Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said she knows change is hard, but Ohioans will need to adjust to ensure the validity of the state's voting process.
Brunner spoke about the state's voting procedure and equipment with Tipp City, Troy and Piqua Chamber of Commerce members in addition to several other Miami County figure-heads Tuesday at Harrison's in Tipp City.
"Ohio is neither red nor blue and we tend to swing one way or another, which is why we probably seem to matter so much in this country when it comes to the presidential election," Brunner said.
Brunner said after the 2000 presidential election, many people throughout the country were skeptical of the way ballots were cast and counted.
"People really felt strongly about that," she said.
Brunner said in general terms, her constituents in Ohio are hesitant to accept change; when new programs are available to Ohioans, they are often presented in a "pilot form" because Ohioans "don't just believe whatever someone tells us."
That wariness of change is why Brunner said she thinks the computerized voting stations need to double checked by audits to validate the authenticity of the election results.
She said in the November presidential elections, boards of elections will randomly select 7 percent of ballots cast and if the paper and computerized results are off by a small number, an additional random 3 percent of votes will be audited. If the numbers still do not show accuracy there will be a full recount of the votes.
According to Brunner, there are 68,000 registered voters in Miami County and Miami County residents were the first in Ohio to volunteer to count votes in the post-election audit after the March primary.
"(The audit) is not because we have doubts, but because it is good practice," Brunner said.
Reader Comments Posted: Friday, April 04, 2008
Comments
DJ Davis
We all applaud Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's diligence in making accurately recorded voter intent a priority during her term in office. People across the nation are watching Ohio for fear of another meltdown in the counting process that took place under SOS J Kenneth Blackwell in 2004. We applaud the voters of Ohio who put Ms Brunner in office.
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