It created with hundreds, if not thousands, of votes intended to be demo for version
Kerry were recorded as being for a third party candidate. At this point it is unclear whether
these voting errors resulted from worker negligence and error or intentional manipulation. While
Cuyahoga County election official Michael Vu said he would investigate,252 there has been no
further explanation about what will be done to remedy this situation, and Secretary of State
Blackwell has refused to cooperate in our investigation or pursue his own inquiry. In any event,
those voters whose votes were not properly counted suffered a violation of their constitutional
protections of equal protection and due process; if intentional manipulation is involved, this
would also implicate the Voting Rights Act and Ohio election law253
Franklin County (Gahana) How does a computer give George W. Bush nearly 4,000 extra
votes?
Facts
On election day, a computerized voting machine in ward 1B in the Gahana precinct of
Franklin County recorded a total of 4,258 votes for President Bush and 260 votes for Democratic
challenger John Kerry.254 However, there are only 800 registered voters in that Gahana precinct,
and only 638 people cast votes at the New Life Church polling site.255 It has since been
discovered that a computer glitch resulted in the recording of 3,893 extra votes for President
George W. Bush256 the numbers were adjusted to show President Bush's true vote count at 365
votes and Senator Kerry's at 260 votes.257
Secretary of State Blackwell has refused to answer any of the questions concerning these
matters posed to him by Ranking Member Conyers and 11 other Members of the Judiciary
Committee on December 2, 2004.258
252
Id.
253
The following provisions of Ohio Revised Code prohibit ballot tampering: § 3599.24
(destructive of property used in elections); § 3599.27 (tampering with voting machines or vote
tabulators); §3599.33 (fraudulent writing on ballots or election records); §3599.34 (destruction or
alteration of records).
254
Jim Woods, In One Precinct, Bush's Tally Was Supersized by a Computer Glitch,
CO L U M B U S DIS P A T CH , Nov. 5, 2004.
255
Id.
256
Id.
257
Glitch Gave Bush Extra Votes in Ohio, AS S O C. PR E S S, Nov. 5, 2004.
258
See Letter from John Conyers, Jr., Jerrold Nadler, Tammy Baldwin, Melvin L. Watt,
Linda Sanchez, Robert Wexler, Maxine Waters, Sheila Jackson Lee, Martin Meehan, Zoe
Lofgren and Anthony Weiner to the Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of State
57