Ohio makes Bush victory official

gldstwmn · #1 12-06-2004, 07:16 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/....ap/index.html

Monday, December 6, 2004 Posted: 4:34 PM EST (2134 GMT)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- This battleground state on Monday certified President Bush's 119,000-vote victory over John Kerry, even as third-party candidates prepared to demand a statewide recount.

The president won Ohio with 2.86 million votes, or 51 percent, to Kerry's 2.74 million votes, or 49 percent.

The 118,775-vote lead was closer than the unofficial election night margin of 136,000, but not enough to trigger a mandatory recount. Absentee ballots and provisional votes counted after election night made most of the difference.

"This was an election where you have some glitches but none of these glitches were of a conspiratorial nature and none of them would overturn or change the election results," Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell said.

The presidential election hung on Ohio, prized for its 20 electoral votes. Not until the morning after the election did Kerry finally concede -- realizing there were not enough provisional ballots to erase Bush's lead.

But presidential candidates for the Green and Libertarian parties planned to file requests for recounts on Monday and Tuesday.

Recount advocates have cited numerous Election Day problems, from long lines, a shortage of voting machines in predominantly minority neighborhoods and suspicious vote totals for candidates in scattered precincts.

A ruling by a federal judge in Columbus on Friday rejected one county's attempt to stop a recount, avoiding a legal precedent that could have stopped other recounts. Green and Libertarian party candidates have already raised the required $113,600.

Both major parties have said they do not expect the recount to change the result of the election.

The Democratic Party also said Monday it will examine reports of voting problems in Ohio.

Outgoing Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said the party will spend "whatever it takes" to study complaints from Ohio voters.

McAuliffe said the party is not seeking to overturn the result but to ensure that every vote is counted. He said the study will be conducted by nonpartisan experts to be announced later, with a report issued in the spring that recommends reforms to prevent such problems in the future.

Blackwell, a Republican, oversaw the election process while serving as one of several statewide GOP leaders who co-chaired Bush's campaign. The 2000 Florida recount was also administered by a Republican secretary of state, Katherine Harris, who is now a member of Congress.

In a conference call with reporters, McAuliffe said the panel needs to look at the practice of secretaries of state serving as campaign officials. He said he personally thinks it's a laudable goal for election officials to be nonpartisan.

strandinthewind · #2 12-06-2004, 07:48 PM

Now - it can officially be challenged and it will be.

gldstwmn · #3 12-06-2004, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Now - it can officially be challenged and it will be.

It's on babee.

dissention · #4 12-06-2004, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

It's on babee.

Yeah, especially now that the f*ckers at the DU screwed over Bev Harris and BBV after she busted her ass over this fiasco. They'd be up ****s creek without a paddle if it wasn't for her. They're armchair warriors if I've ever seen any. Those people should be ashamed of themselves, as should Olbermann and his show for treating her like such ****.

You should check out some those disgusting threads on the DU, they're celebrating the fact that she's been banned and that it's been made public. And the funny thing is that they say they never attacked her personally, but then go on to say that she has "mental illnesses" and that she's a "fraud" and that they, the lovely folks of the DU, are the ones who made her. I can't stand that filthy place anymore, it's just as bad as Freeperville.

Hawkeye · #5 12-06-2004, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

It's on babee.

So are you saying that John Kerry could still have a chance of being our President? Because unless he has a real chance to win, all this challenging is just wasted bitching and moaning

EnchantedSLN · #6 12-06-2004, 08:39 PM

... which means now Arnebeck can file his lawsuit alleging 65,000 votes were switched. I sure hope he knows more than we do.

EnchantedSLN · #7 12-06-2004, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

So are you saying that John Kerry could still have a chance of being our President? Because unless he has a real chance to win, all this challenging is just wasted bitching and moaning

Yeah, but even if it doesn't change anything, I say keep bitching and moaning. If I get screwed over in a trade, I may not be able to force that person to send me my stuff, but you better believe I will let other traders know about it. People need to know something was not right here, and anything that takes away from the legitimacy of the election and makes people question what happened is not totally wasted.

strandinthewind · #8 12-06-2004, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

So are you saying that John Kerry could still have a chance of being our President? Because unless he has a real chance to win, all this challenging is just wasted bitching and moaning

I, respectfully (as always

) disagree. I think it is imperative to our country to know that the politicians (on BOTH sides or some other side) are not monkeying with the system. It outrages me that they might be. This investigation may shed light on that

That is why I think it is important

gldstwmn · #9 12-06-2004, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissention

Yeah, especially now that the f*ckers at the DU screwed over Bev Harris and BBV after she busted her ass over this fiasco. They'd be up ****s creek without a paddle if it wasn't for her. They're armchair warriors if I've ever seen any. Those people should be ashamed of themselves, as should Olbermann and his show for treating her like such ****.

You should check out some those disgusting threads on the DU, they're celebrating the fact that she's been banned and that it's been made public. And the funny thing is that they say they never attacked her personally, but then go on to say that she has "mental illnesses" and that she's a "fraud" and that they, the lovely folks of the DU, are the ones who made her. I can't stand that filthy place anymore, it's just as bad as Freeperville.

I've read it.