in the united states district court for the ... - b.3cdn.net · jon husted, et al.,...

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

EASTERN DIVISION

SERVICE EMPLOYEESINTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 1, etal.,

Plaintiffs

vs.

JON HUSTED, et al.,

Defendants.

:::::::::::

Case No. 2:12-CV-562

Judge Algenon L. Marbley

Magistrate Judge Terence P. Kemp

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL

SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND FOR

ENTRY OF A RULE 54(B) PARTIAL

FINAL JUDGMENT AND

PERMANENT INJUNCTION;

MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND FOR ENTRYOF A RULE 54(B) PARTIAL FINAL JUDGMENT AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION

Plaintiffs SEIU Local 1, et al., hereby move this Court for a Rule 54(b) partial final

judgment and a permanent injunction with respect to Plaintiffs’ claim that Ohio’s mandatory

disqualification of provisional ballots cast by lawfully-registered voters who appear at the correct

polling location and are given the wrong precinct ballot due to poll-worker error violates the

Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States

Constitution. This motion, which is filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a),1

seeks to convert the preliminary injunction granted by this Court for the November 2012 general

Plaintiffs are Service Employees International Union Local 1 (“SEIU Local 1”); United1

Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service WorkersInternational Union (“USW”); International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace andAgricultural Implement Workers of America (“UAW”), Local 1005 (“UAW Local 1005”);UAW, Local 863 (“UAW Local 863”); United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 75(“UFCW Local 75”); United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 880 (“UFCW Local880”); United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 1059 (“UFCW Local 1059”);International Chemical Workers Union, a Council of the United Food and Commercial Workers(“ICWUC”); and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (“OOC”).

1

Case: 2:12-cv-00562-ALM-TPK Doc #: 107 Filed: 07/01/13 Page: 1 of 35 PAGEID #: 6491

election in Ohio and affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on October 11, 2012, into a

permanent injunction. That permanent relief will protect Ohio voters from the continuing and

ongoing unconstitutional disenfranchisement caused by Ohio law’s mandatory disqualification of

correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots cast at multi-precinct polling locations by voters given

the wrong precinct ballot due to poll-worker error.

In granting the preliminary injunction, this Court reviewed extensive evidence showing

that Ohio has rejected thousands of correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots in recent

elections, and that the vast majority of these ballots are miscast due to poll-worker error. Doc.

67 at 25-26. Based on this evidence, this Court found a strong likelihood that Plaintiffs would

prevail on their claims that Ohio’s automatic rejection of wrong-precinct provisional ballots cast

by voters at the right polling location violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of

the United States Constitution. Doc. 67 at 39, 51. Recognizing the substantial evidence of

statewide poll-worker error with respect to correct-location ballots supporting this Court’s

holding of likely constitutional violations, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the injunction. NEOCH v.

Husted, 696 F.3d 580, 593-95, 599 (6th Cir. 2012). 2

The 2012 preliminary injunction was successfully implemented during the 2012 election

and prevented Ohio from unconstitutionally disenfranchising thousands of lawfully-registered

voters. Plaintiffs seek now to make that preliminary relief permanent to protect Ohio voters in

future elections from the same constitutional violations caused by Ohio’s misguided law. The

existing uncontested record evidence of statewide poll-worker error from every recent Ohio

The 2012 appeals in this case and the related NEOCH v. Husted case expedited by the2

Sixth Circuit prior to the November 2012 election were coordinated for argument and decision. We therefore refer to the combined decision by the caption NEOCH v. Husted, although theinjunction was affirmed in the appeal of this case, Sixth Circuit No. 12-4069.

2


election, as well as additional evidence from the 2012 election, conclusively demonstrates that

this Ohio law has violated and will continue to violate the Constitution, and warrants a Rule

54(b) final judgment and a permanent injunction. Plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction that

takes substantially the same form as the 2012 preliminary relief, for the reasons explained in the

attached memorandum. There being “no just reason for delay,” Plaintiffs ask the Court to enter

partial final judgment pursuant to Rule 54(b), on their claim that Ohio’s disqualification of

provisional ballots cast in the correct polling location but wrong voting precinct due to

poll-worker error violates the United States Constitution. Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b). A memorandum

in support and proposed order are attached.

Dated: July 1, 2013 Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Danielle Leonard By: Danielle Leonard

MICHAEL J. HUNTER, trial attorney (0018756)CATHRINE J. HARSHMAN (0079373)Hunter, Carnahan, Shoub, Byard & Harshman3360 Tremont Road, Suite 230Columbus, Ohio 43221Telephone: (614) 442-5626E-mail: [email protected]

Attorneys for All Plaintiffs

STEPHEN P. BERZON, pro hac viceSTACEY M. LEYTON, pro hac viceBARBARA J. CHISHOLM, pro hac viceDANIELLE LEONARD, pro hac viceAltshuler Berzon LLP177 Post Street, Suite 300San Francisco, CA 94108Telephone: (415) 421-7151E-mail: [email protected]

Attorneys for Plaintiffs SEIU Local 1, USW, UAWLocal 1005, UAW Local 863, UFCW Local 75,UFCW Local 880, UFCW Local 1059, and ICWUC

3


PENDA HAIR, pro hac viceDONITA JUDGE, pro hac viceAdvancement Project1220 L Street, N.W., Suite 850Washington, D.C. 20005Telephone: (202) 728-9557E-mail: [email protected]

Attorneys for Plaintiff Ohio OrganizingCollaborative

4


MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

I. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

In 2011, the Ohio Supreme Court definitively interpreted Ohio law to require the

complete disqualification of provisional ballots cast at the correct polling location, but

corresponding to the wrong voting precinct, even if caused by poll-worker error. State ex rel.

Painter v. Brunner, 128 Ohio St.3d 17, 941 N.E.2d 782 (2011) (interpreting Ohio Rev. Code

§3505.183(B)(4)(a)). Prior to the November 2012 General Election, this Court granted, and the

Sixth Circuit affirmed, Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the State of Ohio

not to reject “correct-location/wrong-precinct” provisional ballots caused by poll-worker error.

Doc. 67 at 55-57; NEOCH v. Husted, 696 F.3d 580, 599 (6th Cir. 2012). Plaintiffs now move for

summary judgment, entry of a permanent injunction, and entry of a Rule 54(b) partial final

judgment with respect to their claims that Ohio’s law disqualifying all correct-location/wrong-

precinct provisional ballots violates the Equal Protection and Due Processes Clauses of the

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

II. STATEMENT OF UNDISPUTED FACTS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

A. Procedural History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

B. The Existing Record Evidence With Respect to Ohio’s Provisional Ballot System and Poll-Worker Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

C. Evidence from the November 2012 Election. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

III. ARGUMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

A. Summary Judgment Standard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

i


B. Ohio’s Law Requiring Disqualification of Provisional Ballots Cast byLawfully-Registered Voters at the Correct Polling Location Denies TheirFundamental Right to Vote in Violation of the Equal Protection Clause. . 13

Where, as here, a law substantially burdens voting rights, a court evaluating an equal

protection challenge “‘must weigh the character and magnitude of the asserted injury to the rights

protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments that the plaintiff seeks to vindicate against the

precise interests put forward by the State as justifications for the burden imposed by its rule.’”

NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 592-93 (quoting Burdick v. Takushi, 504 U.S. 428, 434 (1992)) (internal

quotation marks omitted); see also Crawford v. Marion Cnty. Election Bd., 553 U.S. 181, 190

(2008) (plurality). The Ohio law at issue causes a complete denial of the right to vote to

otherwise qualified voters. Ohio can identify no precise interests justifying the

disenfranchisement of thousands of voters through its law requiring disqualification of all

correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots because no such legitimate interests exist. NEOCH, 696

F.3d at 597. Therefore, Plaintiffs seek summary judgment on their claim that this law violates

the Equal Protection Clause.

1. The undisputed evidence shows that disqualifying correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots imposes a substantial burden on the right to vote. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Undisputed statewide record evidence demonstrates that poll-worker error accounts for

the vast majority of wrong-precinct provisional ballots cast at the correct polling location. The

automatic rejection of correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots resulting from poll-

worker error imposes a substantial burden on Plaintiffs’ right to vote. Doc. 67 at 30; NEOCH,

696 F.3d at 593-95.

ii


2. No legitimate state interest justifies the systematic disqualification of correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots resulting from poll-worker error. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

The substantial burdens imposed by Ohio’s law must be justified by “precise” and

“legitimate” interests that “support the specific restriction challenged.” NEOCH, 696 F.3d at

597. Ohio has not offered and cannot offer any “precise” interest sufficient to justify this denial

of the fundamental right to vote. Id.

C. Ohio’s Law Requiring Post-Election Disqualification of Provisional BallotsCast by Lawfully Registered Voters at the Correct Polling Location IsFundamentally Unfair in Violation of Substantive Due Process. . . . . . . . . . 18

“The Due Process Clause protects against extraordinary voting restrictions that render the

voting system ‘fundamentally unfair.’” NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 597; Hunter v. Hamilton Cnty. Bd.

of Elections, 635 F.3d 219, 243 (6th Cir. 2011). The uncontested evidence demonstrates that

poll-worker error has resulted, and will continue to result, in the systemic disqualification of

correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots cast by lawfully-registered voters throughout

Ohio, and that the State was aware that poll-worker error caused the miscast ballots but

nonetheless continued to enforce its disqualification law until enjoined by this Court. Ohio’s law

requiring rejection of correct-location/wrong precinct provisional ballots violates the Due

Process Clause. NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 598.

D. A Permanent Injunction Is Necessary and Appropriate to Prevent Ohio’sContinuing and Irreparable Denial of the Right to Vote to Lawfully-Registered Voters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction in the same form as the preliminary injunction

granted by this Court. “A party is entitled to a permanent injunction if it can establish that it

suffered a constitutional violation and will suffer ‘continuing irreparable injury’ for which there

is no adequate remedy at law.” Women’s Med. Prof’l Corp. v. Baird, 438 F.3d 595, 602 (6th Cir.

iii


2006). Plaintiffs have established a constitutional violation, and have demonstrated that they and

other Ohio voters will suffer irreparable harm through the denial of their fundamental right to

vote. Absent an injunction, Plaintiffs will suffer continuing irreparable injury under Ohio’s

unconstitutional law.

IV. CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

iv


TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

FEDERAL CASES

Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780 (1983).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Burdick v. Takushi, 504 U.S. 428 (1992).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 14

Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 553 U.S. 181 (2008).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 13, 17

Havensure, L.L.C. v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America, 595 F.3d 312 (6th Cir. 2010). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Hunter v. Hamilton County Board of Elections, 635 F.3d 219 (6th Cir. 2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim

Hunter v. Hamilton County Board of Elections, 850 F.Supp.2d 795 (S.D. Ohio 2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 10

NEOCH v. Husted, 696 F.3d 58 (6th Cir. 2012). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim

Obama for America v. Husted, 697 F.3d 423 (6th Cir. 2012). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Overstreet v. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, 305 F.3d 566 (6th Cir. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Sandusky County Democratic Party v. Blackwell, 387 F.3d 565 (6th Cir. 2004). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Service Employees International Union Local 1 v. Husted, 698 F.3d 341 (6th Cir. 2012). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Wedgewood Ltd. Partnership I v. Township of Liberty, Ohio, 610 F.3d 340 (6th Cir. 2010). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Women’s Medical Professional Corp. v. Baird,438 F.3d 595 (6th Cir. 2006). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 21

Yellowbook Inc. v. Brandeberry, 708 F.3d 837 (6th Cir. 2013). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

v


STATE CASES

State ex rel. Painter v. Brunner, 128 Ohio St.3d 17, 941 N.E.2d 782 (2011) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim

FEDERAL STATUTES AND RULES

Fed. R. Civ. P. 54.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 23

STATE STATUTES AND RULES

O.R.C. §3505.181. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 7, 8

vi


I. INTRODUCTION

In 2011, the Ohio Supreme Court definitively interpreted Ohio law to mandate that all

provisional ballots cast by lawfully-registered voters be completely disqualified if cast with

respect to the wrong voting precinct, even if the voter appeared in the correct polling location and

was given the wrong ballot as a result of poll-worker error. State ex rel. Painter v. Brunner, 128

Ohio St.3d 17, 941 N.E.2d 782 (2011) (interpreting Ohio Rev. Code §3505.183(B)(4)(a)). Prior

to the November 2012 General Election, this Court granted, and the Sixth Circuit affirmed,

Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction requiring the State of Ohio and Secretary of State

Jon Husted not to reject the “correct-location, wrong-precinct” provisional ballots caused by poll-

worker error. Doc. 67 at 55-57; NEOCH v. Husted, 696 F.3d 580, 599 (6th Cir. 2012). That

preliminary injunction was supported by an extensive, uncontested evidentiary record

demonstrating, as this Court found, that poll worker error has resulted in the statewide

disqualification of thousands of such “correct-location/wrong-precinct” ballots in recent

elections. Based on this record, the Court found, and the Sixth Circuit affirmed, that Plaintiffs

were likely to succeed on their claims that Ohio’s summary rejection of correct-location/wrong-

precinct provisional ballots violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the United

States Constitution.

On November 2, 2012, Secretary of State Husted issued a Directive to the 88 county

boards of elections implementing this Court’s preliminary injunction order and instructing county

boards of election to count correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots unless

accompanied by a form verifying that the poll-worker performed his or her statutory duties.

Following the election, county boards counted substantial numbers of provisional ballots cast by

voters who attempted to comply with Ohio’s precinct-based voting law and arrived to vote at

1


their assigned multi-precinct polling location, only to be given the wrong ballot by a poll worker

– ballots that, absent the preliminary relief granted by this Court, would have been rejected in

their entirety under Painter. In light of the rulings by this Court and the Sixth Circuit, and the

uncontested evidence supporting Plaintiffs’ correct-location/wrong-precinct claims, Plaintiffs

now move for summary judgment on these claims and request that the Court issue a permanent

injunction to prevent the ongoing unconstitutional disenfranchisement of Ohio voters in any

upcoming election caused by this Ohio law. There being “no just reason for delay,” Plaintiffs

further request that the Court enter final judgment, pursuant to Rule 54(b), on their claims that

Ohio’s disqualification of provisional ballots cast in the correct polling location but wrong voting

precinct due to poll-worker error violates the United States Constitution. Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b).

II. STATEMENT OF UNDISPUTED FACTS

A. Procedural History

On June 22, 2012, Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit challenging, inter alia, Ohio’s failure to

count the votes of lawfully registered voters who arrive at the correct polling location but,

through poll-worker or election-official error, cast provisional ballots for the wrong voting

precinct. Doc. 1. Plaintiffs immediately moved for a preliminary injunction requiring Ohio3

county boards of election not to reject wrong-precinct ballots caused by poll-worker error in the

November 2012 election. Doc. 4 at 4-5; Doc. 56-1 at 2-3.

In support of the preliminary injunction motion, Plaintiffs submitted thousands of pages

of documentary evidence collected from the records of the Office of the Secretary of State and all

Plaintiffs also challenged Ohio’s failure to count provisional ballots cast in the voter’s3

county of residence at the wrong polling location (“wrong location/wrong precinct” ballots) dueto poll-worker error and provisional ballots with technical affirmation defects. Doc. 1. Thismotion seeks to resolve only Plaintiffs’ claims regarding provisional ballots cast at the correctpolling location, but the wrong voting precinct (“correct location/wrong precinct” ballots).

2


88 Ohio county boards of elections for elections conducted in 2008-2012. Plaintiffs’4

contemporaneous documentary evidence with respect to wrong precinct provisional ballots

included county-level provisional ballot rejection data, minutes from county board of elections

meetings at which board members discussed poll-worker error regarding provisional ballots,

election-day incident reports from voters and poll workers regarding errors with respect to

provisional ballots, state and county board materials including polling location diagrams that

demonstrate the manner in which provisional ballots are processed by poll workers, and precinct

voting location guides from counties statewide. Plaintiffs also submitted testimonial evidence5

from previous litigation involving provisional ballots and poll-worker error, including evidence

from the twelve-day trial before this Court in Hunter v. Hamilton County Bd. of Elections, 850

F.Supp.2d 795 (S.D. Ohio 2012) (“Hunter II”). See Doc. 7 & Docs. 7-3 to 7-42; Doc. 11 & Doc.

11-1. At this Court noted, this evidence was “uncontested, or ha[d] already been established by

this Court or the courts in Hunter.” Doc. 67 at 25.

On the basis of this uncontested evidence, this Court found that Plaintiffs had

“establish[ed] a strong likelihood that in the past few statewide elections poll-worker error has

resulted in the disqualification of hundreds—if not thousands—of wrong-precinct provisional

ballots cast by otherwise lawfully-registered voters.” Doc. 67 at 25. The Court also found “a

For evidence collected from the Secretary of State and Ohio county boards, see Doc. 84

& Docs. 8-1 to 8-7; Doc. 10 & Doc. 10-1; Doc. 12 & Docs. 12-5 to 12-53; Doc. 13 & Docs. 13-1to 13-30; Doc. 24 & Docs. 24-1 to 24-25; Doc. 38 & Docs. 38-3 to 38-48; Doc. 41 & Docs. 41-1to 41-47; Doc. 53 & Docs. 53-1 to 53-4; Doc. 55 & Docs. 55-1 to 55-15.

Plaintiffs incorporate all record evidence submitted in support of Plaintiffs’ motion for a5

preliminary injunction. This evidence was submitted as Docs. 7 through 13, 24, 34, 35, 37, 38,41, 44, 45, 48, 53, 55 and the accompanying exhibits. All evidentiary citations in this brief are toevidence already in the record or to the additional evidence from the 2012 election submittedherewith.

3


strong likelihood that thousands of lawfully-registered voters will be completely deprived of their

right to vote under [Ohio law] in the upcoming [November 2012] election because of pollworker

error.” Doc. 67 at 30. Applying the balancing test established by the Supreme Court for Equal

Protection challenges to state laws that burden the right to vote, this Court then concluded that

the “severe” burden imposed by Ohio’s wrong-precinct prohibition was not justified by any

“‘precise,’” “‘legitimate’” state interest “weighty enough to supersede ‘the voters’ strong interest

in exercising the fundamental political right to vote.’” Id. at 35-36 (quoting Crawford v. Marion

Cnty. Election Bd., 553 U.S. 181, 191 (2008), and Hunter v. Hamilton Cnty. Bd. of Elections,

635 F.3d 219, 243 (6th Cir. 2011) (“Hunter I”)). The Court further determined that Plaintiffs’

evidence established a strong likelihood that Ohio’s disqualification of wrong-precinct ballots

due to poll-worker error was fundamentally unfair and violated due process. Id. at 50-51.

Accordingly, the Court granted the preliminary injunction and, with respect to wrong-precinct

provisional ballots, ordered Ohio not to “reject any provisional ballots cast by lawfully-registered

voters in the November 2012 general election” on the ground that “[t]he voter cast his or her

provisional ballot in the wrong precinct” unless the poll worker properly performed his duties.

Doc. 67 at 56-57.

Although Secretary Husted did not appeal this portion of the injunction, the State of Ohio

intervened to challenge the district court’s wrong-precinct relief. On October 11, 2012, the6

Sixth Circuit issued a decision affirming the preliminary injunction with respect to wrong-

precinct provisional ballots cast in the correct multi-precinct polling locations. NEOCH, 696 F.3d

The Secretary successfully appealed the portion of the preliminary injunction that6

required county boards not to reject provisional ballots based on certain technical deficiencies inthe ballot affirmation. See NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 599-600.

4


at 599. The Sixth Circuit observed that “plaintiffs presented voluminous evidence that poll7

workers give voters wrong-precinct ballots for a number of reasons,” and that Ohio offered no

evidence “that other factors besides poll-worker error caused wrong-precinct ballots.” Id. at 594.

Given this record, the Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s “factual conclusion that most

right-place/wrong-precinct ballots result, and will continue to result, from poll-worker error.” Id.

at 595. It then upheld the district court’s legal conclusion that Plaintiffs had shown a likely equal

protection violation, explaining that “the State fails to identify precise interests justifying th[e]

substantial burden” imposed by strict application of its wrong-precinct law. Id. at 597. The

Sixth Circuit also agreed with the district court’s finding of a likely due process violation “[i]n

light of the well-documented problem of wrong-precinct provisional ballots caused by poll-

worker error, resulting in the rejection of thousands of provisional ballots each year.” Id. at 598.

Thus, finding no error in the district court’s weighing of equitable considerations, the Sixth

Circuit upheld the correct-location/wrong-precinct injunction. Id. at 599.

B. The Existing Record Evidence With Respect to Ohio’s Provisional BallotSystem and Poll-Worker Error

Since 2006, Ohio law has required 13 categories of voters to cast provisional, rather than

regular ballots, on election day. See O.R.C. §3505.181(A)(1)-(13). This complicated provisional

The Sixth Circuit construed the district court’s preliminary injunction to apply only to7

correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots. NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 589-90. The Courtnoted that its “ruling d[id] not preclude the SEIU appellees or others from seeking broader relieffor poll-worker-induced wrong-place/wrong-precinct provisional ballots upon a showing thatOhio’s law unconstitutionally burdens those voters’ rights.” Id. at 590 n.6. This Courtsubsequently issued an order granting Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction coveringwrong-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots, Doc. 90 at 16-17, but that order was stayed bythe Sixth Circuit at Ohio and the Secretary’s request prior to the November 2012 election. Serv.Employees Int’l Union Local 1 v. Husted, 698 F.3d 341 (6th Cir. 2012). That wrong-location,wrong-precinct ballot appeal remains pending in the Sixth Circuit. Plaintiffs will resolve anyremaining claims in this case after the Sixth Circuit resolves that pending appeal.

