Ohio has seen an ongoing problem with people registering to vote in Ohio that were not eligible to vote in Ohio and Palestra.net has been covering this story for weeks as evidenced by the video below where prosecutor Ron O'Brien explains the situation, specifically about a number people listed at one address, registering to vote and even voting early, that were not eligible to vote.
Yesterday it was reported that after being warned by O'Brien, that violating the permanent-residency rules was a felony, Obama campaign staffers issued a letter asking the Franklin County elections board to pull their registrations and ballots from the voter rolls.
Thirteen campaign workers for Barack Obama yesterday yanked their voter registrations and ballots in Ohio after being warned by a prosecutor that temporary residents can't vote in the battleground state.
A dozen staffers - including Obama Ohio spokeswoman Olivia Alair and James Cadogan, who recently joined Team Obama - signed a form letter asking the Franklin County elections board to pull their names from the rolls.
The letter - a copy of which was obtained by palestra.net, a Fox News affiliate - came a day after prosecutor Ron O'Brien publicly urged out-of-state campaign workers for both Obama and John McCain to "examine your conscience" before the elections board beings begins opening absentee ballots today.
Earlier in the week, O'Brien spoke with lawyers for both camps and urged them to make sure their staffs met permanent-residency rules, or face possible felony charges.
Video of the report, showing the letters, can be found at palestra.net.
Palestra.net has also received a statement from Isaac Baker, from the Obama campaign after trying to get a comment from Olivia Alair (another spokesperson who withdrew a ballot), in response:
Hi Shelby,
Olivia forwarded me your inquiry. Here’s our response.
“The campaign is confident that staff in the state working for the party and our Presidential ticket intend to follow the law and its requirements in his or her particular personal circumstances. To the extent that there has been any uncertainty or confusion, we are working with staff to assure that any questions they have are answered and that they will proceed within the rules." --Aaron Pickrell, Ohio State Director, Obama Campaign
Thanks, Isaac Baker
They have also asked the Board of Elections in Franklin County about hundreds of additional names on their list of out-of-state staffers that have not withdrawn their registrations as of yet and are awaiting reply.
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