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=====Dispute over voter registration verification methods=====
=====Dispute over voter registration verification methods=====
It appears that Ohio is using social security information to verify new voter registration, even though "[u]nder federal law, election officials are supposed to use the Social Security database to check a registration application only as a last resort, if no record of the applicant is found [within the state's own] databases," according to a ''New York Times'' article.<ref name=SAtBVAI /> [[Michael J. Astrue]], commissioner of the [[Social Security Administration]], alerted the [[United States Department of Justice]] and sent letters to six states including Ohio to ensure compliance with federal law. Ohio Republican officials have already filed paperwork that Brunner feels is an attempt to establish grounds for contesting ballots on Election Day. The paperwork requires use of [[provisional ballot]]s by persons with discrepant registrations.<ref name=SAtBVAI>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html?|title=States’ Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal|accessdate=2008-10-10|date=2008-10-08|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Urbina, Ian}}</ref> On October 9, 2008, the Republicans also were granted an order against Brunner by Judge Smith requiring that Brunner must perform voter registration verification according to the Help America Vote Act. Matching new registrants' information against Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration databases is one of the requirements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hUHafp1cxJ8ULtxqbf9fo0lw-pegD93NCBV00|title=Ohio secretary of state must verify registrations|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-10-09|publisher=[[The Associated Press]]|author=Smyh, Julie Carr}}</ref> Challenges to mismatched registrations, which force the use of provisional ballots, must be filed twenty days prior to the election.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> Legal expert [[Greta Van Susteren]] viewed the ruling as a significant [[breaking news]] story and interviewed Brunner on her show ''[[On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren]]'' the day it was made. Van Susteren interpreted the ruling as a statement that Brunner has not been taking sufficient steps to prevent voter fraud.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,435744,00.html|title=Ohio Secretary of State on ACORN Voter Fraud Allegations 'On the Record'|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-10-10|publisher=FOX News Network, LLC|work=Foxnews.com}}</ref> ''[[Democracy Now!]]'' also interviewed Brunner on that day, but they did so before the final verdict.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/>
It appears that Ohio is using social security information to verify new voter registration, even though "[u]nder federal law, election officials are supposed to use the Social Security database to check a registration application only as a last resort, if no record of the applicant is found [within the state's own] databases," according to a ''New York Times'' article.<ref name=SAtBVAI /> [[Michael J. Astrue]], commissioner of the [[Social Security Administration]], alerted the [[United States Department of Justice]] and sent letters to six states including Ohio to ensure compliance with federal law. Brunner has stated that the filing of paperwork by Republican officials may be an attempt to establish grounds for contesting ballots on election day. The paperwork requires use of [[provisional ballot]]s by persons with discrepant registrations.<ref name=SAtBVAI>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html?|title=States’ Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal|accessdate=2008-10-10|date=2008-10-08|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Urbina, Ian}}</ref> On October 9, 2008, the Republicans also were granted an order against Brunner by Judge Smith requiring that Brunner must perform voter registration verification according to the Help America Vote Act. Matching new registrants' information against Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration databases is one of the requirements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hUHafp1cxJ8ULtxqbf9fo0lw-pegD93NCBV00|title=Ohio secretary of state must verify registrations|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-10-09|publisher=[[The Associated Press]]|author=Smyh, Julie Carr}}</ref> Challenges to mismatched registrations, which force the use of provisional ballots, must be filed twenty days prior to the election.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> Legal expert [[Greta Van Susteren]] viewed the ruling as a significant [[breaking news]] story and interviewed Brunner on her show ''[[On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren]]'' the day it was made. Van Susteren interpreted the ruling as a statement that Brunner has not been taking sufficient steps to prevent voter fraud.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,435744,00.html|title=Ohio Secretary of State on ACORN Voter Fraud Allegations 'On the Record'|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-10-10|publisher=FOX News Network, LLC|work=Foxnews.com}}</ref> ''[[Democracy Now!]]'' also interviewed Brunner on that day, but they did so before the final verdict.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/>


=====Growth of voter registrations in 2008=====
=====Growth of voter registrations in 2008=====
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One month before the [[2008 United States election]], 5% of Ohio mortgages were either severely delinquent or in [[foreclosure]].<ref name=FatRtV/> There were 67,658 foreclosure actions in the first half of 2008.<ref name=FatRtV/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:DDNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1239A8A89231AB48&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB579A3BDA420|title=Brunner clarifies foreclosure report - Ohio secretary of state says foreclosure action on its own isn't enough to challenge a voter's right to vote on Nov. 4.|accessdate=2008-12-30|date=2008-10-26|publisher=[[Newsbank]]|work=[[Dayton Daily News]]|author=Bischoff, Laura A.}}</ref> Republicans are expected to attempt to use foreclosure lists to block voters. Brunner has warned all election boards that involvement in a foreclosure is not, by itself, sufficient basis for challenging enfranchisement.<ref name=FatRtV>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/opinion/05sun2.html?|title=Foreclosures and the Right to Vote|accessdate=2008-10-10|date=2008-10-04|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>
One month before the [[2008 United States election]], 5% of Ohio mortgages were either severely delinquent or in [[foreclosure]].<ref name=FatRtV/> There were 67,658 foreclosure actions in the first half of 2008.<ref name=FatRtV/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:DDNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1239A8A89231AB48&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB579A3BDA420|title=Brunner clarifies foreclosure report - Ohio secretary of state says foreclosure action on its own isn't enough to challenge a voter's right to vote on Nov. 4.|accessdate=2008-12-30|date=2008-10-26|publisher=[[Newsbank]]|work=[[Dayton Daily News]]|author=Bischoff, Laura A.}}</ref> Republicans are expected to attempt to use foreclosure lists to block voters. Brunner has warned all election boards that involvement in a foreclosure is not, by itself, sufficient basis for challenging enfranchisement.<ref name=FatRtV>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/opinion/05sun2.html?|title=Foreclosures and the Right to Vote|accessdate=2008-10-10|date=2008-10-04|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>