5


voting law has resulted in high rates of provisional-ballot voting, with hundreds of thousands of

Ohio voters casting provisional ballots in recent presidential elections. Among the voters8

required to cast provisional ballots are those whose names do not appear on the official list of

eligible voters for the polling place. Id. §3505.181(A)(1). Under Ohio law, these individuals

may cast a provisional ballot, but their votes will be counted only if the county board of election

determines that the individuals are “eligible to cast a ballot in the precinct and for the election in

which the individual cast the provisional ballot.” Id. §3505.183(B)(3)(b).

As this Court has observed, “[t]he problems created by Ohio’s rejection of all provisional

ballots cast in the wrong precinct are exacerbated by the increasingly widespread prevalence of

‘multi-precinct’ polling locations throughout the State.” Doc. 67 at 6 & n.10; Doc. 45 ¶5 & Doc.

45-1; Doc. 9-2 at 8-10. As of 2012, 79% of all precincts in Ohio were assigned to polling

locations serving more than one precinct. Doc. 45 ¶5 & Doc. 45-1. All counties have a

substantial percentage of multi-precinct locations, and at least 33 counties have 80% or more of

their precincts in multi-precinct locations. Id. This Court has explained that the consolidation of

multiple precincts into a single polling location creates additional confusion on election day, and

this “additional confusion . . . increases the instances of so-called ‘wrong-precinct’ provisional

ballots given out to voters by poll workers, only to be disqualified upon further review by the

county Board.” Doc. 67 at 7.

Poll workers in Ohio “have significant and specific legal responsibilities, including

determining whether an individual is eligible to vote in the precinct.” Doc. 67 at 7 (footnote

See Doc. 67 at 4 n.5 (noting that Ohio’s provisional-ballot rate in 2008 and 2010 was8

three times the national average); Doc. 9-2 at 3 (206,859 provisional ballots cast in 2008); seealso Declaration of Joshua Marcin filed herewith (“Marcin Decl.”), Ex. A (208,084 provisionalballots cast in the 2012 general election).

6


omitted). On election day, no voter can obtain and cast a provisional ballot without being

processed by poll workers at the polling place. At multi-precinct locations, voters typically are

processed at a precinct-locator table manned by a poll worker, or by a poll-worker greeter who

directs them to the proper location within the polling place. Doc. 24 ¶26 & 24-23 at 1-3. Poll9

workers must determine whether voters may cast a regular ballot or fall into one of thirteen

categories requiring provisional ballots. O.R.C. §3505.181(A). Then, at multi-precinct

locations, poll workers must identify the voters’ correct precinct and determine which of the

precinct ballots used at that location the voters should cast based on the voters’ name and

address.

If the poll worker determines that a voter is attempting to vote in the wrong precinct,

Ohio law requires the poll worker to (1) “direct” the voter “to the polling place for the

jurisdiction in which the individual appears to be eligible to vote”; (2) “explain that the

individual may cast a provisional ballot at the current location but the ballot will not be counted

if it is cast in the wrong precinct,” and (3) “provide the telephone number of the board of

elections in case the individual has additional questions.” O.R.C. §3505.181(C)(1). Then, only

if “the individual refuses to travel to the polling place for the correct [precinct] or to the office of

the board of elections to cast a ballot,” shall the individual “be permitted to vote a provisional

ballot at that [precinct].” Id. §3505.181(C)(2); see also id. §3505.181(E)(1).

After the election, county boards of election determine in the first instance whether to

count each provisional ballot. O.R.C. §§3505.181(B)(4). Ohio law requires county boards first

to determine whether each provisional ballot was cast by a lawfully registered voter. Id.

See also, e.g., Doc. 12 ¶65 & Doc. 12-53, Doc. 12 ¶67 & Doc. 13-2, Doc. 12 ¶68 &13-3,9

Doc. 12 ¶69 &13-4, Doc. 12 ¶70 &13-5, Doc. 38 ¶37 & Doc. 38-24, Doc. 38 ¶39 & 38-26, Doc.41 ¶36 & 41-26, Doc. 41 ¶37 & 41-27.

7


§3505.181(C)(2)(a); see also Doc. 24-13 at 3 (Directive 2012-01). County boards must reject a

provisional ballot even when cast by a lawfully registered voter if the individual “is not eligible

to cast a ballot in the precinct . . . in which the individual cast the provisional ballot.” O.R.C.

§3505.183(B)(4)(a)(ii); see also id. §3503.183(B)(3)(a)-(c). Pursuant to the Ohio Supreme

Court’s decision in Painter, 941 N.E.2d 782, county boards must reject all wrong-precinct

ballots, including those cast in the correct polling location, regardless of whether the voter cast a

wrong-precinct ballot due to poll-worker error. Thus, when a lawfully registered voter arrives at

the correct polling location, but has been provided with and cast a ballot corresponding to a

precinct other than that individual’s assigned precinct, the individual’s votes for every federal,

state, and local contest are rejected.

Before this Court issued the preliminary injunction requiring county boards to count

correct-location/wrong precinct ballots attributable to poll-worker error, Ohio rejected thousands

of wrong-precinct ballots in every recent election. In the 2008 presidential election, Ohio

disqualified more than 14,000 wrong-precinct provisional ballots, and in 2010 (a non-presidential

election year) it disqualified more than 5,300 such ballots. Doc. 9-2 at 20-21; Doc. 67 at 27;

NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 593. In the mid-cycle elections of 2011, the NEOCH consent decree

required Ohio to count 1,554 correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots cast by voters who used

social security numbers as identification, but the State still rejected an additional 1,826 correct-

location/wrong-precinct ballots not covered by the consent decree. NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 593;

Doc. 9-2 at 23; Doc. 24-30. 10

The NEOCH consent decree has been described elsewhere by this Court, Doc. 67 at 2,10

and by the Sixth Circuit, NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 584.

8


As this Court found, the statewide evidence previously submitted by Plaintiffs in this case

demonstrated that the “vast majority” of correct-location/wrong-precinct disqualifications result

from poll-worker error. Doc. 67 at 28-29. The extensive record in this case documents a variety

of common reasons for these errors. For instance, the record demonstrates that poll workers

frequently provide voters with the wrong precinct ballot because the poll worker has incorrectly

determined the precinct that applies to the voter’s address. These errors are commonly due to11

the confusing “precinct voting location guides” that poll workers use to look up the precinct that

corresponds to a voter’s address. Poll workers throughout Ohio have reported difficulty using12

these guides, which frequently contain streets that pass through multiple precincts, odd- and

even-numbered addresses on a single street assigned to different precincts, and unlabeled

columns and abbreviations. As the Sixth Circuit observed, one recent guide, “which shows13

how different house numbers on the same street end up in different precincts, almost at random,

demonstrates how easily poll workers can make mistakes under the pressures of election day.”

See Doc. 12 ¶¶17, 41, 51-52, 56-57, Doc. 38 ¶¶18, 25, Doc. 41 ¶¶16, 22 (collecting11

board record evidence).

See, e.g., Doc. 12 ¶71 & Doc. 13-6 through Doc. 13-24.12

See, e.g., Doc. 12 ¶56 (Clermont 2011) (poll worker misread voter’s voting location13

because of confusion about location abbreviations); Doc. 53 ¶10 (Clinton 2012) (poll worker“had a problem looking up someone in the street guide . . . wasn’t looking it up correctly”); Doc.12 ¶56 (Franklin 2012) (poll worker “did not know how to read the voter street guide” so unableto find address and had voter vote provisionally); Doc. 41 ¶21 (Medina 2011) (precinct maps notreadable); Doc. 12 ¶56 (Trumbull 2010) (poll worker misread street guide and directed voter towrong location). See also, e.g., Doc. 12 ¶57 (Stark 2011) (several reports of “[c]onfusion overE/O [even/odd] in CW street range guide”); Doc. 12 ¶57 (Clermont 2011) (same); Doc. 41 ¶22(Medina 2008) (same); Doc. 12 ¶57 (Montgomery 2008) (same); Doc. 12 ¶41 (Summit 2011)(same); Doc. 12 ¶57 (Trumbull 2008) (same).

Poll-worker error in using these guides is compounded by frequent errors in the materialsproduced by the county boards, including missing streets, precincts, and polling locations. See,e.g., Doc. 12 ¶55; Doc. 38 ¶42; Doc. 41 ¶20. Poll workers also frequently report not beingprovided with street guides at all, or insufficient numbers of guides. See, e.g., Doc. 12 ¶61; Doc.53 ¶13.

9


NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 594; see also Hunter II, 850 F. Supp. 2d at 819 (Hamilton County voting

location guide “proved to be a complicated, unwieldy, and difficult tool to use”).

The evidence also establishes that Ohio poll workers commonly err by providing voters

with wrong-precinct provision ballots either (1) knowing that the voters are not assigned to that

precinct, or (2) without attempting to determine the correct precinct, because they do not

understand that wrong-precinct ballots will be rejected. This is further compounded by14

evidence that misinformation provided by board staff – for instance, a board of elections call line

instructing that a voter in the “same polling place, but different precinct . . . must vote

provisionally,” Doc. 41 ¶24 – results in additional wrong-precinct ballots. 15

The record also shows that poll workers consistently fail to inform voters, as Ohio law

requires, that if they cast a ballot in the wrong precinct, it will not count, before telling a voter to

cast a wrong-precinct provisional ballot. By contrast, the record contains no evidence of any16

voter insisting on voting an invalid ballot for the wrong precinct. Indeed, as this Court found,17

See, e.g., Doc. 12 ¶¶12, 35-36, 43, 51-52; Doc. 38 ¶¶8, 25, 27; Doc. 41 ¶¶6, 14, 17;14

Doc. 53 ¶8. In Hunter, 34 of 50 testifying poll workers stated they had given voters provisionalballots without using the voters’ address to determine whether they were in the correct precinct. Hunter II, 850 F.Supp.2d at 818-19; Doc. 7 & Doc. 7-11 (Hunter transcripts) at 3-120:1-6.

See also Doc. 53 ¶12. Poll workers also reported inability to get timely advice on15

provisional ballots from the board. See, e.g., Doc. 12 ¶60; Doc. 38 ¶31; Doc. 41 ¶24.

See Hunter II, 850 F.Supp.2d at 820-21 (poll workers testified they neither directed16

voters to correct precinct nor informed voters their votes would not count if cast in incorrectprecinct; voters testified similarly); see also Doc. 11 & 11-1 (transcripts from Paul v. Jeffery) at53:10-54:24 (voters testified they were not informed they were in wrong precinct or that theirvotes would not count); id. at 72:19-73:21; id. at 28:7-29:20; id. at 139:20-140:21.

See Doc. 10 ¶3, Doc. 12 ¶¶7-49, Doc. 38 ¶¶8-23, Doc. 41 ¶¶5-14, Doc. 53 ¶6, Doc.17

55¶7 (compiling county board minutes and transcripts); Doc. 12 ¶¶50-63, Doc. 38 ¶¶24-35, Doc.41 ¶¶15-28, Doc. 53 ¶¶7-15 (compiling county board election day incident reports). See alsoHunter II, 850 F.Supp.2d at 822 (“There was no evidence that any poll worker ever instructed avoter to go to a different precinct table within a location to cast a ballot and the voter refused”);Doc. 7-5 at 2-118:4-8; Doc. 7-7 at 2-198:9-12; Doc. 7-15 at 4-132:18-21; Doc. 7-16 at 4-148:13-

10


“[e]very documented instance in the record of a correct location/wrong-precinct ballot being

disqualified was the result of the poll-worker failing in his or her statutory duty to ‘ensure that

voters . . . are given the correct ballot and vote in the correct precinct.’” Doc. 67 at 29 (quoting

Hunter I, 635 F.3d at 243). And the record further demonstrates that Ohio and its county boards

are well aware that poll-worker, rather than voter, error is the cause of correct-location/wrong-

precinct ballots.18

C. Evidence from the November 2012 Election

Evidence from the November 2012 election confirms that the widespread use of multi-

precinct polling locations continues and the problem of poll-worker error is ongoing, although

the correct-location, wrong-precinct ballots caused by poll-worker error were counted by county

boards in compliance with this Court’s preliminary injunction during that election.

According to Ohio’s published 2012 election result data, the State continued to require

hundreds of thousands of voters to cast provisional rather than regular ballots in the 2012 general

election: Ohio voters cast 208,084 provisional ballots in November 2012, of which 173,785

were counted and 34,299 rejected. Marcin Decl. Ex. A. As of 2012, approximately 80 percent19

21; see also Doc. 7-18 at 6-17:15-18 (Hunter II transcripts).

For the many board meeting minutes and transcripts acknowledging poll worker error18

with respect to wrong precinct ballots, see Doc. 12 ¶¶7-10, 12-13, 17, 19-20, 23-24, 26-27, 29-32, 35-37, 39-41, 43, 46-47, 49; Doc. 38 ¶¶8-11, 13, 15-20, 22-23; Doc. 41 ¶8, 10-12, 14; Doc.53 ¶6; Doc. 55 ¶7. County boards have also informed the State that the wrong-precinct ballotsthey are rejecting were caused by poll-worker error. See, e.g., Doc. 38 ¶42; Doc. 55 ¶¶9,12.

The State’s data includes only the total number of provisional ballots counted by each19

county board, and does not separately identify the number of correct-location/wrong-precinctprovisional ballots that were counted as a result of this Court’s injunction. Marcin Decl., Ex. A. The data itemized only the categories of rejected ballots (including, for example, the 9,438wrong-location/wrong-precinct ballots rejected statewide). Id. Thus, the Secretary did notpublicly report the number of ballots counted as a result of the Court’s injunction. The meetingminutes made available to the public by some county boards of elections do include discussion ofthe ballots counted because of the injunction. See, e.g., Marcin Decl., Exs. B-F.

11


of all voting precincts in Ohio were located in multi-precinct polling locations. Doc. 45 & Doc.

45-1. The post-election minutes from county board meetings report that significant numbers of

provisional ballots cast by voters in the correct multi-precinct polling location corresponded to

the wrong precinct because of poll-worker error, and were counted only as a result of this Court’s

preliminary injunction. Marcin Decl. Exs. B-F. In addition, evidence gathered in O’Farrell v.

Landis, an election-contest lawsuit involving an extremely close race in Ohio Legislative District

98, provides additional anecdotal examples of the type of ongoing poll-worker error in

determining the correct precinct ballot to provide to provisional voters, consistent with the types

of errors found in the statewide evidence from recent elections already submitted by Plaintiffs.

Id. Ex. G at 7-10, 14-15, 20-21, 26-28, 36-37, 46-47, 52-54, 64-68, 71-72, 80-81, 85-86, 94-97,

102-03, 107-111, 119-21, 129-31, 138-39.

III. ARGUMENT

A. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate where “the movant shows that there is no genuine

dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.

Civ. P. 56(a). The moving party bears “the initial burden of identifying those parts of the record

which demonstrate the absence of any genuine issue of material fact.” Havensure, L.L.C. v.

Prudential Ins. Co. Of Am., 595 F.3d 312, 315 (6th Cir. 2010). Once this burden is satisfied, the

nonmoving party “must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Id.

“Summary judgment will be denied only where the record as a whole could lead a rational trier of

fact to find for the nonmoving party.” Yellowbook Inc. v. Brandeberry, 708 F.3d 837, 843 (6th

Cir. 2013).

12


B. Ohio’s Law Requiring Disqualification of Provisional Ballots Cast byLawfully-Registered Voters at the Correct Polling Location Denies TheirFundamental Right to Vote in Violation of the Equal Protection Clause

The Constitution “accords special protection for the fundamental right of voting . . .

recognizing its essential role in the ‘preservati[on] of all rights.’” NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 591

(quoting Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 370 (1886)). The right to vote is protected not only

in “the initial allocation of the franchise,” but also in “the manner of its exercise.” Bush v. Gore,

531 U.S. 98, 104 (2000). “Especially since the right to exercise the franchise in a free and

unimpaired manner is preservative of other basic civil and political rights, any alleged

infringement of the right of citizens to vote must be carefully and meticulously scrutinized.”

Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 562 (1964).

As this Court has previously held, and the Sixth Circuit affirmed, the standards developed

by the Supreme Court for state laws that burden the fundamental right to vote apply to Plaintiffs’

claim that Ohio’s invalidation of correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots caused by poll-worker

error violates the Equal Protection Clause. Doc. 67 at 23; NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 592; see also

Crawford, 553 U.S. at 190 (plurality). Under this line of cases, “[t]he precise character of the

state’s action and the nature of the burden on voters will determine the appropriate equal

protection standard.” Obama for Am. v. Husted, 697 F.3d 423, 428 (6th Cir. 2012). “While a

rational basis standard applies to state regulations that do not burden the fundamental right to

vote, strict scrutiny applies when a state’s restriction imposes ‘severe’ burdens.” NEOCH, 696

F.3d at 592. For cases that fall between these two extremes, the Sixth Circuit’s decision in this

case made clear that courts should apply the “flexible” standard set forth in Anderson v.

Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780 (1983), and Burdick v. Takushi, 504 U.S. 428 (1992). NEOCH, 696

F.3d at 592. Under the Anderson-Burdick balancing test, a court “‘must weigh the character and

13


magnitude of the asserted injury to the rights protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments

that the plaintiff seeks to vindicate against the precise interests put forward by the State as

justifications for the burden imposed by its rule.’” Id. at 592-93 (quoting Burdick, 504 U.S. at

434) (internal quotation marks omitted).

1. The undisputed evidence shows that disqualifying correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots imposes a substantial burden on theright to vote

This Court has already found – and the Sixth Circuit has affirmed – that Ohio’s law

requiring disqualification of wrong-precinct ballots due to poll-worker error imposes “a

substantial burden on provisional voters.” NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 593. The record evidence is

undisputed that in every recent election until the 2012 injunction, thousands of lawfully

registered voters who cast their votes at the correct polling place have had their ballots rejected

because they cast a provisional ballot for the wrong precinct. See supra at 8; Doc. 67 at 25;

NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 593. In granting the preliminary injunction, this Court found that the

automatic disqualification of wrong-precinct ballots is “systemic and statewide.” Doc. 67 at 26.

Based on the record evidence, this Court also found that “of the thousands of rejected

wrong-precinct/correct location provisional ballots, the vast majority will be disqualified as a

result of poll-worker error.” Doc. 67 at 28-29. As described above, Plaintiffs have documented

extensive evidence of poll-worker error that results in voters being given the wrong precinct

ballots, including evidence that poll workers have erred in determining a voter’s assigned

precinct, failed to look up a voter’s precinct at all, or provided wrong-precinct ballots because

they do not understand that such ballots will not be counted. See supra at 9-12; see also Doc. 4

at 17-23; Doc. 33 at 10. County board minutes and transcripts consistently acknowledge that

poll-worker error is the cause of wrong-precinct provisional ballots. See supra at 11 n.18.

14


Indeed, as this Court found, “[t]hat poll workers err . . . by providing qualified voters with

wrong-precinct ballots is not a contested matter.” Doc. 67 at 25; see also NEOCH, 696 F.3d at

597 (“The SEIU plaintiffs have shown, and the State does not deny, that poll-worker error causes

thousands of qualified voters to cast wrong-precinct ballots from the correct polling locations.”).

The undisputed evidence thus demonstrates that poll-worker error accounts for the “vast

majority” of wrong-precinct provisional ballots cast by individuals who voted at the correct

multi-precinct polling location in every recent Ohio election. Doc. 67 at 28-29. In granting the

preliminary injunction, this Court specifically found that “[e]very documented instance in the

record of a correct location/wrong-precinct ballot being disqualified was the result of the poll-

worker failing in his or her statutory duty.” Doc. 67 at 29. As the Court explained:

If the poll worker follows his statutory mandate, a prospective voter may only bepermitted to cast a wrong-precinct provisional ballot after having been directed tothe correct precinct, and informed by the poll worker that casting the wrong-precinct ballot will result in her vote not being counted. It is common sense thatno rational voter who arrives at the correct polling place would ever refuse to casta provisional ballot in the correct precinct, and that logical conclusion is borne outby the evidence. No party has identified a single example, from the past fouryears’ elections, of a wrong-precinct provisional ballot being cast because thevoter refused to vote in the correct precinct.

Doc. 67 at 29 (citation omitted). Ohio has not presented – and cannot present – any evidence

showing that voters at the correct polling location cast wrong-precinct ballots for reasons other

than poll-worker error. Doc. 67 at 29-30; NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 594. Evidence from the 2012

election demonstrates that Ohio’s overwhelming use of multi-precinct polling locations and the

intractable problem of poll-worker error continues. See supra at 11-12.

Both this Court and the Sixth Circuit have already found that the automatic rejection of

correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots resulting from poll-worker error imposes a

substantial burden on Plaintiffs’ right to vote. See Doc. 67 at 30; NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 593-95.

15


As the Sixth Circuit explained, Ohio’s strict application of its provision ballot counting law to

correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots “effectively requires voters to have a greater knowledge

of their precinct, precinct ballot, and polling place than poll workers. Absent such omniscience,

the State will permanently reject their ballots without an opportunity to cure the situation.”

NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 595. Such “summary, arbitrary, and irreversible rejection of [voters’] entire

ballot without notice” due to poll-worker error plainly constitutes a substantial burden on the

right to vote. Doc. 67 at 35. Indeed, the burden imposed by Ohio law “could hardly be any more

severe.” Id. at 34.

