to lock down the building.218 While the County Commissioner has stated that the decision to

lock down the building was made during an created 28 closed-door meeting, e-mailed memos ­

dated October 25 and 26 ­ indicate with preparations for the lockdown demo version underway.219

Statements also describe how ballots were left unguarded and unprotected in a warehouse on

Election Day, and they were hastily moved after county officials received complaints.220

It is important to view the lockdown in the context of the aberrant results in Warren

County. An analyst who has received all the vote data for 2000 and 2004 by precinct in several

Ohio counties did a detailed analysis of the greatest increase in votes for President Bush by

precinct, and the Bush-Kerry margin in Warren County.221 The analyst revealed that Warren

County first did a lockdown to count the votes, then apparently did another lockdown to recount

the votes later, resulting in an even greater Bush margin and very unusual new patterns.222

Moreover, in the 2000 Presidential election, the Democratic Presidential candidate, Al

Gore, stopped running television commercials and pulled resources out of Ohio weeks before the

election. He won 28% of the vote in Warren County.223 In 2004, the Democratic Presidential

candidate, John Kerry, fiercely contested Ohio and independent groups also put considerable

resources into getting out the Democratic vote. Moreover, unlike in 2000, independent candidate

Erica Solvig, No Changes in Final Warren Co. Vote Count, E-mails Released Monday

Show Lockdown Pre-planned, CINCINNA TI EN Q ., Nov. 16, 2004.

See Fitrakis et al., supra.

Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D, Warren County, Ohio: Most Successful Voter

Registration Drive in American Political History, or Stuffing the Ballot Box, TH E FR E E PR E S S,

Dec. 1, 2004.

Id. The analyst concluded that: "George W. Bush's big win in Warren County was due

to one of two things ­ one of the most successful voter registration drives in American political

history, or stuffing the ballot box. If the vote was legitimate, the records will show it. There will

be a signature in a different handwriting for every one of the 16,803 newly registered voters, and

for every one of the 95,512 ballots cast. If the vote was not legitimate, there will be a shortage of

punch cards in the ballot box, or duplicate handwriting on the voter rolls, or fewer registered

voters than reported." Id.

Ohio Secretary of State 2000 Presidential Vote Results,

www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/results/2000/gen/pres.htm. Gore received 19,142 votes out of a total of

69,078 cast (27.71%). Id.

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