Conservative editors such as Peter Bronson who write for Cincinnati.com, the online arm of [[The Cincinnati Enquirer]], describes Brunner as having a "reputation as the most partisan state official in Ohio". This is partly because after entering office, she took immediate action against Republican county elections officials, including [[Robert T. Bennett]], Ohio Republican Party Chairman. However, more recently, she has been accused of partisanship by her former Secretary of State opponent in the 2008 general election. He claims that she has set policy in order to throw out absentee ballots likely to be cast for the [[John McCain]]-[[Sarah Palin]] ticket.<ref name=IOpllCtB>{{cite web|url=http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080923/COL05/809230318/1055/news|title=If Ohio polling looks like Chicago, 'thank' Brunner|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-09-23|publisher=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer|The Enquirer]]|work=Cincinnati.com|author=Bronson, Peter}}</ref> Other sources claim that [[ACORN]] advises and influences Brunner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiogop.org/press/articles/2008/10/activist-group-advising-brunner-admits-ohio-election-fraud|title=Activist Group Advising Brunner Admits to Ohio Election Fraud|accessdate=2008-10-18|date=2008-10-09|publisher=Ohio Republican Party|work=ohiogop.org}}</ref>
On entering office, Brunner took immediate action against Republican county elections officials, including [[Robert T. Bennett]], Ohio Republican Party Chairman. At the time, while writing for ''[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]'', columnist Peter Bronson described Brunner as "the most partisan state official in Ohio".<ref name=IOpllCtB/> More recently, she has been accused of partisanship by her former Secretary of State opponent in the 2008 general election. He claims that she set policy in order to throw out absentee ballots likely to be cast for the [[John McCain]]-[[Sarah Palin]] ticket.<ref name=IOpllCtB>{{cite web|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:CEQB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1236E0F75FD2BA80&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB579A3BDA420|title=If Ohio elections look like Chicago, we can 'thank' Jennifer Brunner|accessdate=2009-01-06|date=2008-09-23|publisher=[[Newsbank]]|work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]|author=Sato, Kiichiro and Peter Bronson}}</ref> Other sources claim that [[ACORN]] advises and influences Brunner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiogop.org/press/articles/2008/10/activist-group-advising-brunner-admits-ohio-election-fraud|title=Activist Group Advising Brunner Admits to Ohio Election Fraud|accessdate=2008-10-18|date=2008-10-09|publisher=Ohio Republican Party|work=ohiogop.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jenniferbrunner.com/blog/entry/58|title=Cleveland, Ohio|accessdate=2009-01-06|date=2006-04-11|publisher=Jennifer Brunner Committee|work=jenniferbrunner.com|author=Brunner, Rick}}</ref>


The 2008 general election is expected to be marred by [[Diebold]] electronic voting machines that have malfunctioned on vote transfers from the local precinct machines to the county election board headquarters. Brunner is suing Diebold for other types of vote-dropping malfunctions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/opinion/09thu2.html?|title=That’s a Pretty Big Glitch|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-10-08|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Fifty-three of Eighty-eight counties will be using the problematic touch screen electronic voting machines.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> The machines had also mysteriously crashed and their printers had jammed in the 2007 elections.<ref name=CYCoVM>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06Vote-t.html?|title=Can You Count on Voting Machines?|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-01-07|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Thompson, Clive}}</ref> Brunner feels that electronic machines should be avoided until they achieve the same security standards as the computer equipment in the banking and communications industries.<ref name=SresaEDa>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_852573C400693880002574D60068D23D.html?|title=States ready e-voting systems as Election Day approaches|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-10-02|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Weiss, Todd R.}}</ref> She issued a report that both [[Premier Election Solutions]] (a Diebold subsidiary) and Hart and Election Systems & Software produce electronic voting systems with severe security flaws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/us/politics/19voting.html?|title=Colorado Decertifies Machines for Voting|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2007-12-19|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Frosch, Dan}}</ref>
The 2008 general election was expected to be marred by [[Diebold]] electronic voting machines that had malfunctioned on vote transfers from the local precinct machines to the county election board headquarters. Brunner is suing Diebold for other types of vote-dropping malfunctions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/opinion/09thu2.html?|title=That’s a Pretty Big Glitch|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-10-08|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Fifty-three of Eighty-eight counties used the problematic touch screen electronic voting machines.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> The machines had also mysteriously crashed and their printers had jammed in the 2007 elections.<ref name=CYCoVM>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06Vote-t.html?|title=Can You Count on Voting Machines?|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-01-07|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Thompson, Clive}}</ref> Brunner feels that electronic machines should be avoided until they achieve the same security standards as the computer equipment in the banking and communications industries.<ref name=SresaEDa>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_852573C400693880002574D60068D23D.html?|title=States ready e-voting systems as Election Day approaches|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2008-10-02|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Weiss, Todd R.}}</ref> She issued a report that both [[Premier Election Solutions]] (a Diebold subsidiary) and Hart and Election Systems & Software produce electronic voting systems with severe security flaws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/us/politics/19voting.html?|title=Colorado Decertifies Machines for Voting|accessdate=2008-10-11|date=2007-12-19|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Frosch, Dan}}</ref>