Applying the prior rulings of both this Court and the Sixth Circuit to the uncontested

evidence that virtually all correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots result from poll-worker error,

there can be no dispute that Ohio’s provisional ballot-counting law, as applied to correct-

location/wrong-precinct ballots, substantially burdens Plaintiffs’ fundamental right to vote.

2. No legitimate state interest justifies the systematic disqualification of correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots resulting from poll-worker error

The Sixth Circuit has made clear that a substantial burden on the right to vote must be

justified by “precise” and “legitimate” interests that “support the specific restriction challenged.”

NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 597; see also Doc. 67 at 35. The state’s interests, moreover, must be

sufficient to “outweigh the Plaintiffs’ and the public’s interests in counting ballots of lawfully-

registered citizens ‘whose only error was relying on poll-worker instructions.’” Doc. 67 at 36

(quoting Hunter I, 635 F.3d at 243).

In opposing the preliminary injunction, Ohio argued that the disqualification of correct-

location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots was justified by the state’s interest in a precinct-

based voting system, as set forth in Sandusky Cnty. Democratic Party v. Blackwell, 387 F.3d 565,

569 (6th Cir. 2004). NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 595; Doc. 67 at 37. Both this Court and the Sixth

16


Circuit concluded, however, that the advantages of the precinct system identified in Sandusky

had little relevance to the restriction at issue, and both courts rejected the argument that the

preliminary injunction would make ballots more confusing, cause administrative difficulties on

election day, or otherwise undermine the precinct system. NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 595-96; Doc. 67

at 37-39. Ultimately, “while the Sandusky factors reflect a state’s legitimate interests in

maintaining a precinct-based election system,” the State failed to show how these general

interests “support the specific restriction challenged here: the summary rejection of poll-worker-

induced right-place/wrong-precinct ballots.” NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 597; see also Doc. 67 at 36

(“The ‘precise interests offered by the State . . .’ are not precise at all in this case.” (quoting

Crawford, 553 U.S. at 190)).

For the same reasons, Ohio’s general interest in a precinct system cannot now justify the

automatic rejection of these ballots. After the Sixth Circuit affirmed the wrong-precinct portion

of the preliminary injunction, the Secretary of State issued a directive instructing county boards

to “remake” and count correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots cast in the November 2012

election. The evidence demonstrates that county boards did in fact remake and count these20

ballots following the November 2012 election. See Marcin Decl. Exs. B-F. Yet there is nothing

to suggest that this post-election remaking and counting of correct-location/wrong-precinct

ballots has undermined the state’s interest in an effective precinct-based voting system.

Accordingly, as this Court has already found, “reliance on the general advantages of Ohio’s

precinct-based voting system, and the State’s ability to pass reasonable regulations in the interest

of conducting fair and efficient elections, falls short of what is required to justify its inevitable

SOS Directive 2012-54, http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/Upload/elections/directives/20

2012/Dir2012-54.pdf.

17


disenfranchisement of thousands of qualified voters” under the automatic correct-location/wrong-

precinct ballot disqualification law. Doc. 67 at 39. The successful implementation of this

Court’s 2012 injunction demonstrates that Ohio has no legitimate interest in disqualifying these

votes going forward.

Because the uncontested facts establish that the rejection of correct-location/wrong-

precinct provisional ballots, without regard for poll-worker error, substantially burdens voting

rights, and Ohio cannot identify any precise state interest that justifies this specific restriction,

Plaintiffs have established the correct-location/wrong-precinct Equal Protection claim as a matter

of law. Accordingly, Plaintiffs respectfully ask the Court to grant summary judgment as to this

claim.

C. Ohio’s Law Requiring Post-Election Disqualification of Provisional BallotsCast by Lawfully Registered Voters at the Correct Polling Location IsFundamentally Unfair in Violation of Substantive Due Process

The Sixth Circuit has consistently held that the “Due Process Clause protects against

extraordinary voting restrictions that render the voting system ‘fundamentally unfair.’” NEOCH,

696 F.3d at 597; Hunter I, 635 F.3d at 243. The Sixth Circuit first addressed the due process

implications of poll-worker error in Hunter I, where it noted “substantial constitutional concerns

regarding the invalidation of votes cast in the wrong precinct due solely to poll-worker error.”

Hunter I, 635 F.3d at 243. As that court explained:

Ohio has created a system in which state actors (poll workers) are given the ultimateresponsibility of directing voters to the right location to vote. Yet, the state law penalizesthe voter when a poll worker directs the voter to the wrong precinct, and the penalty,disenfranchisement, is a harsh one indeed. To disenfranchise citizens whose only errorwas relying on poll-worker instructions appears to us to be fundamentally unfair.

Id.

This Court relied on the Sixth Circuit’s analysis to find, based on the extensive record

18


before it, that Plaintiffs had a “strong likelihood” of prevailing on their claim that Ohio’s

systematic disqualification of wrong-precinct ballots violated due process. Doc. 67 at 50-51. On

appeal, the Sixth Circuit agreed, observing that “state actions that induce voters to miscast their

votes” may violate due process and that plaintiffs had “shown . . . that poll-worker error causes

thousands of qualified voters to cast wrong-precinct ballots from the correct polling locations.”

NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 597. Although the State argued that a due process violation requires

intentional conduct, the Sixth Circuit found “sufficient indicia of purposeful conduct in the

State’s intent to enforce its strict disqualification rules without exception, despite the systemic

poll-worker error identified in this litigation and others.” Id.

The Sixth Circuit’s decisions in Hunter I and NEOCH make clear that due process is

violated where (1) errors by state actors cause systemic disqualification of ballots cast by

lawfully registered voters, and (2) the State nonetheless continues to strictly enforce its

disqualification rules without exception. As shown above – and as already found by this Court

and the Sixth Circuit – uncontested evidence demonstrates that poll-worker error has resulted in

the disenfranchisement of thousands of lawfully registered voters throughout Ohio who arrive at

the correct polling location but cast a ballot for the wrong precinct. See supra at 8-11; NEOCH,

696 F.3d at 598; Doc. 67 at 51. In addition, as the Sixth Circuit determined, the record further

shows that the State is aware that poll-worker error is the cause of this disenfranchisement, yet

continued to enforce the correct-location/wrong-precinct disqualification rule, as required by

Painter, until enjoined by this Court. See supra at 11 n.18; NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 597-98.

In light of the prior rulings by this Court and the Sixth Circuit, and the uncontroverted

evidence of widespread disenfranchisement caused by poll-worker error, there is no genuine

dispute of fact with respect to Plaintiffs’ correct-location/wrong-precinct due process claim.

19


Plaintiffs have proven that Ohio has violated and continues to violate due process by

disqualifying these votes. Accordingly, Plaintiffs respectfully ask the Court to grant summary

judgment as to this claim.

D. A Permanent Injunction Is Necessary and Appropriate to Prevent Ohio’sContinuing and Irreparable Denial of the Right to Vote to Lawfully-Registered Voters.

As the Sixth Circuit recognized, absent an injunction, Ohio law “would disqualify

thousands of right-place/wrong-precinct provisional ballots, where the voter’s only mistake was

relying on the poll-worker’s precinct guidance,” and thereby “unjustifiably burden[] these voters’

fundamental right to vote.” NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 599. After the Sixth Circuit affirmed the

correct-location/wrong-precinct portion of the preliminary injunction issued by this Court, Ohio

successfully implemented that injunction, preventing the disenfranchisement of thousands of

voters in the November 2012 election. Because no triable issues remain with regard to the

correct-location/wrong-precinct claims, Plaintiffs now seek a permanent injunction that would

secure the fundamental right to vote for thousands of Ohio citizens in future elections.

“A party is entitled to a permanent injunction if it can establish that it suffered a

constitutional violation and will suffer ‘continuing irreparable injury’ for which there is no

adequate remedy at law.” Women’s Med. Prof’l Corp. v. Baird, 438 F.3d 595, 602 (6th Cir.

2006). A hearing is not necessary when no material issues of fact are involved, such as when a

court has granted summary judgment on the claims underlying the injunction. Wedgewood Ltd.

P’ship I v. Twp. Of Liberty, Ohio, 610 F.3d 340, 349 (6th Cir. 2010).

As demonstrated above, the undisputed record evidence establishes that Ohio’s strict

application of its disqualification rules to correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots,

20


regardless of poll-worker error, violates the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause

of the Constitution. Plaintiffs have established that Ohio’s law violates the Constitution.

The evidence also shows that, absent permanent injunctive relief, Plaintiffs and their

fellow Ohio voters “will suffer ‘continuing irreparable injury’ for which there is no adequate

remedy at law.” Women’s Med. Prof’l Corp., 438 F.3d at 602. This Court has already found that

“[w]here as here, ‘Defendants’ challenged actions threaten or impair both Plaintiffs’

constitutional right to due process and constitutional right to vote,’” Plaintiffs’ injury is

irreparable. Doc. 67 at 51 (quoting Miller v. Blackwell, 348 F.Supp.2d 916, 922 (S.D.Ohio

2004)); see also Overstreet v. Lexington-Fayette Urban Cnty. Gov’t, 305 F.3d 566, 578 (6th Cir.

2002) (“a plaintiff can demonstrate that a denial of an injunction will cause irreparable harm if

the claim is based upon a violation of the plaintiff’s constitutional rights”).

In the absence of a permanent injunction, the State will be bound by the Ohio Supreme

Court’s decision in Painter, which requires the summary disqualification of all wrong-precinct

provisional ballots and “do[es] not authorize an exception based on poll-worker error.” Painter,

941 N.E.2d at 794. As this Court explained in granting the preliminary injunction, “[u]nder

Painter, [wrong-precinct provisional] ballots will be rejected in the same manner as in the

past—that is, unless the law is enjoined.” Doc. 67 at 26. Likewise, because the large majority of

voting precincts – nearly 80 percent as of 2012 – have been consolidated into multi-precinct

polling locations, poll workers will continue to bear responsibility for determining and providing

correct precinct ballots, and the “additional confusion created by multi-precinct polling

locations,” Doc. 67 at 7, will continue to result in error. Indeed, county board minutes reflect that

poll-worker error in the November 2012 election, just as in prior elections, resulted in correct-

21


location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots that would have been disqualified under Painter had

the preliminary injunction not been in place. See Marcin Decl. Exs. B-F.

In light of the uncontested evidence that Ohio’s disqualification of correct-

location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots, without regard to poll-worker error, has resulted in

constitutional violations and, in the absence of an injunction, will continue to do so, entry of a

permanent injunction is appropriate. Given that the preliminary injunction issued by this Court

has been upheld by the Sixth Circuit and successfully implemented, Plaintiffs request that the

Court issue a permanent injunction in the same form.

Specifically, as described in the accompanying Proposed Order, Plaintiffs ask the Court to

issue a permanent injunction ordering Ohio not to reject any provisional ballot cast by lawfully-

registered voters in the correct polling location because:

The voter cast his or her provisional ballot in the wrong precinct, unless the poll workerwho processed the voter’s provisional ballot has affirmed under penalty of electionfalsification that:a) the poll worker determined the correct precinct for the voter;b) the poll worker directed the voter to the correct precinct;c) the poll worker informed the voter that casting the wrong precinct ballot would

result in all votes on the ballot being rejected under Ohio law; andd) the voter refused to travel to the correct precinct and insisted on voting the invalid

ballot;and the Board of Elections has verified that the precinct to which the poll worker directedthe voter was the correct precinct for that voter. If the poll worker does not attest to all ofthe above, or the County Board of Elections cannot verify that the poll worker directedthe voter to the correct precinct, the provisional ballot must be counted.

Finally, there is no just reason for any delay in correcting Ohio’s constitutional violations.

The next state election will be held August 6, 2013. Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court

issue the injunction forthwith and enter a Rule 54(b) final judgment on their claim.

22


IV. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court grant the motion

for partial summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ correct-location/wrong-precinct claims under the

Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses, issue the proposed permanent injunction, and as no

just reason exists to delay entry of judgment, enter final judgment as to these claims pursuant to

Rule 54(b).

Dated: July 1, 2013 Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Danielle Leonard By: Danielle Leonard

MICHAEL J. HUNTER, trial attorney (0018756)CATHRINE J. HARSHMAN (0079373)Hunter, Carnahan, Shoub, Byard & Harshman3360 Tremont Road, Suite 230Columbus, Ohio 43221Telephone: (614) 442-5626E-mail: [email protected]

Attorneys for All Plaintiffs



23


PENDA HAIR, pro hac viceDONITA JUDGE, pro hac viceAdvancement Project1220 L Street, N.W., Suite 850Washington, D.C. 20005Telephone: (202) 728-9557E-mail: [email protected]

Attorneys for Plaintiff Ohio OrganizingCollaborative

24


CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on July 1, 2013, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of Courtusing the CM/ECF system, which will send notification of such filing to the counsel of record inthis case.

Dated: July 1, 2013/s/ Danielle Leonard



25


IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

EASTERN DIVISION


Plaintiffs

vs.

JON HUSTED, et al.,

Defendants.

::::::::::::::




DECLARATION OF JOSHUA MARCIN

IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’

MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY

JUDGMENT AND FOR ENTRY OF A

RULE 54(B) PARTIAL FINAL

JUDGMENT AND PERMANENT

INJUNCTION

Case: 2:12-cv-00562-ALM-TPK Doc #: 107-1 Filed: 07/01/13 Page: 1 of 4 PAGEID #: 6526

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on July 1, 2013, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of Court

using the CM/ECF system, which will send notification of such filing to the counsel of record in

this case.

Dated: July 1, 2013

/s/ Danielle LeonardDanielle LeonardALTSHULER BERZON LLP177 Post Street, Suite 300San Francisco, CA 94108Telephone: (415) 421-7151E-mail: [email protected]



County Name

Provisionalballotscounted

Provisionalballotsrejected

Total number ofprovisional ballots cast

Voter not registered inthe state

Voter registered instate, but voted in thewrong precinct andwrong polling location

Voter registered instate, voted in correctpolling place but wrongprecinct, however,pollworker had directedvoter to correct precinctand pollworkercompleted Form 12-D

Voter failed to signprovisional ballotenvelope

Voter failed to print fullname on provisionalballot envelope

Voter failed to print orsign name in correctplace on the provisionalballot envelope

Voter failed to provideID

Non-matching signatureon provisional ballotenvelope

Ballot missing fromprovisional ballotenvelope

Voter already voted Challenge to voter'seligibility or registrationupheld

STATEWIDE 173,785 34,299 208,084 20,120 9,483 37 2,026 449 498 363 243 197 791 92

01-ADAMS 294 46 340 34 7 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0

02-ALLEN 1,605 346 1,951 231 50 0 0 3 39 0 16 4 3 0

03-ASHLAND 550 62 612 34 10 0 2 0 13 1 0 0 2 0

04-ASHTABULA 1,232 130 1,362 83 32 0 7 3 0 0 0 4 1 0

05-ATHENS 1,468 188 1,656 136 29 0 8 3 1 8 0 0 3 0

06-AUGLAIZE 530 97 627 76 1 0 9 2 9 0 0 0 0 0

07-BELMONT 620 101 721 65 20 0 12 2 0 2 0 0 0 0

08-BROWN 419 98 517 71 18 0 4 1 3 0 1 0 0 0

09-BUTLER 5,697 1,187 6,884 853 172 0 99 24 19 11 0 0 9 0

10-CARROLL 229 73 302 48 20 0 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0

11-CHAMPAIGN 457 44 501 33 1 0 3 7 0 0 0 0 0 0

12-CLARK 1,908 457 2,365 241 124 0 28 6 15 0 6 24 13 0

13-CLERMONT 2,699 563 3,262 290 220 0 19 14 19 0 0 0 1 0

14-CLINTON 539 76 615 58 16 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

15-COLUMBIANA 878 177 1,055 110 54 0 0 0 6 3 0 2 2 0

16-COSHOCTON 162 21 183 21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

17-CRAWFORD 579 68 647 45 9 0 11 0 0 2 0 0 1 0

18-CUYAHOGA 26,990 4,865 31,855 2,932 1,313 0 87 86 77 46 91 7 208 18

19-DARKE 554 88 642 50 13 0 4 5 9 2 1 0 4 0

20-DEFIANCE 532 93 625 47 11 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 32

21-DELAWARE 2,215 378 2,593 265 71 0 15 1 0 0 10 0 16 0

22-ERIE 1,081 62 1,143 36 12 0 9 4 0 0 0 0 1 0

23-FAIRFIELD 1,896 300 2,196 190 66 0 12 0 16 5 7 1 3 0

24-FAYETTE 331 38 369 34 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

25-FRANKLIN 23,744 6,096 29,840 2,935 1,901 0 839 45 17 120 40 0 199 0

26-FULTON 488 105 593 79 22 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

27-GALLIA 283 83 366 54 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

28-GEAUGA 722 110 832 99 8 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0

29-GREENE 2,144 350 2,494 260 73 1 3 2 0 3 1 0 7 0

30-GUERNSEY 376 44 420 35 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

31-HAMILTON 13,767 4,489 18,256 1,976 1,931 1 243 106 0 43 43 65 81 0

32-HANCOCK 704 35 739 23 10 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

33-HARDIN 264 52 316 35 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

34-HARRISON 119 3 122 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

35-HENRY 292 30 322 28 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

36-HIGHLAND 546 67 613 46 13 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

37-HOCKING 266 88 354 82 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

38-HOLMES 179 26 205 18 5 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

39-HURON 560 69 629 63 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

40-JACKSON 450 49 499 43 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 2

41-JEFFERSON 700 93 793 59 26 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

42-KNOX 686 102 788 72 11 0 17 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

43-LAKE 2,816 363 3,179 201 143 0 1 11 5 2 0 0 0 0

44-LAWRENCE 581 139 720 56 75 0 6 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

45-LICKING 1,917 381 2,298 290 50 0 10 1 22 0 0 0 8 0

46-LOGAN 598 120 718 107 8 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

47-LORAIN 4,395 864 5,259 695 148 0 3 17 0 0 0 0 0 1

48-LUCAS 8,440 1,800 10,240 953 500 0 257 24 1 12 2 12 39 0

49-MADISON 472 77 549 67 5 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0

50-MAHONING 2,951 481 3,432 330 82 8 13 2 15 0 4 21 6 0

51-MARION 877 115 992 78 24 1 3 0 6 0 0 0 3 0

52-MEDINA 1,832 383 2,215 255 103 1 14 0 4 3 0 0 3 0

53-MEIGS 229 24 253 7 3 0 7 1 0 0 0 6 0 0

54-MERCER 466 52 518 41 4 0 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0

55-MIAMI 1,534 352 1,886 222 71 0 21 2 3 30 0 0 3 0

56-MONROE 132 21 153 7 3 0 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 4

57-MONTGOMERY 10,043 1,362 11,405 907 308 5 94 0 0 0 0 0 48 0

58-MORGAN 87 47 134 0 40 0 3 0 0 0 1 3 0 0

59-MORROW 352 71 423 61 7 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

60-MUSKINGUM 1,127 131 1,258 70 34 1 5 0 20 0 0 0 1 0

61-NOBLE 110 8 118 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

62-OTTAWA 458 71 529 38 1 0 6 1 0 8 1 1 4 11

63-PAULDING 209 56 265 48 5 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

64-PERRY 301 43 344 32 1 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

65-PICKAWAY 603 121 724 98 19 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0

Section A - Provisional Ballots Cast Section B - Reasons Provisional Ballots were RejectedProvisional Ballot Report: November 6, 2012 General Election


66-PIKE 352 25 377 18 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

67-PORTAGE 2,052 290 2,342 195 64 0 12 5 8 0 0 1 4 1

68-PREBLE 518 75 593 38 25 2 0 1 8 0 1 0 0 0

69-PUTNAM 221 11 232 7 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

70-RICHLAND 1,645 124 1,769 56 50 1 0 0 15 0 0 2 0 0

71-ROSS 1,021 105 1,126 37 24 0 5 0 38 0 0 0 1 0

72-SANDUSKY 757 104 861 77 16 0 0 1 6 0 0 2 2 0

73-SCIOTO 1,029 222 1,251 171 23 5 1 11 10 0 0 0 1 0

74-SENECA 609 83 692 55 15 0 0 0 9 0 0 4 0 0

75-SHELBY 671 106 777 81 14 4 4 1 0 0 0 0 2 0

76-STARK 5,118 921 6,039 539 282 3 15 14 30 5 0 0 33 0

77-SUMMIT 7,044 1,649 8,693 1,155 407 0 13 6 0 33 13 0 22 0

78-TRUMBULL 2,888 478 3,366 281 152 0 16 11 8 3 0 0 7 0

79-TUSCARAWAS 1,711 114 1,825 59 24 0 1 0 27 0 0 0 3 0

80-UNION 567 91 658 91 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

81-VANWERT 249 15 264 3 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 2 0

82-VINTON 111 27 138 22 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

83-WARREN 2,589 546 3,135 357 117 0 15 0 1 0 0 28 28 0

84-WASHINGTON 657 81 738 66 9 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 1

85-WAYNE 1,115 114 1,229 30 53 0 6 1 1 4 0 0 0 19

86-WILLIAMS 389 48 437 27 9 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0

87-WOOD 1,893 513 2,406 269 219 0 10 0 4 5 0 1 5 0

88-WYANDOT 294 26 320 23 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0


of 1


Proceedings

ARMSTRONG & OKEY, INC., Columbus, Ohio (614) 224-9481

1 BEFORE THE FRANKLIN COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS

2 - - -

3

4 In Re: :

:

5 Special Meeting :

6 - - -

7 PROCEEDINGS

8 before Director William A. Anthony, Jr., Deputy

9 Director Dana Walch, and Board Members Zachary E.

10 Manifold, Kimberly E. Marinello, and Bradley K.

11 Sinnott, at the Franklin County Board of Elections,

12 280 East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio, called at 8:22

13 a.m. on Tuesday, November 27, 2012.

