Ohio's Official Presidential Election Results Challenged by Recount and Lawsuit Filed in State Supreme Court

Interview with Cliff Arnebeck, lawyer representing the Alliance for Democracy, conducted by Scott Harris

After a series of citizen-initiated hearings, protests and independent investigations into voting irregularities in Ohio, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell certified the results of Ohio's Nov. 2nd presidential election, declaring George W. Bush the winner over John Kerry by a margin of 119,000 votes. However, critics immediately launched two separate challenges against the official tally.

The Green and Libertarian parties jointly filed a request for a recount of the votes cast in all of Ohio's 88 counties, backed by $113,000 raised to pay required state fees. Cliff Arnebeck, an attorney representing the Alliance for Democracy and 25 Ohio voters, will or has filed a lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court contesting the validity of the state's election results based on documented cases of voter suppression, miscounts of thousands of votes and a pattern of shortages of voting machines in predominately African American precincts.

In addition, Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan convened a congressional hearing Dec. 8th to investigate voting irregularities in Ohio, supported by outgoing Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe, who called for a study of the problems experienced by voters there. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with attorney Cliff Arnebeck, who describes the evidence of voting irregularities which led him to file a lawsuit before Ohio's Supreme Court -- and the potential for overturning the results of the national election.

For more information visit the Alliance website at www.thealliancefordemocracy.org or Free Press, the Ohio-based online investigative magazine, at www.freepress.org

Related links:

"The Ohio Recount Will Go Forward," by John Bonifaz, CommonDreams.org, Dec. 7, 2004

"How To Take Back A Stolen Election," by Thom Hartmann, Common Dreams, Nov. 29, 2004

"Validate the Vote," by Ian H. Solomon, The Baltimore Sun, Nov. 25, 2004

"Activists Keep Heat on Ohio over Ballot Errors," The Associated Press, Nov. 30, 2004 www.freepress.org and www.votersunite.org

The Alliance for Democracy, www.thealliancefordemocracy.org

Black Box Voting www.blackboxvoting.org

www.ustogether.org

votecobb.org

www.commoncause.org

www.helpamericarecount.org

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"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories and interviews with activists and journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national and regional political, economic and social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics and to check out our text archive listing topics and guests presented in previous programs visit: www.btlonline.org
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