Brunner has made several specific efforts to alleviate some of the past voting difficulties. 2008 is the first Ohio election that permits absentee voting as a matter of preference without any justification for need.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> This resulted in a record number of absentee ballots.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> Additionally, voting machine redistribution has been closely studied with the hope of alleviating long waits in problem areas.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> Redistribution is based on past turnout, new registrations, any recent purges under the [[National Voter Registration Act]], and the number of ballot issues in the district.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> Each precinct has been supplied with sufficient paper ballots to accommodate 25% number of voters who voted in the previous presidential election.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/>
Brunner has made several specific efforts to alleviate some of the past voting difficulties. 2008 is the first Ohio election that permits absentee voting as a matter of preference without any justification for need.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> This resulted in a record number of absentee ballots.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> Additionally, voting machine redistribution has been closely studied with the hope of alleviating long waits in problem areas.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> Redistribution is based on past turnout, new registrations, any recent purges under the [[National Voter Registration Act]], and the number of ballot issues in the district.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/> Each precinct has been supplied with sufficient paper ballots to accommodate 25% number of voters who voted in the previous presidential election.<ref name=OSoSJBoVRFEVMVFaGVC/>

Revision as of 03:44, 6 January 2009

Jennifer L. Brunner
Ohio Secretary of State
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 8, 2007
GovernorTed Strickland
Preceded byJ. Kenneth Blackwell
Judge Of Court Of Common Pleas
In office
2001 – September 1, 2005
Serving with Richard S. Sheward, David W. Fais, Daniel T. Hogan
ConstituencyFranklin County
Personal details
Born (1957-02-05) February 5, 1957 (age 67)
Nationality United States
Political partyDemocratic Party
SpouseRick Brunner
Childrenthree
ResidenceTemplate:City-state
Alma materMiami University, B.A. cum laude, '78
Capital University Law School, J.D. with honors, '82
ProfessionPolitician

Jennifer Lee Brunner (born February 5, 1957) is an American politician of the Democratic Party who currently serves as the Ohio Secretary of State. Brunner is the first woman to serve in this capacity.[1] She assumed control of the office after sixteen years of Republican control, which included two four-year terms by her predecessor J. Kenneth Blackwell who oversaw the controversial 2000 and 2004 United States elections.[2] Brunner has worked in the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office and served as a County Judge in Ohio. She also had a private practice that focused on election laws.

As Secretary of State, she has been actively involved in evaluating and adjusting statewide election systems. Her efforts have focused on correcting the procedural election difficulties that Ohio has become known for.[3] She has evaluated voting mechanism and instituted policy changes.[2][4] She has argued policy regarding same day voting,[5] privacy of social security information,[6] and foreclosure-related voter eligibility.[7] She has advocated for greater availability and access of voting to all.

Career

Brunner previously worked in the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office as a deputy director and legislative counsel to the Ohio General Assembly during the administration of Sherrod Brown from 1983–87.[8][9] She then began a statewide law practice where she gained 12 years experience focusing on election law and campaign finance from 1988–2000.[9][10][11] She briefly worked for the Franklin County Board of Elections.[10] In 1988, Brunner represented the Ohio Pesticide Applicators for Responsible Regulation, when the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency held hearings about testing Ohio water supplies for pesticides that were not against federal regulations. She agreed that testing standards should be higher, but felt that such standards should not be mandated.[12] She expressed an interest in public service when a seat on the Columbus City Council became available following the April 29, 1988 death of John R. Maloney.[13] The list of candidates who applied included at least 20 applicants.[14]

Brunner has litigated various ballot propositions. In 1988, she represented a client who contested the validity of a ballot proposal to halt the sale of alcohol at the Cuyahoga Falls entertainment center.[15][16] She was treasurer of a citizens group that attacked the financial reports related to a Template:City-state school district tax levy on the November 1988 ballot.[17][18][19] Later in 1989, she represented property owners in a rezoning referendum.[20] Brunner represented Ohioans Against Casino Gambling in its dispute over the wording of the 1990 ballot issue on "games of chances".[21]