14

- - -

15

16

17

18

19

20

21 ARMSTRONG & OKEY, INC.

222 East Town Street, 2nd Floor

22 Columbus, Ohio 43215-5201

(614) 224-9481 - (800) 223-9481

23 Fax - (614) 224-5724

24 - - -

Page 1 of 2


Proceedings

ARMSTRONG & OKEY, INC., Columbus, Ohio (614) 224-9481

6

1 DIRECTOR ANTHONY: At this time, yes,

2 sir. Yes, sir.

3 BOARD MEMBER MANIFOLD: I've got a couple

4 questions first. Dana, the 196, that's -- those are

5 the people that voted wrong precinct, right location;

6 is that what that is?

7 DEPUTY DIRECTOR WALCH: That's correct.

8 BOARD MEMBER MANIFOLD: Okay.

9 DEPUTY DIRECTOR WALCH: That's correct.

10 I believe that's correct, right, Renee?

11 MS. KLCO: Yes.

12 DEPUTY DIRECTOR WALCH: Yes.

13 BOARD MEMBER MANIFOLD: Okay. And then

14 let me see if I have anything else.

15 Okay. I'm good.

16 BOARD MEMBER SINNOTT: I'll move that the

17 Board accept the staff recommendation for the

18 validation of the total of 23,661 provisional ballots

19 and the rejection of 6,096 provisional ballots and

20 that all provisional ballots deemed valid should be

21 counted and included in the official canvass of

22 results for the 2012 General Election.

23 DIRECTOR ANTHONY: Is there a second?

24 BOARD MEMBER MANIFOLD: Second.

Page 2 of 2


HAMILTON COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONSMEETING HELI)

NOVEMBER 20,2012 AT 9:00AM

The meeting of the Hamilton Counfy Board of Elections was called to order at9:00am by Chairman Burke. Present were members Mr. Triantafilou, Mr. Fauxand Mr. Gerhardt. Also present: Director Amy Searcy, Deputy Director SallyKrisel and David Stevenson from the Hamilton County Prosecutor' Office. Anofficial transcript of the meeting was taken by Court Reporter Barb Lambers.

Chairman Burke noted that proper notice was duly provided as required byo.R.c. 121.22.

I. APPROVE MINUTES OF BOARD MEETINGS

Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to approve the minutes from the followingBoard Meetings; Mr. Faux seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

November 5r 2012 at 8:30amNovember 51 2012 at 8pmNovember 61 2012 at 4pmNovember 61 2012 at 8:15pmNovember 6,2012 at llpm

II. REGISTBRED VOTER CHALLENGE

The Board \ryas provided information regarding the challenged voter. Thechalleng€r, Mr. Joseph Janus, was sworn in to provide testimony.

The Board stated their belief that there was not clear and convincing evidence touphold this challenge. Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to deny the challenge;Mr. Faux seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

II. BALLOT REMAKES

Operations Administrator Sherry Poland presented to the Board absenteeballots that had been returned by mail or by voters in person that needed to beremade for various reasons and separated by category. These ballots wereremade by bi-partisan teams in accordance with the Directives from theSecretary of State.

Page 1 of 4


AV Mail Request (1):Error in BOE registration information;Voter received incorrect ballot

AV Mail Re$est ($:Ballot received to VR address;Subsequent change of address by voter

AV Request/Registration Same Day (6)Mail follow-up to registration addressesreturned/not deliverable

AV Mail RequestStaff knowledge voter not residentat address as affirmed

PROVISIONAL BALLOT REPORT

The Board was presented the summary reportProvisional Ballots. All ballots vyere reviewedteams:

Total number of Provisional ballots issued:

Mr. Faux made a motion toremake and count the ballot;Mr. Triantafilou seconded. Themotion passed unanimously

Mr. Triantafilou made a motionto reject the remake and ballot;Mr. Faux seconded. The motionpassed unanimously.

Mr. Gerhardt made a motionto reject the remake andballot; Mr. Triantafilouseconded, Chairman Burke-aye; Mr. Triantafilou-aye; Mr.Gerhardt-aye; Mr, Faux-nay.The motion passed 3-1.

Mr. Gerhardt made a motionto reject the request andballot; Mr. Faux secondedlThe motion passedunanimously.

off staff recommendations onand verified by bi-partisan

18,256

Mr. Faux made a motion to accept l3r77l Provisional ballots, including 140wrong precinct/corcect location ballots; Mr. Gerhardt seconded. The motionpassed unanimously.

Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to reject 1976 Provisional ballots cast byvoters not registered to vote on Election Duy; Mr. Faux seconded. The motionpassed unanimously.

Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to reject 1928 Provisional ballots cast byvoters on Election Day in the wrong precinct/wrong location; Mr. Fauxseconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Page 2 of 4


Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to reject I Provisional ballot cast on ElectionDay in the wrong precinct/right location/L2-D voter affirmation; Mr. Fauxseconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Gerhardt made a motion to reject 43 Provisional ballots cast on ElectionDay wherein the voter provided no identification on the Provisional BallotAffirmation; Mr. Triantafilou seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to reject 243 Provisional ballots cast whereinthe voter provided no signature on the Provisional Ballot Affirmation; Mr.Faux seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to reject 43 Provisional Ballots wherein the Bi-partisan team reviewing the Provisional Envelopes flagged them for furtherreview due to a oosignature mismatcho'with the BOE database. The ballotswere reviewed further by the Board of Elections Director and Deputy Directorwho concurred with the signature mismatch assessmentl Mr. Faux seconded.The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to reject 106 Provisional Ballots wherein thevoter did not complete the Provisional envelope with a printed name. PerSecretary of State Directives these Ballots may not be counted; Mr. Fauxseconded. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Burke noted that he voted infavor of this motion because he was required to do so by the directive of theSecretary of State which was unfortunate since based on the fact theseenvelopes were, except for the lack of a printed name, correctly filled out. Thesignature of the voter matched our records and staff was able to determine thatthese provisional ballots were cast by qualified voters. As a result, he believeswe should have been able to count these.

Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to reject 63 Provisional Ballots cast by voterswho had previously cast an Absentee Ballot; Mr. Faux seconded. The motionpassed unanimously.

Mr. Triantafilou made a motion to reject 18 Provisional Ballots cast by voterswho voted previously on Election Day in either the same or different precinct;Mr. Faux seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

The Board was also presented 64 Provisional Ballot envelopes which containedno ballot. No Board action was required.

Page 3 of 4


Chairman Burke gave those in attendance the opportunity to address the Board.Several in attendance provided feedback on their experience as Election Day pollworkers. Mr. Triantafilou encouraged individuals to share their experiences viareports to the Board. A discussion regarding the in-person absentee voting andactivity involving campaigning and distributing food and drink to voters waitingin line followed. The Board noted that Secretary of State Directive 2012-29addresses this issue. The Board further discussed the long lines for early votingand how the Board may address this in the future.

There being no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Triantafiloumade a motion to adjournl Mr. Faux seconded. The motion passed

unanimously.

APPROVED:DATE:

CHAIRMAJ\t..-

./tTIMOrffiWt.

t7//. 'r/,

Page 4 of 4


Record of Proceedings

Minutes of the Mahoning County Board of Elections

Day: Monday Date: November 26, 2012 Time: 1:00 p.m. Page: 1 of 4

The Mahoning County Board of Elections (MCBOE) held a Special Regular Meeting at 1:00 p.m. Monday,

November 26, 2012 in the Board Room of the MCBOE office, 345 Oak Hill Ave, Youngstown, OH 44502.

Chairman Mark Munroe called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m.

Director Joyce Kale-Pesta called the roll: Chairman Mark E. Munroe, Vice-Chair David J. Betras, Esq. and

Members Clarence R. Smith, Jr. and Robert J. Wasko were present. Deputy-Director Thomas P. McCabe and

Secretary Raymond L. Butler were present. The sign-in sheet of visitors is marked (Exhibit A) and attached.

Mr. Betras moved to suspend the rules, approve the November 5-6, 2012 Special Regular Meeting Minutes as

received, without reading and with any necessary corrections, seconded by Mr. Smith

Call of the roll: Mr. Munroe, Mr. Wasko, Mr. Smith and Mr. Betras voted in favor. Motion carried.

Mr. Betras moved to pay the Bills of Account and office expenses for the months of October and November

2012 marked Table 1, seconded by Mr. Smith. Mr. Betras asked that the information scheduled for discussion

at the Board Meetings be available so the Members would have the chance to review it prior to the meetings.

After examination, Mr. Betras realized that the package of information was available and he was content.


Table 1

Accounts Approved for Payment for the Month(s) of October and November 2012

Acct Code 2011 Name Item Amount

01910-600300 11/04 Board Members October 21st to November 3

rd, 2012 2,320.72

01910-600301 11/04 Regular Office October 21st to November 3

rd, 2012 18,428.30

01910-600301 11/04 Part Time Help October 21st to November 3

rd, 2012 20,861.14

01910-600323 11/04 Hospitalization Opt-Out October 21st to November 3

rd, 2012 92.32

01910-600309 11/04 Overtime October 21st to November 3

rd, 2012 2,489.96

01910-600300 11/16 Board Members November 4th

to November 17th

, 2012 2,320.72

01910-600301 11/16 Regular Office November 4th

to November 17th

, 2012 18,428.31

01910-600301 11/16 Part Time Help November 4th

to November 17th

, 2012 24,645.15

01910-600323 11/16 Hospitalization Opt-Out November 4th

to November 17th

, 2012 92.32

01910-600309 11/16 Overtime November 4th

to November 17th

, 2012 13,329.55

01910-600531 10/30 City Printing 5,000 #10 Regular Envelopes 260.74

01910-600531 11/19 City Printing 5,000 Pieces of Letterhead 615.59

01910-600531 11/19 City Printing 28,799 Absentee Ballots for Mailing 50,686.24

01910-600537 11/08 ES&S M650 Rental 13,075.00

01910-600404 11/19 ES&S M650 Pick and Retard Belt 113.54

01910-600403 11/08 FedEx Shipping Charges 39.93

01910-600404 10/30 Modern Office 5 Mitel Headsets 647.20

01910-600404 10/30 Modern Office 1,000 Refill Pens for Booths 1,240.00

01910-600404 10/30 Modern Office 6 Cartons of Specialty Paper 353.64

01910-600404 10/30 Modern Office 4 Cartons of Paper, 1 Pack of Dust Off 251.45

01910-600404 10/30 Modern Office 2 Boxes of Rubber Bands 15.37

01910-600404 10/30 Modern Office 2 Jumbo Paper Clips 1.92

01910-600404 10/30 Modern Office 62 Binders 230.40

01910-600404 10/30 Modern Office 12, 2013 Calendars 47.88

01910-600404 10/30 Modern Office 3 Toner Cartridges for OKI Printers 250.89

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 19 Files Totes 265.81

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 10 Jumbo Paperclips 9.60

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 6 Cartons of Paper 601.98

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 2 Yellow and 1 Magenta OKI Drums 342.06

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 2 Cyan and 1 Magenta OKI Drums 342.06

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 3 OKI Black Toners and 2 Packaging Tape 195.37

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 10 Reams of Paper 134.40

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 10 Padlock Locks 114.90

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 2 Packs of Rubber Bands 11.40

01910-600404 11/08 Modern Office 2 Waste Toner Boxes 28.00

01910-600506 11/19 OAEO 2013 Election Conference Fees 1,485.00

Page 1 of 2


Record of Proceedings

Minutes of the Mahoning County Board of Elections

Day: Monday Date: November 26, 2012 Time: 1:00 p.m. Page: 3 of 4

Director Kale-Pesta asked the Board to identify the twenty precincts for the post-election audit, although only

fourteen are mandatory as required by the Ohio Secretary of State, and she will set the date for the audit to

begin sometime between December 3 and December 31, 2012.

Chairman Munroe asked Ms Marion Gillette, from the League of Women Voters (LWG), to assist in drawing

the precincts randomly from a basket of slips, prepared by Director Kale-Pesta, identifying each of the

Mahoning County precincts for audit. Ms Gillette drew twenty slips from the basket with the precincts

identified for audit, those precincts are marked (Exhibit B) and attached.

Director Kale-Pesta explained the provisional validation process and the number of provisional ballots that the

absentee/provisional department identified as countable and those found questionable. The questionable

ballots are here for the Board to make the determinations of before counting or disqualifying.

Mr. Betras asked for clarification on the process used, by the Absentee/Provisional Department, to make a

determination of acceptable and not acceptable ballots. He wanted to make sure that we do not disenfranchise

any voters and he asked about the extensiveness of the follow-up process after the department made the

decision to disqualify a ballot. Ms Kale-Pesta clarified the completeness of the process.

The Chair convened a Provisional Ballot Review Board and examined the questionable provisional ballot

envelopes. The Members reviewed the formerly disqualified ballot of Laury Skok and the Review Board

determined that Ms Skok’s ballot was valid.

Mr. Betras moved to accept Laury Skok’s provisional ballot as valid, seconded by Mr. Wasko.

Call of the roll: Mr. Munroe, Mr. Wasko and Mr. Betras voted in favor, Mr. Smith opposed. Motion carried.

The Provisional Ballot Review Board Members reviewed the questionable ballots and approved the qualified

ballots as presented in groups.

Mr. Betras moved to accept and certify for counting 3,082 full ballots and 53 partial count provisional ballots

that the staff identified as acceptable and properly cast, seconded by Mr. Smith. These ballots are marked,

identified and placed on file in the Absentee department as qualified ballots.


Mr. Wasko moved to reject the 481 provisional ballots presented as deficient, as per the reasons specified in

the summary sheet report from the Absentee/Provisional Department, seconded by Mr. Smith. These ballots

are marked, identified and placed on file in the Absentee department as disqualified ballots.


Mr. Betras inquired about the twenty-five undeliverable absentee ballots contained in the summary sheet

report from the Absentee/Provisional Department. Director Kale-Pesta explained the process and the efforts

that the department makes when the Post Office returns a ballot marked as undeliverable. The Board Members

continued further discussion regarding the procedure to identify the reasons for the undeliverable ballots.

Mr. Betras moved to reject the three UOCAVA and FWAB ballot not received in a timely fashion, as

identified in summary sheet report from the Absentee/Provisional Department, for the reasons stated,

seconded by Mr. Smith. These ballots are marked, identified and placed on file in the Absentee department.


Director Kale-Pesta gave the Board Members the twenty-five envelopes, marked returned undeliverable, for

their examination. The Members discovered that in each instance where it was possible, the staff followed-up

on several attempts to contact the voter. It was apparent that these twenty-five ballots were the only ballots

that they were unable to resolve the issue prior to Election Day and these voters did not cast these absentee

ballots.

Mr. Betras moved to accept the absentee ballot summary sheet report from the Absentee/Provisional

Department as presented, seconded by Mr. Smith. These ballots are marked, identified and placed on file in

the Absentee department.


Mr. Betras made a public apology statement regarding his casual attire, due to a stress test he took

immediately prior to the meeting and that he was unable to change before attending the meeting.

Page 2 of 2


November 19, 2012

The Washington County Board of Elections met on Monday, November 19, 2012 at 8:00 am. Present were Dennis Sipe, Jim Huggins, Tom Cox, Charlie Wentz, Tara Hupp, and Peggy Byers.

Mr. Sipe called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance.

At 8:00 am Mr. Huggins moved that the Board of Elections go into executive session to discuss personnel matters. Mr. Cox seconded the motion. Roll call vote was taken:

Mr. Wentz – yesMr. Cox – yesMr. Huggins – yesMr. Sipe – yes

The Director, Tara and Deputy Director, Peggy, left the room.

At 8:30 am Mr. Cox made a motion to come out of executive session. Mr. Wentz seconded the motion. Roll call vote was taken.

Mr. Wentz – yesMr. Cox – yesMr. Huggins – yesMr. Sipe – yes

No action was taken

No public comment

Bills

Boy Scout Troop 203 Election Night Help $50.00 E S & S Firmware Usage Agreement $120.00 Ron Ollom Delivery mileage for 11/0612 $18.48 Roger Atkins Delivery mileage for 11/06/12 $47.96 Gerald Rose Delivery mileage for 11/06/12 $78.76 Clive Wallis Delivery mileage for 11/06/12 $52.36 Marietta Office Supply Name Tags $3.79 Southeastern Elec. Sec. Reset Alarm $65.00 Event Designs Curtains for Voting

Page 1 of 4


$200.00 Marietta Times Levy & LO Legals $1,509.36 Poynters Best Products Work on HP8000 Printer $98.00 RBM Consulting 2012 M100 HW Maintenance $9,720.00 Pitney Bowes High Speed Letter Opener $3,995.00 Triad Campaign Finance SW $950.00

Correspondence

Aaron Ockerman email (11/13/12) Judge rules Husted’s Directive on Prov. Violation Jim Milliken email (11/16/2012) Appeals Court grants Husted’s request for a stay Matt Damschroder email (11/16/12) Following stay by court we are to follow Dir. 2012-54

Mr. Cox moved that the board reject provisional ballots 6 – 42 due to voter registration cancelled. Mr. Wentz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Cox made a motion to reject provisional ballots 43 – 44 due to invalid registration. Mr. Huggins seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins made a motion to reject provisional ballots 45 – 48 due to failure to have a signature. Mr. Cox seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins made a motion to accept provisional ballots 49 – 687, as they passed inspection and are eligible. Mr. Cox seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins made a motion to reject provisional ballots 688 - 716 as the voter was not registered. Mr. Wentz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins made a motion that provisional ballots, 718, 719, 724, 726, 730, 732, 733, 734, and 735 be rejected as the voter voted in the wrong precinct, and in the wrong location. Mr. Cox seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins made a motion that provisional ballots, 717, 720, 721, 722, 723, 725, 727, 728, 729, 731, 736, 737, and 738, be remade only for the races that the voter are eligible to vote on. Remake the ballots only for precincts that they could vote in. Mr. Wentz

Page 2 of 4


seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins moved a motion to accept provisional ballots 1- 5. Mr. Wentz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins moved a motion to reject provisional ballot 113 due to the Presiding Judge challenging the voter for not being a resident of the location. Mr. Wentz seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins made a motion to reject absentee ballots 1 – 15 as their postmark date was after the day before the election (November 05, 2012). Mr. Wentz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins made a motion that the board recess until 3:00 pm. Mr. Wentz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Cox made a motion that the board come out of recess at 3:28 pm. Mr. Wentz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Huggins made a motion to certify the final official canvass of the November 6, 2012 general election as reflected in the summary report printed at 3:22 pm, November 19, 2012. Mr. Cox seconded the motion.

Mr. Wentz made a motion to pay Gerald Rose and Zeke Wallis $200.00 each for delivery fees. Mr. Cox seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Cox made a motion to bay Ron Ollom and Roger Atkins $200.00 each for delivery fees. Mr. Huggins seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Cox made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Wentz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

The next scheduled meeting will be the audit for the November 6, 2012 and a meeting date will be set once we receive guidance via a directive from the Secretary of State’s office.

Respectfully submitted,

Tara HuppDirector

______________________________ ____________________________________Dennis Sipe, Chair Jim Huggins ______________________________ ____________________________________

Page 3 of 4


Charlie Wentz Tom Cox

Page 4 of 4


Case No. 2012-2151

Before The Chief Justice

of The Supreme Court of Ohio----------------------------------------------------

JOSHUA E. O'FARRELL,

Con testor,V.

AL LANDIS, et al.,

Con testee Respondents.

