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QUOTE
Special prosecutor subpoenas election workers
Monday, August 22, 2005
Angela D. Chatman
Plain Dealer Reporter
A special prosecutor investigating charges of illegal conduct in election recount last December has subpoenaed employees of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
The employees will testify before a Cuyahoga County grand jury Tuesday.
The special prosecutor, Erie County Prosecutor Kevin J. Baxter, said that subpoenas were sent to as many as 10 people last week. He said he could not disclose who would testify.
"This is simply a fact-finding procedure right now," Baxter said.
A spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office confirmed that some election board staffers received subpoenas.
Board of Elections Director Michael Vu declined to say whether he received a subpoena. He referred questions to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office, which represents the elections board in legal matters.
Toledo lawyer Richard Kerger made the charges last December on behalf of Green Party candidate David Cobb and Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik.
In a Dec. 31 letter to the board and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, Kerger charged that the elections board staff broke the law because:
It failed to randomly select the 36 precincts used to represent at least 3 percent of the total vote for the December recount.
It conducted "test-run" recounts without witnesses.
It did not allow witnesses to observe irregularities in the review of cases where the presiding judge transported ballot assemblies, ballots and other items.
It repeatedly fed trays of ballots back through the counting machines without keeping records of the counts.
It failed to investigate discrepancies between the certified recount vote totals and the certified original totals.
Kerger asked the board to refer the matter to Mason's office. Mason appointed Baxter special prosecutor in the spring of this year to avoid a conflict of interest, since his office also represents the Board of Elections.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Angela D. Chatman
Plain Dealer Reporter
A special prosecutor investigating charges of illegal conduct in election recount last December has subpoenaed employees of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
The employees will testify before a Cuyahoga County grand jury Tuesday.
The special prosecutor, Erie County Prosecutor Kevin J. Baxter, said that subpoenas were sent to as many as 10 people last week. He said he could not disclose who would testify.
"This is simply a fact-finding procedure right now," Baxter said.
A spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office confirmed that some election board staffers received subpoenas.
Board of Elections Director Michael Vu declined to say whether he received a subpoena. He referred questions to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office, which represents the elections board in legal matters.
Toledo lawyer Richard Kerger made the charges last December on behalf of Green Party candidate David Cobb and Libertarian Party candidate Michael Badnarik.
In a Dec. 31 letter to the board and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, Kerger charged that the elections board staff broke the law because:
It failed to randomly select the 36 precincts used to represent at least 3 percent of the total vote for the December recount.
It conducted "test-run" recounts without witnesses.
It did not allow witnesses to observe irregularities in the review of cases where the presiding judge transported ballot assemblies, ballots and other items.
It repeatedly fed trays of ballots back through the counting machines without keeping records of the counts.
It failed to investigate discrepancies between the certified recount vote totals and the certified original totals.
Kerger asked the board to refer the matter to Mason's office. Mason appointed Baxter special prosecutor in the spring of this year to avoid a conflict of interest, since his office also represents the Board of Elections.