In 2000, Brunner was elected to an unexpired term on the Franklin County Common Pleas Court. She was reelected in 2002.[22][23] The Court of Common Pleas judges tested, approved and created a separate drug court to reduce addiction-related recidivism. Judges recommend repeat offenders who have been charged with non-violent felonies stemming from their drug or alcohol addictions for the program, which targets those repeatedly charged with theft, receiving stolen property, writing bad checks, prostitution or drug possession, which are all addiction related crimes. Brunner started the court in April 2004 after several years of research.[24]

Brunner resigned from the Court on September 1, 2005, to run for Secretary of State. She ran unopposed in the May 2, 2006 Democratic Primary.[25] On November 7, 2006, she defeated Republican Greg Hartmann in the 2006 general election by a 55%–40% margin and took office on January 8, 2007.[26] Since the office is one that serves as a keeper of public records, the histories of the two candidates' vigilance against identity theft was an important issue.[27] The campaign also included mudslinging.[28]

Ohio is notorious for its 2000 and 2004 Election Day problems. The state had hours-long lines at polling places in its major cities in 2004 and a fraud scandal in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, that led to the convictions of two elections workers on rigging recounts and Ms. Brunner’s takeover of the county board of elections.[3] In September 2007, Brunner announced extensive efforts to identify and correct serious problems with the security and reliability of voting machines in time for the March 4, 2008 Ohio Democratic and Republican primaries.[3] In a US$1.9 million federally financed study released December 14, 2007, Brunner reported the results of tests of all five voting systems used in Ohio. All systems had major flaws.[2] The study focused on security; reliability of the equipment and the systems; the software configuration; and procedures of the local officials. Security and procedures were seen to be serious problems.[29] The security level of the computer equipment did not match the contemporaneous levels of security used in other information-sensitive industries.[29]

She has advocated the replacement of all Ohio voting machines, including the direct-recording electronic (DRE) touch-screen ones used in more than 50 of Ohio's 88 counties.[2] Brunner supports a move to paper ballots,[1] which would use optical scanning.[2] As a result of the study, during the March 2008 primaries, paper ballots were supposed to be available at all polling places for voters who preferred them.[4] The paper ballots also served as a backup for machine failures.[30] Brunner mandated a paper ballot election for the November 2008 general election.[31] This was due both to the study and problems faced during the 2007 election with touch screen electronic voting machines.[32] However, the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly has not addressed the subject of funding an all-paper ballot. Consequently, Brunner focussed on addressing the procedures instead of the inherent lack of technical security.[29]

Secretary of State

In January, Brunner proposed a plan that would allow counties to recruit poll workers by mail, who would then undertake two paid training days, and work a paid eight-hour shift at the polls on Election Day.[33] Brunner explained the plan in an interview:

"In terms of Ohio and what happened in the 2004 presidential election, there has been a crisis in confidence in our election system in Ohio, both nationally and in our state. One of the quickest ways to repair that is to make sure that we have adequate numbers of poll workers. ... We suggested this as one tool that the boards of elections would have available to them for recruiting poll workers. We would be looking to do this similar to how we recruit jurors, only jurors are recruited for two weeks of service whereas we'd only be asking for three days. It would also allow us to offer split shifts to poll workers. In Ohio the polling places are open for thirteen hours, so essentially a poll worker works at least fourteen hours; with the average age of our poll workers at 72, that's a tough day for anyone, no matter what their age is. ... It's an option, and we can even include a trigger, so that a county has to be deficient by a certain percentage of poll workers to even be able to use this."[34]

In the initial proposal it was not yet decided what wages would be paid, and whether refusing recruitment would result in penalties. The proposal will be decided by the Ohio General Assembly.[33]

Brunner has established the Voting Right Institute (VRI) to improve voter access to elections in Ohio. The VRI has instituted a “Grads Vote” program which supplies voter registration forms to all graduating high school seniors. The VRI has also partnered with the U.S. Postal Service to include voter registration forms in government moving packets and with the Overseas Vote Foundation to improve online absentee ballot applications for overseas and military voters.[1]

"Compared to the last presidential election [in 2004], this state has gone from intensive care to walking on crutches. By November [2008], we’ll be walking normally like everyone else."

—Jennifer Brunner[35] (March 2008)

She has also moved to shield social security information and other private information from public view for millions of online records and coordinated with the Ohio General Assembly to prevent the filing of private information.[1]

Brunner worked with Ohio's 88 county boards of elections and thousands of poll workers to ensure record voter turnout in the March presidential primaries.[1][36] Despite the record turnout, the primary was marred by paper ballot shortages, bomb threats, ice storms and power failures.[35] In addition, flooding forced the relocation of some polling places in southeastern Ohio.[37] 21 precincts in the Cleveland metropolitan area were held open for an extra 90 minutes due to paper ballot shortages.[4] Brunner claimed that in Clermont and Summit Counties ballots ran out because of the number of Republicans who voted in the Democratic primary and that only Democratic ballots ran out.[4]

Brunner (March 22, 2006)

