the [alternate] patriot

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Report from Ohio

Ohio was the last state Bush needed to go over the top.

Below is an account of the voting experience from my pal Harry Farkas, a writer, social commentator and humorist, who lives in Ohio. [Reprinted here with permission.]

11/3/04 -11:30 AM EST

It does look like it is all over but the shouting. There was a massive effort here to get out the left/Dem/liberal vote by the Dems, MoveOn, and ACT (and Vote Mob and who knows who else). I have never had so many people calling and knocking in at my door. I was hopeful but for two factors.

One was Ohio's State Issue 1 - the most restrictive ballot issue calling for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, which also prevents the state from recognizing any substitute as equivalent to marriage - i.e., civil unions, domestic partnerships, regardless of whether they are same sex or not. Even Republican Gov. Taft and the business interests came out against this, but it turned out the evangelical vote (and even some of the Amish), most of whom voted for Bush.

The issue won by 61.63% to 38.37%.

The second factor was Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's conduct of the election. He's a (black, if it matters other than being odd) conservative Republican who wants to be the next governor, and like Harris in Florida in 2000, had dual roles as a Bush campaign leader and as the elected official in charge of the vote. He tried to make it as difficult as possible to get new, presumably Kerry, voters registered and to allow voters to be challenged, which may have intimidated some.

As for the mechanics of the election itself, the turnout was huge, and that resulted in long lines and waits. When I went to vote, the line was out the door and it was difficult to find the right line inside for the three different precincts. I went to vote at 11:45 and didn't get out till 1:20. I saw people leave without voting when they saw the mass of people, even though there were three lines inside, two of which were shorter than the one I was in.

I also heard about other people, including my wife's co-workers, leaving to go to work when they heard there would be a 2 (or more) hour wait. They said they'd come back later, but....

My stepdaughter and her crew went to vote after work and, per my wife,"they were in line for 6 hours and didn't get home until after midnight last night." How many gave up and went home without voting?

The thing is Blackwell knew there would be a massive turnout and did little to assure that people could vote in a reasonable amount of time. Even a deli has a 'take-a number' system to deal with crowds. In my polling station, you were on your own to find the right line, with no way to know how long it would take till you would get to vote. Hell, I was directing people to the less-than-detailed map to find their correct precincts and to the right line while I was in line.

So those two factors may have turned it for Bush in Ohio. I guess there is still a glimmer of hope, but the fat lady may be singing........

I'll close with my not-so-funny chuckle of the day:

If the religious right is so intent on defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, why didn't they start with Utah?

--
Harry Farkas
******************

Harry also sent me the text of the marriage issue Ohioans voted on Tuesday:

Be it Resolved by the People of the State of Ohio: That the Constitution of the State of Ohio be amended by adopting a section to be designated as Section 11 of Article XV thereof, to read as follows:

Article XV, Section 11. Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its political subdivisions. This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage.

They not only don't allow Ohio residents any form of marriage other than the church-approved version, they won't, apparently, recognize such unions created in other states. The usual practice is or each state to recognize and accept the practices allowed in other states. Thus, a will made in Florida is recognized in Connecticut IF it was legal in Florida. An adoption approved in California is considered valid in New Hampshire.

why is this the usualpractice? Undoubtedly it relates to the 'full faith and credit' section of Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. "Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state."

Palema 4:18 AM

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