Petition for Contest of Election Pursuant to R.C. 3515.08

EVIDENCE OFCONTESTOR JOSHUA O'FARRELL

VOLUME II

JAN 14 701^j

t;i.fitFt uf i:OUH1REME GOURT OF OHIO


Page 1 of 141


Donald J. McTigue (0022849) Robert Richard Stephenson, II (0034616)Mark A. McGinnis (0076275) Assistant Prosecuting Attorney TuscarawasJ. Corey Colombo (0072398) CountyMcTIGUE & McGINNIs LLC 125 East High Avenue545 East Town Street New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663Columbus, Ohio 43215 Phone: (330) 365-3214Phone: (614) 263-7000 [email protected]: (614) [email protected] Counsel [email protected] Tuscarawas CountyBoard of [email protected]

Counsel for Con testorJosh ua O'Farrell

W. Stuart Dornette (0002955) Andrew G. Douglas (0000006)Donald C. Brey (0021965) CRABBE, BROWN & JAMEs LLPBeth A. Bryan (0082076) 500 South Front Street, Suite 1200TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP Columbus, Ohio 43215-763165 East State Street, Suite 1000 Phone: (614) 506-8050Columbus, Ohio 43215 Facsimile: (614) 229-4559Phone: (614) 221-2838 adouglasCGcbilawyers.comFacsimile: (614) 221-2000 [email protected]@[email protected] Special Counsel to Prosecuting Attorney'[email protected] Office for Respondent Tuscarawas County

Board of ElectionsCounsel for ContesteeQI T.anrlicc

Stephen Knowling (0030974)Holmes County Prosecuting Attorney164 East Jackson StreetMillersburg, Ohio 44654-1235Phone: (330) 674-4841sknowling a>co.holmes.oh.us

Counsel for RespondentHolmes County Board of Elections


Page 2 of 141


EVIDENCE OF CONTESTOR

Volume 1

EXHIBIT #

Tuscarawas County Board of Elections

1. Deposition of Deputy Director Sarah Kneuss and Exhibits A-EE

Volume 2

Wrong Polling Place Voters

2. Deposition of Apryl Babarcik and Exhibit FF

3. Deposition of Natasha Benson and Exhibit SS

4. Deposition of Robert Buzzeo and Exhibit HH

5. Deposition of Michael Cottrell and Exhibit II

6. Deposition of Dustin Freitag and Exhibit VV

7. Deposition of Cheryl Harris and Exhibit JJ

Exhibit i7^r^

8. LJep^---

USlTlUn V-I"Ua-'le

jVllilsoIl

- T-t------ ---'clIl

1U XiG

T7__L.llV 1^1^

9. Deposition of Kelly Lucas and Exhibit GG

10. Deposition of Melissa Patterson and Exhibit MM

11. Deposition of Robert Patterson and Exhibit LL

12. Deposition of Ginger Raber and Exhibit NN

13. Deposition of Courtney Rees and Exhibit 00

14. Deposition of Tina Snyder and Exhibit PP

15. Deposition of Carrie Thomas and Exhibit QQ


Page 3 of 141


Volume 3

Incomplete Form 12-B Voters

16. Deposition of David Amato and Exhibit TT

17. Deposition of Tim Kramer and Exhibit UU

Absentee Ballot Returned to Polling Place Voter

18. Deposition of Leslie Besozzi and Exhibit RR

Secretary of State Directives

19. Ohio Secretary of State Directive 2012-22

20. Ohio Secretary of State Directive 2012-26

21. Ohio Secretary of State Directive 2012-48 and 2012-48-2

Respectfully submitted,

I

Donald J. McTigue (0022849)

Mark A. McGinnis (0076275)

J. Corey Colombo (0072398)

McTicuE & McGiNNis LLC

545 East Town Street

Columbus, Ohio 43215

Tel: (614) 263-7000

Fax: (614) 263-7078

Counsel for Contestor


Page 4 of 141


1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

,'7_L ,

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

BEFORE THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF

THE SUPREME COURT OF OHIO


Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,

Contestee/Respondents.

CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

APRYL MARIE BABARCIK

Deposition of APRYL MARIE BABARCIK, a Witness

herein, called by the Contestor for Examination

pursuant to Revised Code 3515.08, taken before me, the

undersigned, Anika W. Patrick, a Registered Merit

Reporter, Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public

in Ua1„^a

.l .^ifvr +-r,A State of ^ri..o

♦. at the offices of Kyler,

11 .++v .....^.--- ^- ----- -- - -

Pringle, Lundholm & Durmann, 405 Chauncey Avenue NW,

New Philadelphia, Ohio, on Thursday, January 3, 2013,

at 9:45 a.m.

Premier Court ReportingCanton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418

www.premierreporters.oom


Page 5 of 141


6

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

^ 71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

so we don't interrupt one another. Is that okay?

Yep. That's fine.

If you didn't hear or understand one of my

questions, just ask me to repeat it or rephrase it

and I'd be happy to do so.

Okay. Not a problem.

And I would just ask for you to speak loud and

clearly so the court reporter can take down your

deposition.

Okay.

Okay. Now, Apryl, did you vote in the November

2012 general election?

Yes, I did.

Okay. And where did you begin the day voting?

It was actually over on West High. I'm not sure

of the church. I think it's First Methodist.

T4- 1S r; v'h+ ^nrncc f rnm S TIPPdwaV _1 ^. i 1. y,. , u v.^ .. .. .. ^ ^.., ... .., L.. ^._. ... .. ^ 1 -

And I'm sorry, was that a church, you said?

Yeah, it was a church.

Do you know the name of that church?

I think it was First Methodist. I'm not a hundred

percent sure on that.

Q. How did you choose to go there?

A. Actually, I had one of my best friends that went

over there and she actually lives right up the

PREMIER COURT REPORTING

Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 6 of 141


7

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

-1 71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

4•

A

Q.

A.

4•

road from me, so she said that, you know, to start

there to see if I was, you know, over there or

not. So --

What happened when you went to the First Methodist

Church?

I went up and I talked to them. My name was not

on a list as far as like registration goes, and

they told me that this was not the right voting

location for me. And they had called the board of

elections over at the courthouse to see where I

went to vote. It was either go to this other

church, which I remember the name of it; it was

the First Nazarene over on Fair Avenue, or if that

didn't -- if they weren't -- if that wasn't the

right location, to go over to the courthouse. And

they actually gave me the location and a code,

l; lro a ZrntAr ^ c !`n[^P _1 1 !1 ^ .i. v v . v ^ .. •-- ^ -• - -

And I'm sorry. Did you state that they told you

to go to the Church of the Nazarene?

Yes. Uh-huh.

Did they give you the address to that church?

All I know is it was on Fair Avenue. They didn't

give me an address for it. In fact, I drove up

and down Fair Avenue trying to find it.

When you got to the second location, which is the


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 7 of 141


8

- ^ -^^

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

, "71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A

4•

A.

4•

MS. BRYAN: Objection. I'm sorry. I

didn't get it out in time. I'm just unclear

about which location you were referring to.

MR. COLOMBO: That's fine. I'll clarify.

When you were at the Church of the Nazarene -- and

Church of the Nazarene, was your name on the list

there?

No.

Did anyone there, by "anyone," I mean did any poll

worker tell you at the Church of the Nazarene that

you were at the wrong location?

No, they did not, because the first church

actually gave me, you know, the voter's code to

take it over there.

Did the voter's code match up to the place where

you ended up?

I'm not sure a hundred percent.

And by the way, what address did you give them?

Did you give them the address you live at now?

Yes, sir.

And how long have you lived at that address?

TltTA 1; ZTPrI there si nce Februarv of 2012.

Did any poll worker give you the name of another

location that you should go to?

No.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 8 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

9

I'll just call it location number two. Did anyone

at location number two tell you a different

location to go to?

MS. BRYAN: Objection.

A. No.

Q. Did any poll worker tell you that you would have

to cast a - - strike that.

Did any poll worker call the board of

elections?

A. Not at the --


A. -- second location, no.

MS. BRYAN: Go ahead.

Q. And just so you know, Apryl, Beth is doing her

job. There's certain -- don't, you know, worry,

she's going to object to different things.

A. v k a y.

Q. And those are things we're going to sort out

later, just so you're aware of what's going on.

At the second location, did anyone call

the board of elections? You said no?

A. No.

Q. Okay. Do you remember the names of any of the

poll workers you spoke to at the second location?

A. No, I do not.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 9 of 141


10

Q. Were you able to vote at the machines at the

second location?

A. No. It was a provisional ballot.

Q. And did any poll worker tell you why you had to

use a provisional ballot?

A. Not that I can remember.

Q. Did anyone tell you that if you cast a provisional

ballot at this location, that your vote would not

be counted?


A. No, they did not.

Q. Okay. And by that I meant the second location.

A. Yeah, they didn't say anything about it not

being -- possibly not being counted.

Q. Okay. And all these questions we deal with from

here on out, I'm going to be referring to the

.7o - - - n ^ , ^ n ^ } l n nc.+vttu ivvu .. ^-v+i .

A. Okay.

Q. Just for ease of questioning. If you had been

told your vote would not be counted at this

location, would you have gone elsewhere?


A. Yes.

Q. I'm going to have you take a look at an exhibit

here which I would like to have marked as

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

'I '71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 10 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1'7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

25

A.

Q

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

x•

A.

4-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

In 2011, I did. I didn't get my card to register

to vote until after the election this year.

Right. And you said you went on-line to register

for assistance?

Uh-huh. Yes.

So you have a computer?

Yes.

Did you know you could go on-line to the board of

elections and find out where to vote?

No.

Did you know that you could go into the board of

elections and vote in person?

I was not aware of that, no.

Did you know that you could request an absentee

ballot to vote at home?

No. These are nice things to keep in mind.

FaQv tn fi nr] out where to ao vote. What time.^ 1 ...-..i ..... ------ - -- - -- -- - -- I

of day did you vote?

It was in the afternoon.

In the afternoon?

Uh-huh.

Late in the afternoon? Early afternoon?

About 1:00, 2:00.

And how long was it between the time you went from

the first location to the second location?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 11 of 141


26

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

i. i

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

And you don't know what the board told them?

No.

And then she handed you some sort of card?

Yeah. It was a card that had, I think, the county

code on it and some other information on it, and

Well, it was about 15, 20 minutes because I had to

find the second location.

Okay.

I wasn't quite sure where it was at.

And I think you testified that at the first

location the poll worker there told you to go to

the second location, right?

Yes. They actually called the board of elections

on their phone while I was standing there and they

said this is where she goes. And they wrote down

a code, gave it to me and told me this is where I

need to go.

Okay. You said they called on their phone. Was

it a cell phone?

Yes, uh-huh.

So the poll worker used -- was it a man or a

woman?

It was a woman.

So she used her cell phone and called the board?

Uh-huh.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 12 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

, /-L 1

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

27

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q

A.

Q.

A.

told me this is the church where I need to go.

And she said, you know, "Good luck." That was it.

I thought you -- correct me if I'm wrong here, I

don't want to misrepresent your testimony. I

thought you said that she said go to this church,

and if that's not right, go to the board of

elections?

That's what they told her, yes. Sorry, my mind is

all jumbled up. Yes. If it was not right, if the

second location was not right, then I can go to

the board of elections.

Okay. When you say that's what they told her?

Yeah.

I'm sorry.

When the board of -- when she talked to the board

of elections, they told her that this was the

-Fhai- T wa S sunnosed to ao to, and if that^ .,,. u .. ,..., ..... ^ .. - .. _ _ - --^ ^ - .. -

was not right, that I could come to the board of

elections and vote.

Okay. I'm a little bit confused, because I

thought you just told me that you didn't hear what

the board of elections told her?

I didn't. This is what she was telling me.

Okay. Okay.

It was third person, so --


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 13 of 141


28

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4•

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

^

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

Yes.

Okay. Did they look up your address?

No. Well, they looked up my name and whatnot, and

my name was not on there.

nkay ,

Yeah.

No, no. It's okay. I'm not -- I'm just trying to

figure out what happened. I'm not trying to

fluster you in any way.

It's fine. I'm a nervous wreck as it is.

It's okay. You don't have to be nervous. I'm

just trying to figure out what happened.

So you said that they looked you up. Do

Sure, sure. So when you got to the second

location and it didn't -- it didn't seem -- when

you got there, did you feel like this was the

right place?

I had that feeling that it was the right place.

And they never actually said to me, okay, your

name's not on here, this is not where you're

voting.

Okay. When you got there, I think you said you

handed them your card?

Yes.

Did you give them your address?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 14 of 141


29

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13 .

14

15

16

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

No.

So then what happened?

Then they were like, okay, well, your name's not

in here. We're going to give you the provisional

ballot. And they basically showed me where to sit

>-l..^.w,, -n

^..r1 T ci-ari-Pr] fi l lina it out.uvl• uaa

I.. ^..,.... ...^,.. -- ^

Okay. Now, again, I'm not trying to confuse you,

and maybe I'm hearing wrong, but I thought you

said that they -- that you gave them your address?

I did give them my address.

When in the process did you give them your

address?

When they asked what my name was.

Okay. So you gave them your name and your

you recall what they looked you up in, what they

used?

They used my name first, and then asked what my

address was.

Okay. What did they -- what were they looking at

when they were using your name?

It was a big file binder.

Like where you would sign your name and the

signature?

Uh-huh.

And was your name in that book?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 15 of 141


30

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 '7^ ^

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4-

A.

Q.

A.

4-

A.

Q.

A.

4•

address?

Right.

Okay. And did they look up your address anywhere?

They looked up for my name and my address and they

couldn't find it in the book.

In the poll book?

Right.

Okay. Did you see any phones sitting out by the

poll workers?

No.

Did the poll workers ever get up and leave the

table?

No.

How many poll workers were there?

There were three.

And how many poll workers did you talk to while

vnn TAI PrP there?

I talked to the one when I gave her my name and my

address, and the one that actually gave me the

provisional ballot.

So you talked to two poll workers?

Yes, the one in the beginning, one at the end.

And during this process, at any point did you

think, oh, I should go over to the board of

elections?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 16 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

37

^ ^ J ---- ------------------Anika W. Patrick, RM CRR &

-Notary

-Public

My commission expires March 13, 2015

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.

C E R T I F I C A T E

SS:

I, Anika W. Patrick, a Registered Merit Reporter,

Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, APRYL MARIE BABARCIK, was by me first dulysworn to testify the truth, the whole truth and nothing

but the truth in the cause aforesaid; that thetestimony so given by her was by me reduced toStenotype in the presence of said witness; afterwardsprepared and produced by means of Computer-AidedTranscription, and that the foregoing is a true andcorrect transcription of the testimony so given by her

as aforesaid.

I do further certify that this deposition was

taken at the time and place in the foregoing caption

specified.

I further certify that I am not a relative,employee of or attorney for any party or counsel, or

otherwise financially interested in this action.

I do further certify that I am not, nor is thecourt reporting firm with which I am affiliated, undera contract as defined in Civil Rule 28(D).

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my handand affixed my seal of office at Akron, Ohio, this 7th

day of January, 2013.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 17 of 141


2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

1




Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,


CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

NATASHA RENEE BENSON

Deposition of NATASHA RENEE BENSON,.a Witness





r^n^a f„r +-rA qtat-P nf Ohio, at the offices of Kyler,iai uaau i..- -- - -...., - _ _ ,


New Philadelphia, Ohio, on Monday, January 7, 2013, at

9:26 a.m.

Premier Court Reporting

Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418www.premierreporters.oom


Page 18 of 141


8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

i7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q•

Yes.

Is it fair to say that would have been 2008,

correct?

Correct.

Do you generally just vote the big elections?

Yes.

Okay. And four years ago, you would have been at

a different address, correct?

r'nrrect .

Did you happen to get a postcard or any kind of

correspondence from the board telling you where to

vote?

I didn't prior to this election, but I did receive

one just in December. I brought it with me, too,

if you need that.

Not yet. Perhaps the other counsel would like to

see that in a minute. So I appreciate that. And

Okay. Now, Ms. Benson, you voted on election day

at the fire department; is that correct?

Yes.

How did you choose to go there?

That's where we had voted for the last election.

For the last presidential election, we voted

there.

Is that the last time you voted?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 19 of 141


9

^

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1'7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

New.

So the poll workers pointed out to you that you

have a new -- you did not update your records; is

that correct?

RiCj.iit.

that came after the election?

Yes.

And where did it tell you to vote on that card?

It said at the Baptist Church in Bolivar.

Would that be the,Faith Baptist Church?

Faith.

When you did go to the fire department, did you

believe you were at the wrong location?

I did not.

Did any poll worker tell you you were at the wrong

location?

They didn't say that I was at the wrong location.

They just said that they didn't have my address

change and that I would have to fill out the paper

ballot because of that.

Did you show them the -- the poll workers -- any

kind of identification?

Yeah, my driver's license.

And does your driver's license have your new or

old address?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 20 of 141


10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

But they were aware that you had changed

addresses?

Yeah. Yeah, because I had told them that day.

Okay. Did any poll worker tell you the name of a

different location you should go to?

No.

Did anyone that day or prior to that day tell you

you should vote at the Faith Baptist Church?

No.

Did any poll worker tell you that if you cast your

ballot there at the fire department, that your

vote would not be counted?

No.

Do you remember, did any poll worker that day tell

you they had to call the board of elections to

find out what to do?

A. No.

Q. If you had been told that your ballot would not be

counted unless you went to a correct location or a

different location, would you have gone to a

different location?

A. Yes.

Q. Do you remember when you were leaving the poll

that day, did they give you any kind of sheet of

paper to explain your rights as a provisional


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 21 of 141


11

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

ballot voter?

A. I can't remember for sure. I don't think so, but

I can't say for sure.

Q. Okay. Natasha, I want to show you some paperwork

you filled out on election day. If I could have

the court reporter identify this as Exhibit SS.

(Whereupon, Exhibit SS was marked for

identification.)

Q. Ms. Benson, this is what's called a Provisional

Ballot Affirmation. And for your own knowledge,

this would have been on a yellow envelope, kind of

a rather large envelope. So it may look a little

different today. The first page was on one side

and the bottom half of the second page was on the

other -- the second side of the envelope.

A. Uh-huh.

n_ nn vn>> rPCncrni ze, is that handwritina vours?

A. Yeah. Yes.

Q. If you look at the signature on page 1, is that

your signature?

A. Yes.

Q. And on page 2, is that your signature?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. It looks like you would have provided

your -- a portion of your Social Security number.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 22 of 141


27

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.


13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

SS:

I, Anika W. Patrick, a Registered Merit Reporter,Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, NATASHA RENEE BENSON, was by me first dulysworn to testify the truth, the whole truth and nothingbut the truth in the cause aforesaid; that thetestimony so given by her was by me reduced toStenotype in the presence of said witness; afterwardsprepared and produced by means of Computer-AidedTranscription, and that the foregoing is a true andcorrect transcription of the testimony so given by her

as aforesaid.

I do further certify that this deposition wastaken at the time and place in the foregoing captionspecified.

I further certify that I am not a relative,employee of or attorney for any party or counsel, orotherwise financially interested in this action.




-a-r-y-- &--N-ot-^ 2Z--'=-----Publi--cAnika W Patrick, RMR,-C-RR--



Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 23 of 141


1

E._. 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25




Contestor,

CASE NO. 2012-2151

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,

Contestee/Respondents

DEPOSITION OF

ROBERT MICHAEL BUZZEO

Deposition of ROBERT MICHAEL BUZZEO, a Witness





in and for the State of Ohio, at the offices of Kyler,



at 10:56 a.m.


www.premierreporters.com


Page 24 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

14

4•

A.

the board of elections. And they said, "Well, we

don't know how it didn't change," but we 100

percent said we changed it.

And like I said, my wife's anal about it.

We were only at that 721 2nd Street for a little

over a year, and we were registered to vote there.

Before that, we were in Dover, and we were

registered to vote in Dover. You know what I

mean? That's the first thing she does. She is on

top of it, you know.

Yeah. Did any poll worker tell you you had to go

to a different location?

Yeah, the first guy when we walked in. We walk

into a big room, there's two different tables, and

they said this table is only good for, like -- I

don't understand it, but there's different

sections or somethinq, and I can't vote in one

section but have to be in another.

So I just walked to the wrong table and

showed them my IDs, we're here to vote. He said

no, that's where whatever, district 12 or

whatever. You've got to go to district 4. And he

pointed me to the other table and I walked over to

the other table, showed the ID. They went down

their list, and yep, there's Tracy Buzzeo, there's


Page 25 of 141


15

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4•

A.

4•

A.

n_

A.

Q.

A.

Robert Buzzeo. And that's when that whole

conversation started about, you know, we ordered

absentee ballots. And sure enough, we did, but

they never sent them.

And I didn't ask that question very well. From

here on out, I'm going to be asking you about the

second table. We'll call it the second section

you went to.

Okay. No, they did not tell me to go somewhere

else. They were, "You're in the right place."

That's one of the first questions we asked. We

said we were right over there and they said it was

the wrong area.

Did any poll worker tell you that you had to go to

the Church of the Nazarene?

No.

Did any poll worker tell you you had to go to 233

Fair Avenue Northeast?

No.

Do you remember any poll worker calling back to

the board of elections?

No. No one ever used their phone. There were

three older ladies sitting there kind of just

joking with each other, enjoying the night,

waiting for people to come in to vote. In fact,


Page 26 of 141


16

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q

A.

Q.

A.

it was only me and my wife that were there and one

other gentleman that came in while we were voting.

I mean, it was very quiet. They never said

anything of the sort.

And like I said, my wife went on that day

on whatever website it is that tells you where to

go vote, and that's where it said for us to go

vote. Not only that, when we got there, our name

was on their paperwork. So if it was on their

paperwork, then that's where we should be voting,

from what I understand. If we weren't supposed to

be there, it never would have been on their

paperwork. You know, so there was no cause for us

to think anything else. And certainly they didn't

say anything.

Did any poll worker tell you that if you cast a

nrnvisional ballot that your vote may not ber - - - - -

counted?

Not to my knowledge.

What reason did they give you for having to cast a

provisional ballot?

Because they said it was already sent out. We

requested absentees. And I said, well, we didn't

get it. You know, did you send them certified?

How do you prove it came to me? I mean, I would


Page 27 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

17

Q•

A.

n_

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

think that would be an extremely important thing

if you're sending out absentee ballots that you're

just sending them to wherever. I mean, how do you

verify who filled it out? How do you know? You

know, if I go to a polling station, I have to give

my ID. So why shouldn't I have to prove who I am

before I receive the absentee ballot?

Did any poll worker tell you you had to do

provisional because you were at the wrong

precinct?

No. That wrong precinct never came up, other than

that first table. And like I said, it was one of,

I don't remember, two or three, four tables. I

don't know. They just -- we walked to the first

one in the door and they said no, it's not us,

you've got to go to that one there.

Okav. I'd like to hand you just to -- before I do

that, I know --

I can tell you right now, that's my signature.

That's mine.

Okay. If I could, just to clarify, did you vote

absentee?

No.

Okay.

I never got -- I never got a thing.


Page 28 of 141


18

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

^1I1

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4-

Okay. I just want to clarify that for the record

that you, in fact, never voted absentee.

Okay.

(Whereupon, Exhibit HH was marked for

identification.)

