off on it.
It mandated that only optical-scan voting machines be used statewide; a new order issued in April allowed Diebold electronic voting machines to be used as well.

It was one of a series of sudden pronouncements by Blackwell in recent months that have drawn ire - and sparked lawsuits - from county elections officials and machine makers upset by the rush and confusion.

Blackwell has repeatedly stressed that the state is on a tight timetable for the voting machine conversion.

Election Reform Director Judy Grady drafted a six-page memo to Blackwell and his chief of staff, Monty Lobb, on Dec. 30.

The memo identified "high-level" threats to voting-machine deployment that included "those seeking to derail election reform for personal political gain."

Blackwell, a Cincinnati Republican, is a candidate for governor in 2006. A voting-machine conversion could be an important feather in his political cap in that contentious contest.

Grady outlined a plan for pitching the directive that included co-opting the Ohio County Commissioners Association; a pair of respected political scientists; newspapers; and Ohio Citizen Action's election-reform specialist ahead of time as "credibility enhancements."

At the same time, Grady told other top aides in an e-mail exchange the day before the decree that "this Directive and press release will be the first time" county boards carrying out the order would hear the news.

Norm Cummings, Blackwell's longtime campaign consultant, was sent copies of the e-mails, at one point providing input on the wording of the directive.

Cummings said he has no role in negotiating voting-machine contracts or advising Blackwell on policy but "may well have edited for clarity." 
 James Lee, a spokesman for Blackwell, defended the process leading to the directive.

He said county elections boards were busy in December with the aftermath of the presidential election, including a recount, and many of the smallest offices were closed during the holidays.

He added that you can't divorce politics from election administration.

"The boards of elections in all 88 counties have two Republicans and two Democrats. It's a political environment," he said. "That doesn't mean there aren't practical considerations, too, but you have to get those two Democrats and two Republicans to agree and get along."

Grady's memo conceded that counties would have to be given a chance to revisit their ion of a voting-machine maker after the directive.

"Too much is happening to not provide an opportunity," she wrote.

Grady said that changes Blackwell was making to the state's deployment plan should not be subjected to public hearings.

"They are not required by law and only feed the dangers of our high-level threats," she wrote. She also urged "reduced press involvement and reduced public exposure for minor events and decisions."

To add public appeal to the new course of action, Grady recommended getting the County Commissioners Association on board with the directive early: "Goals: 1. Distract from paper-cost requirement of optical scan devices. If they announce support, they will have a harder time offering criticism down the line."

The association did wind up endorsing the directive at the outset, but later moderated its position. 
 Catherine Turcer at Ohio Citizen Action was another person, along with political scientists Herb Asher of Ohio State University and John Green of the University of Akron, whom the plan suggested enlisting.

All three said they were never contacted, expressing surprise that the office's strategizing would be so blatant.

"You can't take the politics out of policy, but you should at least try," Turcer said.