Brunner has spoken out against election officials taking voting machines home with them in the days before an election. Such actions have allowed hacking even though it makes transport and delivery to the eventual polling place simpler.[38] Some elections officials say they feel the system is better if elections officials keep an eye on machines the days before the elections. Brunner says poll workers have sometimes cast ballots on machines in their homes. She issued the following directive on the matter: "We want Ohio’s voters and the rest of the nation to see that we have prepared a transparent process of transporting voting equipment, ballots and supplies. That begins with security practices at boards of elections and polling places, documented chain of custody, and now procedures to make secure voting machine delivery."[38] She has ordered bipartisan transport teams and proscribed storage conditions such as humidity. The federal government will subsidize the cost of her mandate.[38]

2008 general election

Same-day voter registration

In 2008 Ohio experienced an unintended consequence of a new statute that resulted in a brief period of overlap voting, when absentee voting has started and before the close of voter registration. This period ran from September 30 until October 6, due to the newly instituted early voting policy.[29] On August 13, 2008, Brunner ordered county election board officials to establish procedures to enable voters who register to be immediately issued an absentee ballot.[39] Because a voter could show up with only a cell phone bill, give any four digits and claim they were the last four digits of his or her Social Security Number, and then immediately vote and have such ballots put into the same pool as other votes with no procedure for more rigorous scrutiny of their validity, the Republican Party opposed the same day voting plan and fought it in several Ohio Courts.[40] Ohio Republican Party officials and Republican voters argued in separate lawsuits that Ohio law requires voters to be registered for 30 days before they cast an absentee ballot.[41] On September 29, 2008 (a day after lower state and federal courts overruled GOP objections to same-day registration and voting or GOP requests for mandated ballot segregation and verification) the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Template:City-state rejected Republican efforts to stop the plan.[40] United States district court judge James Gwin in Template:City-state also ruled against the Republicans and issued a restraining order to enforce Brunner's plan. In Template:City-state, U.S. District Judge George Smith declined to rule on another statewide challenge, deferring to the state Supreme Court's decision. The rulings, which opened a window to register and vote on the same day until the absentee ballot deadline on October 6, 2008, was upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision in which two Republican jurists recused themselves and were replaced by one Republican and one Democrat by Chief Justice Thomas Moyer. The normal roster of Ohio Supreme Court jurists is all Republican and the lone Democrat replacement cast the tie-breaking vote.[41][42] The dissenters noted that Ohio's Constitution requires that a person register to vote 30 days in before voting.[43] Brunner ordered segregation of same-day-registration ballots and verification of them before counting them on Election Day, November 4, 2008.[40] In related proceedings on September 30, 2008, Judge Smith of The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus had granted an Ohio Republican Party request for a restraining order that would mandate election observers during early voting.[5][42] Brunner prevailed in the appellate court which ruled that the district court “abused its discretion” in granting the restraining order.[5]

The same-day registration ballots are subject to the standard Ohio notification card protocol whereby a postcard is sent to the newly registered address to assist in determining the validity of the address. A card that comes back marked return to sender is questioned and marked on the voter rolls.[29] Additionally, the boards of elections submit new voter registrations into a database in the office of the Ohio Secretary of State. The information is matched with driver's licenses on an Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles database and failing a match there it is sent to the Social Security Administration to pursue a match.[29]

Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

Ohio (along with Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina) is one of six states expected to be heavily affected by compliance with the 2002 Help America Vote Act,[6] which mandates that states corroborate voter registration applications with government databases.[44] Due to the disproportionate voter registration by Democrats it is anticipated that much of the confusion at the polling places will be for challenges to newly-registered Democrats who have been delisted from the ranks of registered voters.[6]

Dispute over voter registration verification methods

It appears that Ohio is using social security information to verify new voter registration, even though "[u]nder federal law, election officials are supposed to use the Social Security database to check a registration application only as a last resort, if no record of the applicant is found [within the state's own] databases," according to a New York Times article.[6] Michael J. Astrue, commissioner of the Social Security Administration, alerted the United States Department of Justice and sent letters to six states including Ohio to ensure compliance with federal law. Brunner has stated that the filing of paperwork by Republican officials may be an attempt to establish grounds for contesting ballots on election day. The paperwork requires use of provisional ballots by persons with discrepant registrations.[6] On October 9, 2008, the Republicans also were granted an order against Brunner by Judge Smith requiring that Brunner must perform voter registration verification according to the Help America Vote Act. Matching new registrants' information against Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration databases is one of the requirements.[45] Challenges to mismatched registrations, which force the use of provisional ballots, must be filed twenty days prior to the election.[29] Legal expert Greta Van Susteren viewed the ruling as a significant breaking news story and interviewed Brunner on her show On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren the day it was made. Van Susteren interpreted the ruling as a statement that Brunner has not been taking sufficient steps to prevent voter fraud.[46] Democracy Now! also interviewed Brunner on that day, but they did so before the final verdict.[29]