I'd like to identify for our records a document

that we'll call HH. And, Mr. Buzzeo, this is a

form listed as a provision -- Provisional Ballot

Affirmation.

This is the envelope, right?

And to clarify just for all the attorneys, this

would normally be on a yellow envelope.

Right.

Okay.

And that's my signature.

Okay. You told me on the phone you have a pretty

H;Gt;nrt signature.

Yes, sir, and I'll show you on the ID. And I'll

tell you what, I can duplicate it right now. And

there's nobody that can duplicate it. They can

make it look close, but I know exactly what my

signature looks like.

Okay.

And I'm telling you, that one's me.

I trust you. I don't think we need to see it


Page 29 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

, 71 ,

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

38

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.


SS:


Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, ROBERT MICHAEL BUZZEO, was by me first dulysworn to testify the truth, the whole truth and nothing

but the truth in the cause aforesaid; that thetestimony so given by him was by me reduced toStenotype in the presence of said witness; afterwardsprepared and produced by means of Computer-AidedTranscription, and that the foregoing is a true andcorrect transcription of the testimony so given by him

as aforesaid.

I do further certify that this deposition wastaken at the time and place in the foregoing caption

specified.






^/2Anika ^q Patrick, RMR, CRR & Notary Public



Page 30 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

1




Contestor,

CASE NO. 2012-2151

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,


DEPOSITION OF

MICHAEL A. COTTRELL II

Deposition of MICHAEL A. COTTRELL II, a Witness





-a ^^ ^^^ ,, c+-,+-o ^-F nhi n at the nffi r_es of Kv_Lil ai1C.t tvt ^iic u^a^ v^y^r ^^- ^--- --

Kyler,



at 11:39 a.m.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418www.premierreporters.com


Page 31 of 141


9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1-/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q•

postcard from the board of elections before the

election telling you where you should go to vote?

No. See, because I had -- see, I voted at the

junior high, and then they sent me this in the

mail and it says I'm supposed to vote at a

different precinct now. Because my old card I

had -- I don't have it no more, but it said I

should have voted at the junior high, and that's

why I went there to vote. And I voted at the

junior high, and my address is different. So then

I got this card in the mail a couple days later.

Okay. For the attorneys and the board at the

table, I'll let you look at this, but you've

handed me a voter identification card which

indicates you're to vote at Uhrichsville Number 3.

A. Yes.

Q. Is L l^'c°i^^r° or ^ ^f^-^--'F'f" PY'7^.^_n _i.s W _11-1d-..^1. you gv

.-.^L u^^-^. ^i •

A. That's what I got after the election.

Q. Okay. Did you get any kind of card like this

prior to the election?

A. Nope.

MR. COLOMBO: And I'll give this back to

you, but do either of the other attorneys

want to see this? This is what he testified

that he got after the election.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 32 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

10

MS. BRYAN: Do you want to make a copy of

it and mark it? Because it's going to be in

the record. I don't care.

MS. KNEUSS: See, this is the precinct

number, 31. The name is Uhrichsville

Number 3.

MR. DOUGLAS: So it's not Precinct 3?

MS. KNEUSS: No.

MS. BRYAN: It's up to you.

MR. COLOMBO: Yeah, just give me a

minute.

MS. KNEUSS: That's the date of his

original registration, and then on this

side --

MR. COLOMBO: Do you want to go off the

record?

ARD 1'1(liTf:.'T.Aq • S» re _

(Discussion off the record.)

MR. COLOMBO: If we could go back on the

record.

BY MR. COLOMBO:

Q. So during a brief break there, I had passed around

your voter card which said you were to vote at

Uhrichsville 3; is that correct?

MR. DOUGLAS: Thirty-one.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 33 of 141


11

-^^

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4•

A.

MR. COLOMBO: I believe it's --

MS. BRYAN: Three, yeah. No, it says

Number 3.

MR. DOUGLAS: Let me see.

MS. KNEUSS: Precinct Number 31,

Uhrichsville 3.

MR. DOUGLAS: But it's Precinct 31?

MS. KNEUSS: Yes. That's where he should

have voted.

You received a postcard after the election -- or

is that correct you got that after the election,

what you just showed me?

Yes. What happened, my wife, me and my wife live

together. Well, she -- our apartment is here and

her mom lives right beside her. So she was voting

at the same precinct where we would live at. So

^Jl1 ,1c i.^.,. went a.... n^a tTo... ._.^ -- -tP^3 at t- he Urichs Street, the one..... . .

there, and I went to the junior high, because

that's where I voted before and I didn't know if I

could go there again.

So I went there and handed them my old

card and said my address has changed, is it all

right if I vote here? And they had my name on the

big book or whatever, and they scanned it and gave

me my voting paper then.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 34 of 141


12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

4-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

Yeah.

Did you sign next to it?

Yep.

Okay.

Yes.

Do you know, why did the -- did any poll worker

tell you why you should vote by provisional ballot

that day?

Okay. That's helpful. I want to clarify. So

when you went to Claymont Junior High --

Yes.

-- did you speak to a poll worker when you

arrived?

Yeah. They were sitting -- they were all sitting

at the table and I went up with my old card and I

handed it to them.

How many of the poll workers were there?

Four, I'm pretty sure.

And you said they looked you up in the poll book?

Yeah. They had the poll book and everything, and

it had my name on it and they scanned it or

whatever, and then they gave me my voter paper. I

had to fill out with the circles because I hadn't

voted in a year or whatever it was.

J1_,Q you see your

^„... r n. a,....^...7Y1P in the noll book?--- - --- ,.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 35 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

13

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

They said because I hadn't voted since 2008. They

said you have to vote every year or every six

months or a year to do the computer thing,

whatever it was, the automated test where you can

just push the button and it goes to the next one.

So I had to fill in with a pen and paper at the

desk. I had to fill in the dots.

Like the old Scantron tests back in high school?

Pretty much, exactly. Yep.


location?

Nope.

Did any -- this might sound repetitive. Did any

poll worker give you a different location?

No, sir.

Did anyone tell you either that day or after that

you iie _ u^a_ ua +.^^. go ^-^ ^•^^a-.. i-ho IF'i- ^^-^rci- iTni 1-ACi MPth0dist^ ---•^-^--^ _______ ___ _

Church?

No.

Did you see any poll worker call -- make a phone

call to the board of elections?

No, sir.


ballot there, that your vote would not be counted?

No.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 36 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

14

Q•

A.

Q.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

Did you happen to know any of the poll workers or

remember their names?

No. Sorry about that.

I'd be surprised if anyone did, but sometimes

people -- it is a neighbor or something, so just

thought I would ask.

If you had been told your vote would not

be counted if you voted there, would you have gone



You can go ahead and answer. Would you have gone


So if they would have told me to go to another

place to vote, would I have?

Yes.

Yes, I would have voted. Yes.

You WVI.l'1au ii.la ..^

^.c..Au c<^i<.- ^ rli ^fArant 1 nr.ai-i nn?

`'e vv u u^--------- --------______

If I could have voted, yes.

Okay. Is it okay if I call you Michael?

Oh, yeah, that's fine.

Okay. Michael, I'm going to hand to you what is a

Provisional Ballot Affirmation document. And I'd

like the court reporter to label this as

Exhibit II. Just look that over for a minute.

(Whereupon, Exhibit II was marked for


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 37 of 141


15

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

identification.)

Now, Michael, if you look under step 3 of this

document on the front page, is that your

signature?

Yes.

And you're the second?

Yes.

Does your father live in Tuscarawas County also?

Yes.

It looks like on this form you -- it's been

blocked out at some point, but it looks like at

one point there was a Social Security number or a

driver's license ; is that correct? Would you

have provided that information?

Yes.

Do you remember, did you fill out this form or

--^-__.- _ -_ - .WoUi1U.^ a pv

,-.^1l.i woin.i i+rLcor h^..„^-^TA f^ 1- -----^

^ PC^ t-}ll S ollt?

I'm pretty sure I filled this out.

If you look at the second page also, bottom half,

this would have been on a yellow envelope, both

the first page and the bottom half of the second

page. Is that your handwriting?

Yes, sir.

Is that your signature again?

Yes, sir.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 38 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

16

4•

A.

Q.

A.

4-

I'd like you to read under step 3, there's a

statement there. Could you read that out loud?

"Write the name, address of the voter's correct

polling place below."

I'm sorry. Under step 3.

Oh, on the first page?

Yeah, I'm sorry. This is the second time in a row

I've done that. You have to flip back to the

first page, and if you could read?

I solemnly swear or affirm that I am a registered

voter in the precinct in which I am voting this

provisional ballot and that I am eligible to vote

in this election for which I am casting this

provisional ballot. I understand that if

information I provide on this ballot affirm (sic)

is not fully complete or correct, and/or is (sic)

^,- .. 1.,..,r,a „^ oi Ac+-; o„s determines that I am not1.11C 3JVC^tu --- -----

registered to vote, a resident of this precinct or

eligible to vote in this election, and/or if the

board of elections determines that I have already

voted in this election, this provisional ballot

will not be counted.

I further understand knowing (sic)

providing false information and this violation of

law and subject me to possible criminal

A.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 39 of 141


17

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

,-7l^

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

prosecution (sic). I hereby declare, under

penalty of election falsification, that the above

statements and (sic) true and correct of the best

of my knowledge and belief.

Okay. Do you remember on that date, would you

have read this before signing it?

No, probably not.

I appreciate your honesty.

I can't even -- honestly, I can hardly see it now.

As you sit here today, and you've just read it,

did you believe that you were eligible to vote

there at that precinct, to your best knowledge and

belief?

Yeah. I had -- I had my -- because, sir, I had my

old card and it said the precinct where I should

vote at, and that's why I went there. And I

rd. I said, "Well, myY,1a^... ,.nr^r7..^. o,a tham mn- l_ _ l c- - a - -^ a...... my

address has changed, but am I still able to vote

at this precinct?" And they said yes. So then

she handed me pretty much the Scantron sheet and

the yellow envelope and I went to the desk and sat

down and filled everything out.

To summarize your testimony -- I want to make sure

I understand it correctly. Your understanding was

you were doing a provisional ballot because you


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 40 of 141


18

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

,-7l/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

A.

Q•

ha'd not voted in a long time, correct?

Yes.

Did you have any reason to believe you were doing

a provisional ballot because you were at the wrong

location?

No.

Okay.

Because I asked the lady that was at the

polling -- the four polling people that was

sitting there. I asked her, I said, "Why can't I

do one of the electronics?" Because I didn't

really want to sit down and write all that out.

And she's like, "Well, you haven't voted in the

last four years," she said, "so you have to fill

this out." So, all right. So I filled it out.

Then she told me next year when I vote, she said I

can i,, .a...,., tho r^l artrnni r because I filled out that.

Did they still give you a sticker if you vote

provisionally?

They didn't even give me a sticker.

MS. KNEUSS: Oh, man, I'll get on them.

Because my wife has a sticker on her computer that

says I voted. I said, well, I didn't even get a

sticker.

Well, if we would have known that, we would added


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 41 of 141


32

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

, '71 ,

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25


STATE OF OHIO,SS:

SUMMIT COUNTY.


Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, MICHAEL A. COTTRELL II, was by me first dulysworn to testify the truth, the whole truth and nothing

but the truth in the cause aforesaid; that thetestimony so given by him was by me reduced toStenotype in the presence of said witness; afterwardsprepared and produced by means of Computer-AidedTranscription, and that the foregoing is a true andcorrect transcription of the testimony so given by him

as aforesaid.

I do further certify that this deposition was

taken at the time and place in the foregoing caption

specified.






L'`

Anika in,1 Patrick, RMR,-CRR & Notary Yub^ic



Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 42 of 141


2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

1




Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al. , -


CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

DUSTIN FREITAG

Deposition of DUSTIN FREITAG, a Witness herein,

called by the Contestor for Examination pursuant to

Revised Code 3515.08, taken before me, the undersigned,

Anika W. Patrick, a Registered Merit Reporter,

Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public in and

ifnv ^ .....r tha... fi.... t-.. a.... i-.. ..P n... ... ....f C^hi n_ ai- thP nffirE?q nf Kv1Pr_, ..... ...`. .^ ^ ^ ^^.... ^ - "j -__


New Philadelphia, Ohio, on Monday, January 7, 2013, at

11:40 a.m.




Page 43 of 141


7

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1'7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4-

Okay. With that, I want to dive into the

questions we have for you. And again, everyone at

this table just wants to get a better

understanding of your voting experience on

election day.

It looks like on election day, you voted

in Franklin Township; is that correct?

Yes, sir.

And did you vote at the Franklin Township

Building?

Yes, sir.


The last time that I was registered to vote, I was

living in Strasburg. And I was already on the

books at Strasburg. I just figured since I didn't

have a chance to change my address at the board of

elections, that I would just stop in there, cast

my vote, and at the same time be able to change my

address on the ballot.

So am I correct in understanding you had voted at

the Franklin Township Building --

Yes.

-- previously?

That's correct.

Okay. Was that where you voted in the previous


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 44 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

8

election that you voted?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Okay. And when was the last time you voted before

November 2012?

A. It would have had to have been 2008, maybe.

Q. Okay. The last presidential election?

A. I'm pretty sure.

Q. I'm sorry. Where did you live -- what city did

you live in in 2008 when you voted?

A. It would have been Strasburg.

Q. And just for the record, is that also in

Tuscarawas County?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Okay. When you got to the township building, did

you interact with poll workers?

A. Just enough to, you know, tell them my name, and

1-hPv Ga i r] T was nrnvi -, i nna 1_ anrl T rrni- thr- nanPr1 ----- - -...-..- r --- ------...-f 'J....- .---- r-r--

packet to fill out with the pencil.

Q. Why did they tell you you were a provisional

voter?

A. They said that it had been too long since I had

voted before, or time allotted, or something like

that.

Q. Did anyone say the reason you had to do a

provisional ballot was because of your address


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 45 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

9

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

n

A.

4•

Q.

A.

Q.

change?

I think -- I think that was one of them.

When you went to the Franklin Township Building,

did any poll worker tell you that you were at the

wrong location?

No, sir.

Did any poll worker tell you the name or location

of a correct polling place?

No, sir.

By the way, do you remember getting any type of

postcard or correspondence from the board before

the election telling you where to go?

No, sir.

Did you get any postcard or mailing after the

election?

Yes. I have my voter registration card now.

Cllrav Anrl vnii rz r,= i iror] i- hn i- n-Fi-or i-ho ol 0^4-i.+ .> ... 1. . ..,.. .w Y v u i.. v v i v.. ...a a. •• u a. u 1. a. . i i. a a. ^: .a. : ^+ . i v a a:

Yes, sir.

Did anyone prior to the election tell you you

needed to go to the --

MR. COLOMBO: Is it the "Geib" or "Geib"?

MS. KNEUSS: "Geib."

Geib Remembrance Center?

No.

If any poll worker had told you that you had to go


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 46 of 141


10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

i7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

4•

No.

Do you remember when you were meeting with the

poll workers, did any of them say they had to call

the board of elections --

No.

-- to find out where you should vote?

No, sir.

When you left the polling site that day, did any

poll worker give you a sheet of information which

explained your rights as a provisional ballot

v n-F a r?

No, sir.

I want to hand you an exhibit from the day you

voted.

Okay.

And if we could have this marked as Exhibit VV.

(Whereupon, Exhibit VV was marked for

identification.)

Now, for your information, on election day, this

to the Geib Remembrance Center to vote, would you

have gone there?

Yes, sir.

Did any poll worker tell you that if you voted at

the Franklin Township Building, that your vote

would not be counted?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 47 of 141


21

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.


13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

SS:

I, Anika W. Patrick, a Registered Merit Reporter,Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, DUSTIN FREITAG, was by me first duly sworn totestify the truth, the whole truth and nothing but thetruth in the cause aforesaid; that the testimony sogiven by him was by me reduced to Stenotype in thepresence of said witness; afterwards prepared andproduced by means of Computer-Aided Transcription, andthat the foregoing is a true and correct transcriptionof the testimony so given by him as aforesaid.


specified.



TT't TiTTTTL'CC Tn7L7T.'Dv.(1P. T ha^e }':ere7ulily'Fn cAt mX7 }"1aY1(i1 11 VY 1 1 LV 1Lt ^..J L3 VV 111J 1\ IJ V L , I 1'

and affixed my seal of office at Akron, Ohio, this 8thday of January, 2013.

_____-- -- --------------------Anika W Patrick, RMR, CRR & Notary Public



Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 48 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

1




Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,


CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

CHERYL LYNN HARRIS

Deposition of CHERYL LYNN HARRIS, a Witness





, t___ ^, r^.,a +-,. ,.^ n^,;., at the nffic-es of Kvler,in ana i^^ ii ^ L.^ ^^ .,.^.,, ^.a ^^



at 1:06 p.m.




Page 49 of 141


7

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

you finish the answers. Does that sound fair?

Yes.

Okay. If you also don't hear or understand

something I state or any of the other attorneys

state, just let us know and we'll be happy to

repeat it or rephrase the question. Is that okay?

Yes.

Okay. I'm also letting you know today that the

attorneys in this room are all working well

together. None of us are here to try to make you

look bad or give you a difficult time. We all

recognize we're asking you questions about what

happened nearly two months ago.

Right.

And, you know, several of us probably can't

remember what we had for dinner last night. But

• rli you u^ ^.d,.,^,„ v+- ^tY1YlGi t-.. r,P_ -answer, it's perfectly,^...... __---- • -

acceptable to say you don't remember. But we're

just trying to gauge what happened --

Okay.

-- when you voted. Now, with that being said, I'm

going to jump into my questions.

On November 6th, 2012, was the general

election day. Where did you vote that day?

The park place.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 50 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

8

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q•

A.

Q•

Would that be the Tuscora Park Pavilion?

Yes.

Okay. Is that located on Tuscora Avenue, as far

as you know?

Yes.

Okay. Now, how did you choose to go there?

I was registered there four years ago for

registering. I lived with my sister then, and her

address is on 4th Street.

Is it -- and I apologize if I pause, I'm just

taking some notes as you speak. Did you vote at

that same park pavilion when you lived there four

years ago? --

Yes.

Was that, the reason for you choosing to go there

again?

•1•hey just .,,a m « .. ^o r ..y.^An; ^ t_Pred there for my last^^. _---

known address. I never had any update. That's

just where I went.

Okay. Do you remember, did you get any kind of

postcard from the board of elections telling you

where to go this time?

No. I looked on-line, and it actually had me set

up to go there, registered to vote at the

pavilion.

A.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 51 of 141


^1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

9

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

4-

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

Q.

Did you put in your current address at Beans Road,

1081?

When I voted, yes.

Okay. When you went on-line and punched in your

address, did you put in the 1081 Beans Road

address?

I just brought up my name to see where I was

registered at.

Did you happen to see on the computer which

address it had you listed at?

The 4th Street.

Okay. Now, when you went to the Tuscora Park

Pavilion, was this your first and only polling

location you went to that day?

Yes.

When you got to the front table, I assume, did you

rlrorc?speak w

Li p .^ 'L lL w l,, y^^^^ ? .i i^i^^

Yes.

Did you -- what -- show them any kind of

identification of who you were?

My driver's license, yes.

Did your driver's license have your new or old

address on there?

The new one, the 1081.

Did that poll worker tell you you were at the


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 52 of 141


10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

wrong location?

No.

Did you -- did the -- but you did show them your

identification?

Yes. She told me I had to do a hand circle,

penciled in so they could do the change of address

through that.

Do you remember, did she give you a yellow

envelope called a provisional ballot?

Yes.

And what was the reasoning she said you had to

vote provisional?

My address on my driver's license didn't match the

address they had for me.

Did you tell her, the poll worker, that you had

changed home residences since the last election?

Yes.

And I apologize if I've already asked this. Did

the poll worker tell you that you were at the

wrong location?

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A. No.

Q. And these questions may seem redundant, but I'm

asking them in a slightly different way. Did any

poll worker tell you the name of a different

location to go to?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 53 of 141


11

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

4-

No.

Did any poll worker or anyone otherwise tell you

to go to the Roxford Church?

No.

Did anyone -- did any poll worker tell you that if

you voted at Tuscora Park Pavilion that your vote

may not be counted?

No.

I know this is a long shot, but do you happen to

remember the names or did you know any of the poll

workers you dealt with that day?

No.

Okay. If you had been told that your vote would

not count unless you went to a different location,

would you have gone to a different location?

Yes.

r,RC nt) vnrT • nh-i ar-t i on _1"1J• 1.J1\1C^LY. ^•-+J---------

And just so you know, Mrs. Bryan might object, as

might Justice Douglas, and that's perfectly

normal.

Okay.

So they're -- we're preserving for the record.

They're just doing their job. It's aimed at me,

not at you, as she shakes her head emphatically

yes.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 54 of 141


12

;

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

Q-

A.

Q-

A.

Q-

Q-

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

MS. BRYAN: It's aimed at him.

Do you remember when you left the polling

location, did they give you a sheet of paper which

explained your rights as a provisional voter?

No.

No, they didn't give you one or no --

They didn't give me any papers.

Did you get your sticker?

No, I didn't even get my sticker.

See, we're realizing a serious issue through this

lawsuit here.

MS. KNEUSS: Yeah, no stickers.

You indicated you didn't get a postcard before the

election about a change of address. Do you

remember, did you get a postcard or any

correspondence from the board after the election?

IC,_.

S, I juS+- rorAi -KTP[j the vellow chanqe of address,. ^.....^,,...... ---- 1 -

and now I'm registered to vote at Roxford Church.

Do you know when that came in the mail?

