Ohio Update: The AG’s Opinion on Paper Ballots

Initiative and Referenda Legacy blog posts

At end of my long post on the recent problems with the Columbus Dispatch poll, I passed along a tip from an Ohio election lawyer that a recent "opinion" issues by the Ohio Attorney General gave all paper ballots the legal status of "public documents" after all formal counting has been completed.  Not surprisingly, the opinion by Ohio AG Jim Petro is posted online

Petro issued the opinion — which as I understand it, has the force of law — after various public requests for access to ballots and voting logs during the recount of Ohio’s 2004 vote.  The opinion rules that during the official count or any recount "a board of elections has a duty to preserve ballots," and so Ohio’s Public Records Law does not give the public the right to inspect the ballots.   

After the official count is completed (sixty days after the election), however, Ohio citizens have the right to examine the ballots under the Public Records Law:

Following the completion of the canvass of election returns under R.C. 3505.32, pollbooks used in an election are public records of a board of elections and are subject to public inspection in accordance with any reasonable regulations the custodian board of elections has established under R.C. 3501.13, except as may be provided by a proper order of a court.

That means that in early January, any Ohio citizen (or reporter) can request access to the paper ballots and conduct their own audit.   An enterprising voter or investigative reporter should be able to check the ballot paper trail in any of the 82 of 88 counties to look for inconsistencies between that paper record and the official count.   

For those who believe that the Ohio results amounted to "an astonishing display of electronic manipulation" in Ohio’s election," or that the fraud is the most likely "suspect" for the considerable difference between the Dispatch poll and the election results, this provision offers the opportunity to go gather real evidence.  Obsessing over the Dispatch poll does not. 

I agree that as electronic voting systems become more and more pervasive, a paper trail is just the first step.  We also need more formal routine audit procedures with far more transparency.  So why not take the first step with a "citizen’s audit" of the considerable paper trail in Ohio?  Yes, the various boards of elections may resist those who try to test the public records law, but why not try?

Mark Blumenthal

Mark Blumenthal is political pollster with deep and varied experience across survey research, campaigns, and media. The original "Mystery Pollster" and co-creator of Pollster.com, he explains complex concepts to a multitude of audiences and how data informs politics and decision-making. A researcher and consultant who crafts effective questions and identifies innovative solutions to deliver results. An award winning political journalist who brings insights and crafts compelling narratives from chaotic data.