Growth of voter registrations in 2008

Between January 1, 2008 and mid-October 2008, over 666,000 Ohioans registered to vote either for the first time or with updated voter information, and over 200,000 of them provided driver's licenses or Social Security numbers that do not match government records. Over 20% of these voters are from Cuyahoga County, which is heavily Democratic.[47] Also, many of the newly registered voters were the result of voter registration drives to register voters for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the March 4, 2008 Ohio Democratic primary.[48] The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 9–6 decision ruled against Brunner on October 14, 2008 in deciding that extra steps must be taken to authenticate these registrants and Jeffrey Sutton's majority opinion suggested that these misregistered voters cast provisional ballots. Historically, 20% of provisional ballots have been thrown out. As a result of the ruling, Brunner's Office of the Ohio Secretary of State must provide each county with a list of registrants with mismatching information and provide direction on a proper course of action. There are federal laws barring purging voters from the election rolls within 90 days of an election. This issue is considered to be a partisan one with Republicans favoring greater scrutiny, and the justices voted almost along party lines based on the United States President that appointed them.[47]

Supreme Court reverses lower court on verification methods

On October 17, 2008, in Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party, 07A332, the United States Supreme Court overturned the 6th Circuit Decision requiring Brunner to provide lists of improperly registered voters to each county election board.[48] The ruling means that Brunner can instruct the 88 county boards of elections to ignore public record requests by the Ohio Republican Party made to challenge registrants with information mismatched between their registration and their driver's license or social security number.[49] The Republican Party claimed that the ruling was based on a technicality rather than the merits of the arguments. Bennett said that "The justices did not disagree with our argument that Jennifer Brunner has failed to comply with federal election law. They merely said we don't have a right to bring a private challenge against her under this particular provision."[50] The McCain-Palin campaign said "...the United States Supreme Court does not address violations of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Rather, the Court ruled that Congress had likely not authorized private individuals or political parties to bring suit under the section of HAVA requiring voter registration verification through data-matching."[51] Since the ruling did not directly address the issues that the Republicans wanted determined, they filed a similar case in the Ohio Supreme Court.[44] However, they withdrew the case.[52]

Other issues

One month before the 2008 United States election, 5% of Ohio mortgages were either severely delinquent or in foreclosure.[7] There were 67,658 foreclosure actions in the first half of 2008.[7][53] Republicans are expected to attempt to use foreclosure lists to block voters. Brunner has warned all election boards that involvement in a foreclosure is not, by itself, sufficient basis for challenging enfranchisement.[7]

On entering office, Brunner took immediate action against Republican county elections officials, including Robert T. Bennett, Ohio Republican Party Chairman. At the time, while writing for The Cincinnati Enquirer, columnist Peter Bronson described Brunner as "the most partisan state official in Ohio".[54] More recently, she has been accused of partisanship by her former Secretary of State opponent in the 2008 general election. He claims that she set policy in order to throw out absentee ballots likely to be cast for the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket.[54] Other sources claim that ACORN advises and influences Brunner.[55][56]

The 2008 general election was expected to be marred by Diebold electronic voting machines that had malfunctioned on vote transfers from the local precinct machines to the county election board headquarters. Brunner is suing Diebold for other types of vote-dropping malfunctions.[57] Fifty-three of Eighty-eight counties used the problematic touch screen electronic voting machines.[29] The machines had also mysteriously crashed and their printers had jammed in the 2007 elections.[32] Brunner feels that electronic machines should be avoided until they achieve the same security standards as the computer equipment in the banking and communications industries.[30] She issued a report that both Premier Election Solutions (a Diebold subsidiary) and Hart and Election Systems & Software produce electronic voting systems with severe security flaws.[58]

Brunner has made several specific efforts to alleviate some of the past voting difficulties. 2008 is the first Ohio election that permits absentee voting as a matter of preference without any justification for need.[29] This resulted in a record number of absentee ballots.[29] Additionally, voting machine redistribution has been closely studied with the hope of alleviating long waits in problem areas.[29] Redistribution is based on past turnout, new registrations, any recent purges under the National Voter Registration Act, and the number of ballot issues in the district.[29] Each precinct has been supplied with sufficient paper ballots to accommodate 25% number of voters who voted in the previous presidential election.[29]

Brunner has noted that only incarcerated convicted felons become ineligible to vote in Ohio. Thus, persons incarcerated for misdemeanors and persons detained in prisons awaiting new trials can vote directly from prison.[29]

On October 20, 2008 Brunner had to temporarily shut down the Ohio Secretary of State website after it was hacked. The offense was placed under the jurisdiction of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. At the time of the announcement Ohio Governor Ted Strickland noted that Brunner has been the subject of threats and Brunner noted that her office has been assaulted with threats and actual delivery of abuse.[59]

In November 2008, Brunner became involved in legal against two Steve Stivers supporters that relates to the validity of a 1000 provisional ballots in the race for Ohio's 15th congressional district that at the time of recounting had a 149 vote margin and 27,000 absentee ballots to be counted.[60][61] The case was consolidated with other cases in the United States District Court upon Brunner's request.[62] On December 5, 2008, Stivers' supporters won a ruling in the Ohio Supreme Court that the 1,000 provisional ballots that lacked signatures or had names and signatures in the wrong places be thrown out.[63]