Maybe two weeks after the election.

Do you remember at that polling -- at the site

when you voted that day, did any poll workers say

they had to make a phone call to the board of

elections?

Yes. The one lady was on her phone the whole


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 55 of 141


13

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1-/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

time.

Okay. Did she say she was making a call about

where you should vote?

No. There was others in there that had to do the

same thing I did, and she was on her phone the

whole time.

Did you ever hear any conversation about you

or --

No.

-- where you should go? Okay. I'm going to show

you an exhibit that I brought. Again, I have one

for each of the people we're meeting with today,

so these are records available to us. But I'd

like to have this marked as Exhibit JJ. If you

could, just look this over. It's a form entitled

Provisional Ballot Affirmation.

^T.,l oro„n„n _ FXI,ihit JJ was marked for^ V Y 11 G 1 \. u r v a . , -' - - - - -- -

identification.)

Ms. Harris, if you look under -- towards the

bottom of the first page, is that your signature?

Yes.

Would you have -- if you look at the second page

also, is that your handwriting and signature

again?

Yes.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 56 of 141


1

2 STATE OF OHIO,

3 SUMMIT COUNTY.

4

5

6

7

8

9


SS:

26


Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, CHERYL L. HARRIS, was by me first duly swornto testify the truth, the whole truth and nothing butthe truth in the cause aforesaid; that the testimony so

given by her was by me reduced to Stenotype in the

presence of said witness; afterwards prepared andproduced by means of Computer-Aided Transcription, andthat the foregoing is a true and correct transcription

of the testimony so given by her as aforesaid.

10I do further certify that this deposition was

11 taken at the time and place in the foregoing caption

specified.

12I further certify that I am not a relative,

13 employee of or attorney for any party or counsel, orotherwise financially interested in this action.

14I do further certify that I am not, nor is the

15 court reporting firm with which I am affiliated, undera contract as defined in Civil Rule 28(D).

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

_TTT n i.7LiL^DL''(^G' T ^'1a_STP rPreunto set my handIN WI11V^DJ VVr1L' 1\1:^Vi ,

and affixed my seal of office at Akron, Ohio, this 7th


_ __ -----------------------------------ika . Patrick, RMR, CRR & Notary Public



Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 57 of 141


..(^

1




Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,


CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

DALE JOHNSON

Deposition of DALE JOHNSON, a Witness herein,





r.^.,, a-U... c+--.+-.. ..f l1h; -,+ + h.. ..f-F; ..^' ilc^l orY icL ,L V L 1^11C J l.Q l.c v L v111 V, Q l. 1.11c v 1 t L ^.e ^ v.L 1A



at 1:36 p.m.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 339 . 928. 1418www.premierreporters.com

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 I

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25


Page 58 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

6

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

answer with "yes" and "no" responses.

Okay.

Head nods and "uh-huhs" don't turn up on the

record. So is that fair?

Yeah.

And then all of us have the rule that we talk one

at a time and don't interrupt each other's

questions and responses just because our court

reporter is taking down everything. Is that fair?

Yes.

Okay. And if you don't hear or understand any of

our questions, any of us would be happy to repeat

it or rephrase it. So I'm going to ask the

questions first, and then the other attorneys in

the room will then ask questions. And I would

state for all of us that no one here is trying to

1iV11,-F1U.,s

e you o ir omh^rracc wnii nr harass Vnl7_ We're

j---

all here for the same reason, to figure out what

happened when you voted.

So with that, I want to ask you, where

did you vote during the general election day in

2012?

Where I actually voted at was a church down on the

other side of Fair Avenue. The exact name of the

church, I couldn't tell you, but I know it was a


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 59 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

--^14

15

16

1 1

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

7

church. I called that morning. I believe it was

that morning or -- it was either that morning or

the day before to see if I was registered to vote.

I wasn't sure if I was. I called from work. I

called the courthouse and asked to be transferred

to whatever department it was to find out if I

registered.

Would that be the board of elections?

Yeah, I -- well, the lady said that she would

transfer me. Nobody really said it was the board

of elections when they answered. It was a lady

that answered, and I told her what I wanted to

find out, if I was registered. And she said she

was the right person, and she took my name and my

birth date, and I believe she asked -- I can't

remember if she asked for my Social Security

um« o wil-> >uv^> v.+r-^ lr n n. a n^ C V P C _

t1 1.1 1..,..,

LL 1JL. ..

C t,,.

or 11V,. a- T,^, .^]

u oc^

hti c or.^+ a il.. C]tl^. ..••.... .....^-... j--,

I was registered.

And then I said, well, I wasn't sure

where I was supposed to vote at. And she said,

"Well, give me a second," and then she came back

on the phone and told me that I was supposed to go

vote at this church. I can't remember the first

name of the church, but it was the church. And I

asked her, I said, "Are you sure?°"And she said,

Q.

A.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 60 of 141


8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

i7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4•

A.

u•

A.

"Yes." And I said -- well, I explained to her

that I just bought a house on Ray Avenue in the

summer, and we just -- we moved there July -- end

of June, first of July. It was July, because we

was there for the 4th of July.

But anyways, I wanted to make sure that

was the right place. And I explained to her that

on record they had was my old address that I voted

prior was 10 -- I believe it was 1028 West Main

Street in Sugarcreek. And that's when I asked her

again, "I'm supposed to go to this church?" And

she said, "Yes." And she gave me directions to

the church, and I thanked her and that was it.

When she gave you directions, did she have your

new address or old address?

My new address.

rTin .u iic^ w , L, .-.i

you sai.au a L.

l. 1i,a u i

^ r.iir. 7-^ -- T h^ c: o ^ r^ l l i ri rri+uv^ u r.v^_.,.y

list in front of me. Could it have been -- or was

it the Church of the Nazarene? If you don't know,

that's fine.

I -- yes, I believe that is it because there is a

church actually a block away from my house that

for some reason, when I left work, I was in a

hurry, I thought it was that church and it wasn't.

And I went further down on Fair and I found the


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 61 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

9

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

4•

n

Q.

A.

church and I went in. That's where I voted at.

Would the church have been located at 233 Fair

Avenue?

That sounds -- yeah.

Was it on Fair Avenue? Do you at least, do you

know that part of it?

It was -- I'm not very good with the streets, but

it's -- I went down Fair and it was on the

left-hand side because I seen it said voting

polling place, or voting place. And that's where

I went to vote.

Okay. Did you do anything else other than call

the board of elections, or was that how you

figured out where to go?

That's all -- that's all I did.

Okay.

-r na 1 led them, thev told me.

Did you happen to receive a postcard before the

election telling you where to vote?

No, I didn't. As a matter of fact, I just

received it Saturday. It came in the mail on

Saturday. According to this, it's postmarked

December 5th, which was kind of -- wasn't funny,

but was funny, because I told my wife, I said it

was kind of a little too late that I received it.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 62 of 141


10

_ j.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

,-1 1

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

so --

Q. Okay. Now, when you actually got to the church,

which we're assuming is the Church of the

Nazarene, did you meet with -- did you talk to

poll workers when you went inside the facility?

My wife had received a card prior stating to vote

at this place, Tuscora Park Pavilion, 161

Tuscarawas Avenue Northwest. But when she

received her card, I had asked her, I said, "Did I

receive one?" And she said, "No." And this was

probably three, four, maybe three or four weeks

before the election. And I wasn't sure at that

time I was even registered, so it didn't even

cross my mind. I figured, well, I didn't get one,

so I wasn't registered.

But when I went to work that day before

the election, one of the guys at work said, "Well,

you should probably call in and make sure," and

that's when I called in and they told me I was

registered.

Okay. Do you happen to remember the person at the

urd ^f P^-Prtions vou would have spoken to?^,,,a .^ ... of elections- ^uv

No. That -- no. It was like a real quick phone

call, so I don't remember her name. I know it was

a woman and she was really nice and everything,


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 63 of 141


11

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

.,1/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

2E

A.

Q.

A.

When I,-- I went in the facility, yeah, there was

a table set up and there was a couple women and a

couple men there. And I waited -- it wasn't busy

at all. There was only, like, two people ahead of

me. And so when I got up there, I told them that

I was there to vote and that I had just moved to

this address and that -- actually, the lady at the

courthouse told me they probably wouldn't have my

name on record because of my old address being in

the system, but that when I got there, to let them

know that I was supposed to vote there and that.

She said they'll go ahead and try to look

my name up on a sheet, which they did. And the

lady said she didn't find it. And then the lady

beside her was kind of like -- she wasn't sure

what to do, and then the lady that looked up my

r,mo ^a;^ that I had to do a paper ballot or,^^;,,.^... ...,._... that

it's called.

Provisional ballot?

Provisional, yeah, provisional ballot.

You had said when you spoke to the board of

elections person. I just wanted to make sure I

understand, did she actually tell you that your

name was not going to be in the poll book when you

got there?

4•


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 64 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

12

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

4•

She told me that -- she didn't say it wouldn't be

there. She said it may not be there because of my

old address in Sugarcreek was on -- was the

address they had for me from the last time I

voted. And so when I -- she said when I got there

that if they didn't have it, I'd have to do a

provisional -- probably had to do a provisional

ballot. And then that's what happened. I didn't

have to vote on a machine. I had to fill out the

paperwork.

And so when you got there, it was as she

predicted; is that correct? That your name was

not in the poll book?

Yeah, it wasn't in the poll book.

But based on her advice, did you feel it was okay

that the anticipated step would be to do a

provisional ballot?

Yeah, because when they didn't find it, I remember

the lady saying that if it wasn't there, that I

would have to do a provisional. And that's when

the lady at the table said, "Well, you'll have to

do a provisional." So the two matched up, so I

didn't think twice about it.

Did you think that you were in the wrong location

when you went to the church?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 65 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

13

A.

4•

A.

No, I didn't think I was in the wrong location.

Like I said, at first there was a church just a

block from my house and I thought going by there.

And I drove around it a couple times, I didn't see

anybody voting, no cars parked there, so it's

like, okay. And then I thought, well, I'll go

further down on Fair, and then that's when I found

the other church and it was a -- had the voting

sign out front and stuff.

Okay. And I apologize if some of my questions are

repetitive, but -- and some of them I can assume

the answer, but did any poll worker tell you you

were at the wrong location?

Nobody -- nobody told me I was at the wrong

location. But there was a lady down further on

the table that when -- kind of like how they were

trPr_e was a lady there, lady there, lady

there. The lady here was the one that was looking

through the paper thing, and then the lady on this

side seemed like she was more -- knew what was

going on, like she had more experience. And then

when this lady questioned it with my name not

being in there, this, the one down here, said

about filling out the provisional.

Okay. And did you testify -- did I understand you4•


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 66 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

14

A.

4•

to say at least one of them was confused?

The one in the middle, I don't -- I can't really

say that she was confused. It didn't seem like --

when my name wasn't on the list, she kind of like,

"Well, should he vote provisional?" And then the

lady over here said, "Yes," and then the lady down

here says, "Well, is he at the right place?" And

then the lady down here said, "Yes."

So then I had to -- then the lady here

gave me a paper that I had to put my name on, sign

my name on it because I wasn't voting on a

machine.

Did any of the poll workers tell you that you had

to go to Tuscora Park Pavilion?

No, nobody said about Tuscora Park. I didn't know

anything about the Tuscora Pavilion until after I

v.,.+-..,o,a... a„^a wPnt home. Because my wife was^

registered to vote and she didn't vote, and I told

her when I got home, I said, "Well, you should

probably go vote." I said, "I voted down at the

church." And she said, "Well, the card I got said

I was supposed to vote at Tuscora Park."

And that's when I said to her, "Well, I

was told to go there." Probably I had to go there

because my address =° her address was correct and

A.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 67 of 141


15

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q•

Q-

A.

Q.

n..

Q•


You can go ahead and answer.

Okay.

That's between us.

nkav_ I didn't know if I was supposed to answer...-^l -

or not answer. I just watch People's Court.

I'll be objecting to her later, so we'll figure it

out.

A. Okay. Can you say it again?

Q. Yeah. If you had been given a different address

by the poll worker, would you have gone to a

different location to vote?


mine wasn't. So I just assumed because of that, I

had to vote at the other place.

But this was after you voted; is that correct?

Yeah, this was after I voted that my wife told me

about the Tuscora Park.

Did any poll worker tell you that if you cast a

ballot there, your vote may not be counted?

No, I don't remember anybody saying anything like

that.

If you had been told that, would you have gone to

a different location if you were given a different

location?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 68 of 141


31

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

i7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

After you changed your address with the lady?

Yeah, because when I called and asked her if I was

registered to vote.

Uh-huh.

And then she looked it up and said yes, and then I

said to her, I said, "Well, I don't know if you

have" -- I said, "I don't know if you have an old

address or not from me." And then she said,

"Well, we have a Sugarcreek address." And then I

said, "Well, it would either be" -- I can't

remember if it was 805 or 1028. And then she

said, "Yes, we have the 1028." And then I said,

"Well, I live in Philly now."

And I said, "I should probably update

that." And she said, "Well, I can do that now.

Just give me your address and stuff."

Tri-, i_s before you went to vote?

This is before I went to vote, because I called

from work. I called on my break from work. I

can't remember if it was my lunch break.

You notice that the document before you, on the

second page that you signed, and that's really a

change of address form, is it not? That's a

different address that you put down there than

where you were registered to vote before? See

. -.,^

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

nu.

A.

Q•


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 69 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 7tr

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

32

A

A.

A.

4•

A.

where it says your house number and then down in

12 it says West Main Street in Sugarcreek?

Yeah, that's the address that I -- that they told

me that I was registered last.

So the purpose of this and you filling it out was

to change your address?

Well, I filled it out because I thought I was

supposed to write that in there because of -- it

was just --

Because they gave it to you and said write it in

there?

Well, yeah. I just wanted to make sure that I

filled out all the correct -- I read it as my

previous address is updating currently and

registration, so I figured, well, the lady told me

I was previously registered at this address, so I

r^rnhahl v should write that in there so they would^ i v ... ....... - 1 ._ _ _ _ _

know that was my previous before.

Now, when you called the lady at the board of

elections and she said that you need to change

your address, didn't she tell you that you

couldn't do that over the phone, that it had to be

in writing?

No, she didn't tell me that. I told her that I

needed to -° I called and asked her if whether I


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 70 of 141


33

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

, %1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

was registered, and when she told me that my old

address was listed, and then I said to her, "Well,

then I have to -- I have a new address." And then

I gave her my new address, and I said about

changing it, she said, "Well, I can do that here."

And that's what happened.

Okay.

I gave it to her.

So she never told you you couldn't do that over

the phone?

No. Never.

And none of the poll workers ever told you that

you were in the wrong precinct?

Nobody -- no one told me I was there. Like I

said, the one lady down here questioned it, and

she said some other -- she gave a precinct, and

+-r,P„ the other lady, the one that seemed like she

knew what she was doing said, "Well, we'll just

have him vote the paper ballot and we'll have him

sign this."

But you understand today, reading that statement

on page 1, that if they determined that you were

not a resident of that precinct, that your vote

wouldn't count? I mean, that's what that

statement says, if the board of elections

i

Q•


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 71 of 141


34

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

^ -i1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

determined that you were not a resident?

Yeah. I mean, if you guys determined that. But

under my --

Sure. Under your impression?

Yeah, what I was told to vote, that's what I did.

Okay. Thank you. You've been very helpful,

Mr. Johnson.

EXAMINATION

BY MS. BRYAN:

Q. I just had some questions for clarification on

dates.

A. Okay.

Q. I think you said you last voted in 2004, right?

A. Yeah.

Q. Okay. And you didn't vote in the general in 2008?

Presidential?

r Tn ^nnR_ no. I was going to, but I didn't.n. ^.. ... ,. _ _ , - -

Q. Okay. You just said, so I'm a little bit

confused, when you called -- let me back up here,

because this is also confusing to me.

Mr. Colombo, both, Justice Douglas, they

both said you called the board of election, and I

thought I heard you say you called the courthouse?

A. That's what I did. To clarify everything and make

it easier for you, I went on my break, looked up


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 72 of 141


35

--^:5

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

7Tn.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

the courthouse phone number, called the

courthouse, got the switchboard. And I asked the

lady at the switchboard, I said, "I need to find

out if I'm registered to vote for the presidential

election."

Okay.

And she said, "I will switch you who you need to

talk to."

Okay. Okay. I missed the part where you got

switched.

And the lady answered the phone and I repeated it

again. I said, "I need to find out if I'm

registered to vote for the presidential election,"

and she said, "I can look that up for you."

Sure. So when did you move to the 219 Ray Avenue

address?

ri- urnu 1 d be in June. Because like I said --

June of what year?

2012. Last June.

Okay.

I'm confused.

It's 2013.

We haven't been there a year yet, and I believe we

were there prior to 4th of July, because we walked

down from our house to 'i'uscora Park.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 73 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

^1/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

36

4•

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

So between June and November 6th, you didn't take

any steps to change your voter registration to

reflect the fact that you had moved, correct?

No.

Okay. Now, where do you work?

I work in Holmes County, between Berlin and

Millersburg.

What's the -- what's the name of the place that

you work? I'm sorry.

Sorry. Carter Custom Millwork.

Carter Custom?

Millwork.

Okay.

It's a, I guess you would say a division of Carter

Lumber.

And you said earlier, I think, that your wife got

^.ro r^ r^a t-PI1; ncr her where to vote?ii^ ...^... ^ -

She had told me weeks prior that she had got

something in the mail stating that she was

supposed to go vote somewhere, but she never told

me then where it was. It was, "Oh, I got a card

in the mail, told me where to vote," that was it.

And I thought I heard you say earlier that you

were talking to one of your co-workers?

Well, we were at break, and, of course, election


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 74 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

37

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

was a big to-do, and everybody was talking about

not voting for Obama. And that was the big thing.

And I said -- I said, "Well," I said, "if I could

vote, I'd vote for Obama." And then they were

like, "Well, good thing you're not registered."

And I said, "Well, I don't know if I'm registered

or not." And I can't remember which one of the

guys said, "Well, you can call and find out."

Okay.

And then I didn't do it that day because I didn't

really think much of it. And I was like, well,

maybe I should call, and I did call.

And you looked up the number to call yourself?

Yeah. I looked it up in the phonebook, yeah.

Okay. That's all I have.

MR. DOUGLAS: Thank you.

Mv rn-r.nMRn- nkav. Thank vou for yourL"1 1 \ • v v .u v s + +.. - - - -- 1 - ^

time today. I know, again, this was over two

months ago and you were very patient with all

of us. So thank you for your time.

THE WITNESS: I told my wife, I said,

"I'm not sure I'm going to vote next time."

I said, "This is not good."

MS. KNEUSS: Don't do that.

THE WITNESS: I mean, I just went where I


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 75 of 141


41

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.


14

15

16

1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

SS:


Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, DALE JOHNSON, was by me first duly sworn totestify the truth, the whole truth and nothing but thetruth in the cause aforesaid; that the testimony sogiven by him was by me reduced to Stenotype in thepresence of said witness; afterwards prepared andproduced by means of Computer-Aided Transcription, andthat the foregoing is a true and correct transcriptionof the testimony so given by him as aforesaid.


specified.



TrT r.,TmnTV ec rATUFRFnF_ T havP hereunto set mv hand11v VY1.11vL 3 v r.+++-+++-+^'- / -



-------------------Anika Patrick, RMR, CRR & Notary Public



Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 76 of 141


1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25




Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al. ,


CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

KELLY LUCAS

Deposition of KELLY LUCAS, a Witness herein,

called by the Contestor.for Examination pursuant to




_^ ^ ^ Y ^for the State of v..,n- -io, d-'-u t 11 ^t""'C '^ 1 1f 1 `.G ° ; °f Kvl ar,



at 10:22 a.m.




Page 77 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

7

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

even think about that I would be voting someplace

else.

When was the last time you voted there?

Whenever the last election was. It would have

been 2011.

And when you say "last election," you mean last

general election?

Yeah, because there was a -- the school levy was

on the ballot then.

Did you change your residence between the 2011

general election and the 2012 general election?

That's what I'm trying to think. I'm trying to

think of when I moved. I'm not sure. I'm trying

to remember when I moved. Because I know in that

election they had me fill out a paper ballot

because they -- I still didn't have my

LL.^ .1-L

-

registration card at L11d poi .-.^^ d^..

When you say "a paper ballot," do you mean a

provisional ballot?

Yeah.

Okay. Would it have been an envelope and --

Uh-huh.

You would have filled it in by Scantron?

Yeah, yeah. Yes.

So would you have ever voted before at the


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 78 of 141


--^

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

8

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Dov-Alliance Church?

No.

Was the St. Joe's Church, was that the

first -- was that the only location you went to on

election day?

After moving back to Ohio, yes.

Okay. And to clarify, did you go to any other

polling sites on the general election day?

No.

Now, when you arrived there at St. Joe's Church,

did you interact with poll workers?

I spoke to them.

Did they -- did you believe you were in the

correct location?

Yes, at that time.

And what did you base that off of?

^ > >r,.a 1- 1-1 c1 vni-arWhere I had voteU ^-1LC V_LOU. ^ 71y, u++u -++- --`-'-

registration card I had at the time.

Did you get any postcards from the board of

elections indicating a different polling site to

go to?

Not prior to the election.

Did you get a postcard from the board of elections

after the election?

Yeah.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 79 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

9

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q-

A.

And what did that postcard state?

It just had a new card; and I noticed that the

location had changed on it from the one that I had

previously. And that was the first time I had

noticed that there was a difference in where I was

supposed to go.

And did you actually have your voter registration

cards in your records? Is that something you keep

in your wallet?

