Press Release

December 29, 2004

WV Citizen Organizations Ask Senator Byrd to Challenge Electoral College Vote

Contact Linda Mallet, WV-Citizen Action Group at 346-5891

(Charleston)- Citizens and representatives of several state organizations met today with Senator Byrd’s state office director Anne Barth to deliver a letter requesting the senator to “vote no” on certifying the presidential vote until irregularities in the Ohio vote are fully investigated and legal challenges have been heard. Congress meets on January 6 to certify the Electoral College.

WV Citizen Action Group, WV Common Cause, West Virginians for HAVA, and WV Patriots for Peace were among the groups represented on the request as well a representative from Progressive Democrats of America. In addition several individuals signed the letter including Joe Wyatt, a Marshall professor whose son just returned from his second military tour in Iraq.

Thousands of problems in the voting process in Ohio have been reported since November 2nd. Among these are long lines and waits of up to 10 hours in urban precincts due to shortages of voting machines and machine malfunctions; inaccurate totals from electronic voting machines; and erroneous purges of voters from voting rolls. In hearings held in Columbus by members of the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, voters told of electronic machines “switching” votes for Kerry to Bush due to “calibration” problems, among hundreds of other complaints.

Since the election, state officials have delayed recount efforts and vote counting equipment has been tampered with before the recount was allowed to begin. An affidavit from a Hocking County election official states that an employee of Tri Ad Governmental Systems, the company who makes and operates the county’s voting machines, came in to service the equipment before the recount, asked them which precincts were to be checked, and gave them a “cheat sheet” to make the hand count match the machine count.

The Green, Libertarian, and Democratic Parties have filed challenges to the election with the Ohio Supreme Court. Representatives of John Kerry also have filed an action asking for voting equipment and files to be held as evidence so they can’t be tampered with until the on-going investigations can be completed.

“Making sure our votes are counted fairly and accurately is the foundation of our democracy. Until all legal challenges that cloud the integrity of the vote in Ohio are resolved, Congress should not certify the vote from the Electoral College,” commented Linda Mallet of WV Citizen Action Group. “If only a fraction of the reported irregularities in the Ohio vote are true, Ohio should rerun its election. U.S. leaders demanded that Ukraine run a fair election. They should do the same here at home,” Mallet added.

The groups also urged all West Virginians to call Byrd to urge his opposition of the Electoral Vote. “Senator Byrd has been outstanding in his support for and protection of our constitution,” commented Gary Zuckett, chair of the WV Mountain Party. “It is only natural we should ask him to defend our constitutional right to fair and clean elections.”