Personal

Brunner earned a B.A. in sociology-gerontology, cum laude, from Miami University in 1978 and a J.D. from Capital University Law School with honors in 1982.[1][64][10] Brunner is a resident of Columbus, Ohio. She and her husband, Rick, have been married 28 years and have three adult children.[1] They have also been foster parents to three children.[65] Brunner is an alumnus of Whetstone High School in Template:City-state.[66]

In March 2008, Brunner was given the Profile in Courage Award by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. She earned the award for challenging the reliability of electronic voting in order to protect the right to vote in Ohio. The award was announced on March 18, 2008.[67] She received the award May 12, 2008.[68]

General election results

Office Year Democrat Votes Pct. Republican Votes Pct. Non-Partisan Votes Pct. Non-Partisan Votes Pct.
Franklin County Judge Of Court Of Common Pleas 2000 Jennifer Brunner
Franklin County Judge Of Court Of Common Pleas[23] 2002 Jennifer Brunner 109,713 51.8% Michael J. Holbrook 102,050 48.2%
Ohio Secretary Of State[26] 2006 Jennifer Brunner 2,104,114 55.03% Greg Hartmann 1,546,454 40.45% John A. Eastman 94,706 2.48% Timothy J. Kettler 78,080 2.04%

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Biography". www.sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  2. ^ a b c d e Driehaus, Bob (2007-12-15). "Ohio Elections Official Calls Machines Flawed". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  3. ^ a b c Driehaus, Bob (2007-09-27). "Ohio to Test Vote Systems Before March". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  4. ^ a b c d Urbina, Ian (2008-03-05). "Ballot Shortages Plague Ohio Election Amid Unusually Heavy Primary Turnout". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  5. ^ a b c Merrick, Amy (2008-10-01). "Ohio Gets Green Light on Same-Day Registration and Voting". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  6. ^ a b c d e Urbina, Ian (2008-10-08). "States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  7. ^ a b c d "Foreclosures and the Right to Vote". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  8. ^ "Local Brief". Chillicothe Gazette. Newsbank. 2005-09-03. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  9. ^ a b Bischoff, Laura A. (2006-11-04). "Candidates share some common ground - Democrat and Republican part ways on the details of office, major needs". Dayton Daily News. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  10. ^ a b c "Brunner is better to guide Ohio elections". Dayton Daily News. Newsbank. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  11. ^ "Your Letters ELECTION 2006". Dayton Daily News. Newsbank. 2006-11-03. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  12. ^ Lore, David (1988-01-15). "Expanded Tests for Pesticides in Drinking Water Supported". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  13. ^ Curtin, Mike, and Alan Johnson (1988-05-11). "Contest for Council Seat Looks Wide Open". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-10-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Council Prospects TO Line Up - Democrats to Interview at Least 20 Candidates Tonight". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. 1988-05-12. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  15. ^ Smith, Susan (1988-09-08). "Blossom Petitions Protested". Akron Beacon Journal. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  16. ^ Smith, Susan (1988-09-14). "Lawyer Seeks to Void Petitions on Blossom". Akron Beacon Journal. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  17. ^ Dreitzler, Bob (1989-03-22). "Election Claims Continue". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  18. ^ "Correction". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. 1989-03-29. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  19. ^ Dreitzler, Bob (1989-05-10). "Filings Take a Suprising Turn". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  20. ^ "Petition's Validity Questioned". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. 1989-09-13. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  21. ^ Johnson, Alan (1990-08-15). "Ballot Board Tosses Out Dicey Terms". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  22. ^ "Democratic Judge Of Court Of Common Pleas: Official Tabulation: May 7, 2002". www.sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  23. ^ a b "Judge Of Court Of Common Pleas: Official Tabulation: November 5, 2002". www.sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  24. ^ Kemper, Kevin (2005-09-02). "Franklin County joins list of drug courts in the state". Columbus Business First. American City Business Journals, Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  25. ^ "Democratic Secretary Of State: May 2, 2006". www.sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  26. ^ a b "Secretary Of State: November 7, 2006". www.sos.state.oh.us. Ohio.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  27. ^ Bischoff, Laura A. (2006-10-15). "Secretary of state candidate at center of storm over ID thefts: Despite warnings, lawsuits, GOP's Hartmann kept info on court Web site". The Dayton Daily News. Jennifer Brunner Committee. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  28. ^ Buchanan, Doug (2006-09-26). "Secretary of State race turns acidic with anonymous dirty tricksters". Columbus Business First. American City Business Journals, Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Voter Rights, Faulty Electronic Voting Machines, Voter Fraud and GOP Voter Challenges". democracynow.org. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  30. ^ a b Weiss, Todd R. (2008-10-02). "States ready e-voting systems as Election Day approaches". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  31. ^ "NATIONAL BRIEFING". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2008-10-11. {{cite web}}: Text "MIDWEST; Ohio: Sample Recount of Primary Vote Is Requested" ignored (help)
