Lobbying effort not seen here

By JUSTIN McINTOSH The Parkersburg News and Sentinel    23 August 2005

MARIETTA - Washington County Board of Elections members said they have not been pressured or offered money to a particular voting machine, as other counties in the state reported last week.
One Democratic board member though said she was suspicious the way two Republican members changed their vote to Diebold Inc. after attending a demonstration by the company at the center of the controversy. The other three elections members said nothing was offered and there has been no pressure to Diebold.

Earlier this week officials with some of Ohio's county elections boards said representatives of Diebold tried to strong-arm them into buying the company's products.

In Washington County, the four-member elections board remains split at 2-2, with the two Republicans voting for Diebold and the two Democrats voting for Election Systems and Software, a competing company. The tie vote has been sent onto the Ohio Secretary of State to be broken by Sept. 15.

According to the reports, people acting on behalf of Diebold tried to donate money to the local parties of Democrats and Republicans who sat on the boards in Ohio.

"They never offered me a penny, they never strong-armed me, they never said we should buy it," said Republican board member Howard Kitchen. "... It just so happened to be two (Republicans) against two (Democrats)."

Democratic board member Dorothy Kemp said she has no proof that any of the Republican board members were offered any money, but she's leery of the entire Diebold situation around the state.

"I just don't feel that Diebold can be trusted much," Kemp said.

Elections officials in Licking and Clark counties said Diebold leaned on them to choose the North Canton-based company's machines over those of the Omaha, Neb.-based competitor Election Systems & Software Inc.

But it's not like Diebold is alone in it's questionable activities.

ES&S itself prompted a warning from the Ohio Ethics Commission to county election boards after the company took elections officials to a concert in 2003. Diebold and ES&S have employed veteran lobbyists from both parties as they vie for the $116 million allotted to the state to revamp its county voting systems.

Republican board member Cliff Walker said he has never been contacted by Diebold.

"It's unfortunate they didn't offer me any," Walker said jokingly. "They did not offer me anything. In fact they haven't even called me."

Walker defended his decision to switch from being a supporter of ES&S to Diebold by saying he had not previously seen a presentation by Diebold and once he did he was convinced.

Board President Ed Vermaaten, Democrat, said no one has offered him anything, and he hasn't heard of any such offers in the county either.

"Personally nobody has ever offered me nor have I made mention that I would even be interested in such a thing," Vermaaten said.