(Columbus) - Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine responded today to Gov. Ted Strickland's remarks at a news conference accusing Republicans of trying to "instill fear in Ohio voters about whether their registrations to vote will be challenged and whether they will be able to cast a ballot":
"Jennifer Brunner is the only one in this election instilling fear in Ohio voters about whether they will be able to cast a ballot, and now she's raising doubts about the integrity of the entire voting process.
Gov. Strickland was conveniently silent while Secretary Brunner used valuable state tax dollars to disenfranchise thousands of Ohio voters, and now we're expected to believe he's suddenly concerned about protecting them.
The governor had a chance to be a statesman in this debate and work toward common ground in addressing the concerns of everyone involved, but he can't tear himself away from the worn-out Democrat talking points that have about as much validity as an ACORN registration.
The courts clearly said that no one will be disenfranchised by providing a process of validating questionable voter forms. In fact, they said Ohioans would have greater confidence that their vote is not being canceled out by a fraudulent ballot.
Perhaps Gov. Strickland should spend less time on the campaign trail and more time dealing with Ohio's highest unemployment rate in nearly 20 years."
Brunner's Suppression Tactics
"This is a clear case of bureaucracy hampering the rights of voters."
"This type of political maneuvering presents an undue burden on voters and violates their constitutional rights."
"No vital public purpose or public interest is served by rejecting electors' applications for absentee ballots because of an unmarked check box next to a qualified-elector statement."
"The 'strict, complex application rules' were entirely made up by Brunner - to block Republican voters only. No wonder the rest of the country is beginning to think Brunner is Ohio's Katherine Harris - the Florida secretary of state vilified by Democrats in 2000. But that's not fair. Harris wasn't half as partisan as Brunner."