  32. ^ a b Thompson, Clive (2008-01-07). "Can You Count on Voting Machines?". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  33. ^ a b "Ohio considers poll worker draft". Associated Press and WSTM-TV. 2007-01-28. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  34. ^ Block, Melissa (2007-01-30). "Ohio Considers a Draft System for Poll Workers" (audio interview). All Things Considered. National Public Radio. Retrieved 2007-03-21.
  35. ^ a b Urbina, Ian and Randy Kennedy (2008-03-06). "Turnout, Technology and Nature Marred Balloting in Ohio". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  36. ^ Maag, Christopher (2008-03-04). "Clinton Camp Confident of Comeback". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  37. ^ Phillips, Kate (2008-03-04). "Ohio Flooding Thwarts Some Voting". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  38. ^ a b c O'Connor, Anahad (2008-08-19). "Mom, Can My Voting Machine Spend the Night?". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  39. ^ "New Ohio Voter Registration Rules Irk GOP". FoxNews.com. FOX News Network, LLC. 2008-08-14. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  40. ^ a b c Winter, Michael (2008-09-30). "U.S. appeals court OK same-day registration, voting in Ohio". USAToday.com. USA Today. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  41. ^ a b Majors, Stephen (2008-09-29). "State, federal courts uphold early voting in Ohio". Yahoo! News. Yahoo! Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  42. ^ a b "Courts Allow Early Voting Week in Ohio". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  43. ^ Blackwell, Ken and Ken Klukowski (2008-10-06). "Voter-Fraud Chaos: Dems' 'November Surprise'?". NewYorkPost.com. NYP Holdings, Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  44. ^ a b Liptak, Adam and Ian Urbina (2008-10-17). "Justices Block Effort to Challenge Ohio Voters". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
  45. ^ Smyh, Julie Carr (2008-10-09). "Ohio secretary of state must verify registrations". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  46. ^ "Ohio Secretary of State on ACORN Voter Fraud Allegations 'On the Record'". Foxnews.com. FOX News Network, LLC. 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  47. ^ a b Fields, Reginald (2008-10-16). "Registration ruling poses dilemmma for Ohio". The Plain Dealer. p. A1. online at Fields, Regina (2008-10-16). "Registration ruling could cancel votes, Brunner says". The Plain Dealer. Newsbank. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  48. ^ a b Stohr, Greg (2008-10-17). "Ohio Democrats Win at Top U.S. Court in Voting Fight (Update3)". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2008-10-17. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |= ignored (help)
  49. ^ "Writes Like She Talks: NYT clarifies Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party further". Newsweek. Newsweek, Inc. 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  50. ^ Bennett, Bob (2008-10-17). "Statement from Chairman Bob Bennett". ohiogop.org. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  51. ^ Davis, Rick (2008-10-17). "Statement from the McCain campaign". ohiogop.org. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  52. ^ Merrick, Amy (2008-10-23). "GOP Efforts to Scrutinize Voter Registrations Make Little Headway". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  53. ^ Bischoff, Laura A. (2008-10-26). "Brunner clarifies foreclosure report - Ohio secretary of state says foreclosure action on its own isn't enough to challenge a voter's right to vote on Nov. 4". Dayton Daily News. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  54. ^ a b Sato, Kiichiro and Peter Bronson (2008-09-23). "If Ohio elections look like Chicago, we can 'thank' Jennifer Brunner". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Newsbank. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  55. ^ "Activist Group Advising Brunner Admits to Ohio Election Fraud". ohiogop.org. Ohio Republican Party. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  56. ^ Brunner, Rick (2006-04-11). "Cleveland, Ohio". jenniferbrunner.com. Jennifer Brunner Committee. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  57. ^ "That's a Pretty Big Glitch". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  58. ^ Frosch, Dan (2007-12-19). "Colorado Decertifies Machines for Voting". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  59. ^ Hopkins, Andrea (2008-10-21). "Ohio election Web site shut down after hacked". Reuters. Thompson Reuters. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
  60. ^ Stelzer, Paul (2008-11-15). "Franklin Canvassing Underway". nbc4i.com. Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  61. ^ Miller, Justin (2008-11-14). "Brunner wants OH-15 lawsuit moved to federal court". PolitickerOH.com. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  62. ^ Niquette, Mark and Barbara Carmen (2008-11-14). "Brunner tiebreaker or court ruling Saturday to decide race". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
  63. ^ Miller Justin (2008-12-05). "Stivers supporters win Supreme Court case". PolitickerOH.com. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
  64. ^ "Stakes high in contests to fill key state offices". The Toledo Blade. Newsbank. 2006-11-05. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  65. ^ "Sttattewiide racess - Auditor of State - Treasurer - Attorney General - Secretary of State". The Daily Sentinel (Pomeroy, OH). Newsbank. 2006-11-03. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  66. ^ Niquette, Mark (2008-05-17). "Brunner touts value of voting at high schools - Whetstone seniors among those urged to be active at polls". The Columbus Dispatch. Newsbank. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  67. ^ Carney, Brent. "California and Ohio Secretaries of State Named 2008 JFK Profile in Courage Award Recipients - Former Mississippi Governor Honored for Lifetime Achievement". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  68. ^ "Jennifer Brunner receives Profile in Courage Award (acceptance speech video)". NECN.com. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
Preceded by Ohio Secretary of State
2007- 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jennifer_Brunner&oldid=262235742"