Yeah, I keep it in my wallet.

When you got to St. Joe's Church, did any poll

worker tell you that you were in the wrong

location?

I don't believe so. I think -- they couldn't find

me on the list, but they knew I had voted, and

there was something that had me there before,

so --

Q. Did any poll worker give you the name of a

different location to go to?

A.

Q•

A.

Q•

No.


location?

Not that I remember.


ballot there, that your vote would not be counted?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 80 of 141


10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

No.

What were you told by the poll workers about why

you had to cast a provisional ballot?

Because they couldn't find me on their list and

that they would go ahead and have me do it that

way so that I could go ahead and vote.

Do you remember any poll workers calling the board

of elections to find out if you should go

somewhere else?

No.

Do you remember any poll workers using a street

guide to look up your street to see if you should

go somewhere else?

I don't think so.

Q. Do you remember the names of any of the poll

workers you spoke to?

A. No.

Q. If you had been told that your ballot would not be

counted there unless you went to a different

location, would you have gone to a different

location to vote?

MS. BRYAN: Objection. You can answer.

A. Yes.

Q. Ms. Lucas, I'm going to hand to you what I'd like

to have marked as Exhibit GG.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 81 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

31

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.


SS:


Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, KELLY LUCAS, was by me first duly sworn totestify the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the

truth in the cause aforesaid; that the testimony sogiven by her was by me reduced to Stenotype in thepresence of said witness; afterwards prepared andproduced by means of Computer-Aided Transcription, andthat the foregoing is a true and correct transcription



specified.


I do further certify that I am not, nor is thecourt reporting firm with which I am affiliated, under

a contract as defined in Civil Rule 28(D).

IN WITNESS IIVHER'^^ -Vr

n T tit 'ia ii-,.v'..c 1-' c° i. ^..^^r c°"n^"^. ^ set YnV hand, .L 1



- ------------------------ --------^- ,Anika W ` Patrick RMR & Notary Publi.c



Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 82 of 141


1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

, '71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25




Contestor,

CASE NO. 2012-2151

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,


DEPOSITION OF

MELISSA PATTERSON

Deposition of MELISSA PATTERSON, a Witness herein,





-P v.. tt.. i-ho State nf nh; n, at the offices of Kyler,t ^.ii^. v........,. .._. --'--. -. ..



at 4:12 p.m.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418tniww. premierreporter s . ^•om


Page 83 of 141


8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

^ ^Li

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Now, in this past election in November,

you had voted in -- I lost my -- just give me a

minute.

Is it correct that you would have voted

at the Park Christian Church?

Correct. Yes.

Okay. And how did you decide to go there?

I looked it up on-line, where we had to vote.

Okay. When you say "on-line," is that the county

board of elections' website?

Yep.

Did you plug in your name and other information to

get a --

No. I just did ZIP code. Well, then it asks for

your address. But it never asked for my name.

When you entered your address, was it the 5038

Charlv^i r1A --".,....^...^`.._

Yes.

-- address that you entered? I'm sorry. "Yes,"

it was?

Yes.

Okay. And when you entered that address, did the

board website tell you to go to the Park Christian

Church?

Yes.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 84 of 141


9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

By the way, have you voted there prior to this

election at that location?

No.

And anywhere along the process, did anyone tell

you that you had to vote at the Roxford Church?

No.

When you arrived at the Park Christian Church on

election day, did you know you were at the wrong

location?

No, I didn't know. I thought I was at the right

location.


location?

Nope. Well, they were trying to figure out what

line we were supposed to be in, because there was

two lines there.

T+- a-i.,.^ qnmr.^ tahl P^t-1l. lrlic .aui.... .......,__ _

No. There was three people sitting at this table

and then there was three people sitting at another

table, but there was two different lines. And

they wanted our license, but our license had our

old address on it. And I tried to explain to the

woman that we're at 5038, and then she said that

we were supposed to be in the front line instead

of the second line.

Q.

A.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 85 of 141


10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4•

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

u•

A.

4•

So did a poll worker actually direct you to a

table at that polling location?

Yeah. After we explained to her that our

license -- because she wanted to see our license.

And did you show them the license?

Well, I showed her the license, but I told her I

didn't live at that address. And that's why they

said we had to vote the way we had to vote.

Based on the address you gave them, did any poll

worker give you the name or location of a

different polling place?

No.


ballot at the Park Christian Church, that there's

a chance your vote would not be counted?

No.

r,^^ ; t hA^-a„^P nf vour address situation, is thatVY GL J y a.. ^ .. ....... ....._ _ - 1 _

why they told you you had to cast a provisional

ballot?

Yeah, because it didn't match what the board of

elections had. And you had to change it a week

prior to voting.

I know this is a long shot, but would you happen

to remember the names of the poll workers you

spoke with?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 86 of 141


11

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

I know one was an O'Hara.

What's that?

Her last name is O'Hara, but I don't know her

first name.

Okay. Did you know her from previous experiences?

I just know her because I know her daughter. But

I don't know her first name.

If you had been told that your ballot would not be

counted unless you went to a different location,

would you have gone to the different location?

Yeah.

Do you remember when you were leaving the polling

site, did they give you a sheet of paper

explaining your rights as a provisional ballot

voter?

No, they just gave me a sticker that said I voted

tndav_

Okay. Do you remember before the election, did

you get any kind of postcard in the mail telling

you where to go?

No.

Have you gotten any kind of postcard after you

voted?

Yes. Actually, I got our new voter registration

, L'^ '-'i 5038 address now,caras wi^^i ^1 e


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 87 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

l18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

12

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

When was the last time you voted before 2012?

The last time. Well, the last presidential.

So 2008?

Yep.

Do you remember where you voted at during that

election? What site you would have gone to?

It's the Church of God on 3rd Street in Dennison.

I'm sorry. What's the name of the church?

Church of God.

What street is that on?

Third Street.

In Dennison?

Uh-huh. It's where I've always voted until this

year.

I want to just show you real quickly the document

that you would have filled out that day. It's

--^u ^ ayi^^o^^ a Prnv-isinnal Ballot Affirmation, and I'd^^^----

ask for this to be labeled as Exhibit MM.

(Whereupon, Exhibit MM was marked for

identification.)

Is that your signature at the bottom of the page?

Yes, it is.

Is that your handwriting at the top under first

name and last name?

Yep.

I


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 88 of 141


,F_2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

28

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.


SS:


Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, MELISSA PATTERSON, was by me first duly swornto testify the truth, the whole truth and nothing butthe truth in the cause aforesaid; that thetent^hoeny so

given by her was by me reduced to Stenotypepresence of said witness; afterwards prepared andproduced by means of Computer-Aided Transcription, andthat the foregoing is a true and correct transcription



specified.





_rnw^.-+c•c T.7UL'DT.'nF' T hav_ e hereunto set my handIN W11L^j^^o VY111:111LVa. , ^



Anika V Patrick, RM^-Lxx a^ LVU^dLy Lu,_My commission expires March 13, 2015


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 89 of 141


1

-_;

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

L ^

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25




Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,

Contestee/Respondents

CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

ROBERT PATTERSON II

Deposition of ROBERT PATTERSON II, a Witness





yof Kyler,

-.1-] -Fr^r thP Rt-ate of Ohio, at the officesjj Q11U Lvi ..++. - -



at 3:37 p.m.


www.premierrepo--ters.com


Page 90 of 141


7

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1'1

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4-

A.

Q.

A.

4•

of head nods and "uh-huhs."

Okay.

Does that make sense?

Yes.

And we'll each plan on talking one at a time so

that everything can make it onto the transcript.

Does that sound fair?

Yes.

Okay. If you didn't hear or understand any of our

questions from any of the attorneys, feel free to

ask us to repeat it or even rephrase the question.

I want to make sure you understand.

Okay.

Is that fair?

Yes.

And on behalf of all of us, I mean, we're not

trv;.nc^ t_ _o confuse vou here today. We're notl - _ _ J

trying to judge you. We're simply all trying to

find out what each voter experienced that day so

we have a full understanding.

Okay.

We don't want to come across combative or trying

to put you down in any way.

With that, I want to find out about your

voting experience that day. Is it true you went


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 91 of 141


8

;

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

to the Park Christian Church to vote?

A. Yes.

Q. How did you choose to go there?

A. Where we -- how did that work? Where we normally

go was the church on Spring, Spring Street, I

believe was the church where we normally vote at.

We were told that there was -- no one was voting

there anymore, that you had to vote at the Park

Christian Church.

Q. And who would have told you that?

A. My wife.

Q. So your wife found out. And we can ask her in her

deposition, but she found out that you no longer

go to the church?

A. On Spring, that you go to Park Christian Church

over in the park, in Dennison.

Q. Bv the wav, when did you -- how long were you down

in Alabama?

A. From February -- beginning of February until end

of August. I went down there for a job. I worked

at Greer Steel here in Dover for 13 years. I know

Al Landis from there. The plant manager at Greer

went down, offered a few of us to come down there

and help get this big steel mill going. We went

down. I was down there about six months or so, a


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 92 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1'7L I

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

9

little more, and got laid off and came back.

Q. And did you live at the same address when you were

in Tuscarawas County? Did you return to the home

you were prior?

A. No.

Q. Okay. So you were in a completely new residence?

A. Yes.

Q. As of September, correct?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. Anywhere along the way did anyone tell you

to go to the Roxford Church?

A. No.

Q. Do you remember, did you happen to get a postcard

before the election from the board of elections

telling you where to go?

A. I don't believe so. But I don't check the mail.

rl Tc vnnr u7i fr i'hA one who Checks the mail?IX:. y .... Z _ __ -__ ---- ---- ---- ---- -

A. Yes. Or the house where we're living at is her

father's.

Q. Okay.

A. He's a truck driver. He did his mail-in, so I'm

assuming that's why he's not being -- well, I

don't know. Forget it. I'm just drawing

conclusions that I shouldn't be, I guess.

Q. Oh, that's okay. When you went to Park Christian


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 93 of 141


10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

^•

A.

Q.

A.

Church, did you speak with poll workers when you

arrived there?

Yes. There was a -- well, there was a little bit

of a line, and then there was a table with people.

We stood in that line, I don't know, a couple of

minutes. Wasn't very long. They gave us our

paperwork. Well, they asked us our names and our

address and everything, and they were looking it

up. We told them that our address was different

than what they had there. They said that we

needed to fill out --

Okay.

-- a different ballot. As soon as I got that

envelope and I knew it was going to be -- that

that -- that our votes didn't count. We just

about left right then.

nkav_ Let's back up a second. So when you got

there, did you give them your driver's license?

Yes. We handed them our ID and everything, and

they were checking it. But our address on our IDs

were not where we lived anymore. We let them know

that that's not -- you know, that's not our

address anymore.

Did you give them your new address?

Yes.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 94 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1',7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

11

Q•

A.

Q•

A.

Q•

A.

4•

Did anyone tell you that then, based on the new

address, you should go to a different location?

No, I don't believe so. There was some talking

back and forth there, and one -- they had two

different ideas of how they should handle that our

address was different. And then they handed us

forms and had us sit down at a table off to the

side and do our voting that way and stick it in an

envelope.

And I apologize if some of these questions are

repetitive, but did any poll worker tell you the

name of a different location that you could go to?

Not to my knowledge. But really, I was kind of

perturbed at the whole situation, to be honest

with you.

Were both you and your wife talking to these

nPnn1P at the same time? To the poll workers?r--_r--

Yes, yes. There was numerous conversations going

on there at the same time. It was kind of -- she

might have gathered a little more about what was

going on than I did, or maybe she didn't catch as

much as I did of what they were saying; but my

recollection of it is not real fond.

Did you see any poll workers make a phone call to

the board of elections or did any poll workers


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 95 of 141


12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

tell you they were going to call the board of

elections?

Not to my knowledge, no.


ballot at the Park Christian Church, that your

vote may not be counted?

No. I believe my wife even said that this -- she

kind of -- she was a little perturbed, too, and

she's usually pretty vocal when she gets upset

like that; and she had made the comment that this

isn't going to count..

MR. DOUGLAS: Objection. Objection. You

can answer.

THE WITNESS: Excuse me?

You can go ahead and answer. We're just doing

attorney stuff.

Okay.

MR. DOUGLAS: You can't report what she

says. We're going to talk to her. But you

can go ahead and report what you want.

Okay. Where was I? She had said that, you know,

that this isn't even going to count, we're not

even voting. It doesn't matter anyhow because,

you know, this is all messed up because our

address is messed up. I don't know. There was


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 96 of 141


13

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

some conversations there. Like I said, we were

handed -- then we were handed the paperwork to do

it by paper, and the envelopes, and sent to the

table around the corner from where they were

sitting.

Were you told by any poll workers why you had to

cast a provisional ballot?

Because of our address.

Okay.

I believe is all that they said.

I know this is a long shot, but do you remember

the names of any of the poll workers you dealt

with or --

No, sir.

Okay. If you had been told that your ballot would

not be counted unless you went to a different

location, would you have gone to a different

location?


A. Yes.

Q. And by the way, she's objecting to me, not to you,

so don't worry. It's all part of this process.

When you left, did you -- were you given

a sheet of paper from a poll worker explaining

your rights as a provisional ballot voter?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 97 of 141


33

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

,'7/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.


SS:


Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, ROBERT PATTERSON II, was by me first dulysworn to testify the truth, the whole truth and nothingbut the truth in the cause aforesaid; that thetestimony so given by him was by me reduced toStenotype in the presence of said witness; afterwards

prepared and produced by means of Computer-AidedTranscription, and that the foregoing is a true andcorrect transcription of the testimony so given by him

as aforesaid.


specified.






A^A. Patrick, RMR, CRR & Notary rupiic



Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 98 of 141


1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

,1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25




Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,


CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

GINGER RABER

Deposition of GINGER RABER, a Witness herein,





.G ^^^ c^^+o „^ nr,; n at fihP offices of Kvler,lvt l.tlc aJt,.a^.c. v.^ ....s..., ,.... `.--- - ^ -



at 4:42 p.m.


wwwy. premierreporters. oom


Page 99 of 141


6

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 -71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q•

Ginger Raber. G-i-n-g-e-r, Raber, R-a-b-e-r.

And what's your home address?

123 Mill Street Northwest, Sugarcreek, Ohio 44681.

Was that your address on the general election day

in November?

Yes.

How long have you lived at that residence?

Well, we moved probably back into town two, maybe

three years ago. And the last couple years, I

know I've been having problems with the voting

registration thing. Every time I went in the last

two years, I've had -- my name was not there. So

basically, I had to handwrite everything out.

This is true for the last how mariy elections?

Two years.

When was the last time you voted before the

nT^tomhAr 7n1 7 PlPCj'ion?iv v v ^.........^ ^.. .`.J "- __ _

I'm trying to think. I know there was one last

year, but I can't remember the exact date, to be

honest.

Okay. Was it the time immediately prior to this

time that.you had issues with your having to do a

paper ballot?

Uh-huh.

Okay. That's also known as a provisional ballot.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 100 of 141


7

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q•

Right.

Also, I was just going to say, too, let me know,

too, if you don't understand or didn't hear my

question. I can repeat it or rephrase it.

Okay.

I usually let people know that in the beginning.

I also want to let you know, no one in this room

wants to embarrass you or make you feel bad. Just

things happen during the voting process and we're

just all trying to find out what happened in your

case.

Okay.

So I don't want you to leave here feeling bad that

you were called to ask some questions.

Now, in this particular election, the

November 2012 election, you cast your ballot at

c„n^ rr rPP^! v; 11ac7e; is that correct?.^uyc..i.^.^...... -_- J - • -..

Yeah. It was Miller Avenue School. That's where

they had me do it for a couple years. So I just

went back to the same place.

When you say you went back to the same place, did

you vote at the Miller Avenue School at the

prior -- the last time you voted?

Yeah.

Okay. How many times in a row have you voted at


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 101 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1'7i i

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

8

A.

Q.

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q

Miller Avenue School?

Well, before we moved, it was probably about two

or three times; and then after, it was the last

two times since we've moved back into town. It's

only been the last two.

Okay.

Because the one year, I didn't vote at all.

When you got to the Miller Avenue School that day,

did you -- did any poll worker tell you that you


No.

Did any poll worker tell you the name or location

of a different polling place?

No. I knew of another one, but I just assumed it

was at that one.

Okay. Anywhere along the way with poll workers or

nt .h..,^arx,ai ^P_ c3id anvone tell vou you needed to go to.,.^..^._-,

the Garaway High School?

Not this year, no.

Did any poll worker tell you that if you voted at

the Miller Avenue School, that your vote would not

be counted?

No.

Why were you told by poll workers that you had to

cast a provisional ballot this last time?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 102 of 141


9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 I

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

They didn't tell me. They just handed me it

because my name wasn't there.

So your name wasn't in the poll book?

No.

Do you remember what kind of form of

identification you gave them when you were going

to vote?

Driver's license.

Did your driver's license have your address of

your current house?

Uh-huh. Yes, it does.

Okay. Do you remember, by chance, the names of

any poll workers you spoke with?

Huh-uh. (Witness shaking head from side to side.)


counted unless you went to a different location to

T Tr,i- a t.rn„l ri vn„ havF? gone to a different location?v v ^ .. , .. .. ... ^ ... 1 .. ... ...._ _ _ J _ _ _ _ - _ __ __ - _.. . _

Yeah.

Do you remember prior to the election, did you get

any kind of postcard in the mail telling you where

to go?

No. I just recently got one.

And where did that recent postcard tell you to go?

High school. Garaway High School.

That came after the election?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 103 of 141


29

1 I

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.


SS:

I, Anika W. Patrick, a Registered Merit Reporter,Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public within

and for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, GINGER RABER, was by me first duly sworn totestify the truth, the whole truth and nothing but thetruth in the cause aforesaid; that the testimony sogiven by her was by me reduced to Stenotype in thepresence of said witness; afterwards prepared andproduced by means of Computer-Aided Transcription, andthat the foregoing is a true and correct transcriptionof the testimony so given by her as aforesaid.


specified.




Tn, WTTNEqS r^]uEREnF_ T }1auP }"1PY'P171"lto set mv hand



Ani.KaMy co

- --------------------Patrick, RMR, CRR & Notary Public

ssion expires March 13, 2015


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 104 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25




Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,


CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

COURTNEY REES

Deposition of COURTNEY REES, a Witness herein,





fnr thA CtatP nf nhin_ at thp nffinPq nf Kv1Pr_iv.i the ..i .. u..v ...... ..,..^...., ...... ..__. _.^^ _.....,...... ^ _ _,l _ __


New Philadelphia, Ohio, on Friday, January 4, 2013, at

9:42 a.m.




Page 105 of 141


7

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

i7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A. That's fine.

Q. Okay. Great. Could you, just to get started,

state and spell your full name for the record?

A. Middle name, too? Or just first and last?

Q. First and last is fine.

A. It's Courtney, C-o-u-r-t-n-e-y, and the last name

is Rees, R-e-e-s.

Q. What's your current home address?

A. Right now it's 1526 Dover Avenue, until about noon

today when we get the keys.

Q. Oh, wow. Great. Are you staying here locally?

A. I've lived here my whole life, yep.

Q. Okay. And when you say "Dover Avenue," I assume

that's in Dover?

A. That's in Dover.

Q. Okay. Wouldn't make sense to name a street like

ttiat, you kil^vtM'

A. Not in Philly. Not around here, no.

Q. On November 6th, 2012, obviously there was the

general election.

A. Uh-huh.

Q. And on that date, am I correct, did you vote at

the St. Joe Family Life Center?

A.

Q•

Yes.

Okay. How did you choose to go to that location?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 106 of 141


8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1'7/1

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A. We lived at 320 West 9th Street before, and we had

moved that previous weekend. So when we moved

that previous weekend, I wasn't sure if I would be

able to vote like I always did or if they were

going to send me somewhere else.

So I went to the same place I always had

and I explained to the people there that we had

just moved. I didn't want to be dishonest if I

wasn't really supposed to vote with an address

that I didn't live at. And so they sent me -- it

was in the same building, but over to the next

area.

Q. Okay.

'A. And that's where they gave me my provisional

ballot.

Q. Okay. And I'm sorry. I think I missed it where

h^rl y....^ ..,..^n„ hc^c^n 1 i vi nrr nri nr 1-n i-hP e1 Pni- inn?,^^..... .,.. _-----

A. 320 West 9th Street.

Q. And how long did you live there?

A. Five years.

Q. And then when did you -- then you moved to a

second location?

A. Yeah. We bought a house on 3rd Street, but it

wouldn't -- we weren't able to get the keys until

January. So we moved to the Dover Avenue address,


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 107 of 141


9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q. When you got to the St. Joe Family Life Center --

A. Uh-huh.

Q. -- was it a poll worker who directed you to a

second set of tables?

A. Yes.

I think it was October 30th, I think was when we

actually moved. And we've been living there just

time being until we can get into the new house.

So from what they told me there was to go to the

next -- the next room over, and that's where I

would be able to vote with the Dover Avenue

address.

And just -- and I apologize in advance if some of

my questions are repetitive.

No, that's fine.

So on election day itself, your address was 1526

Dover Avenue?

Yes.

And how long were you at the Dover Avenue address?

Three days.

Okay. Was that just a temporary-type place you

/Y 7were 1 ivi.

i TTiY1y :

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 108 of 141


10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 "71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q. And did you provide the poll worker with your 1526

Dover Avenue address?

A. Yes. My license still said the West 9th Street

address, and I wasn't sure if I would be dishonest

in voting on the 9th Street address if I didn't

live there anymore. So that's -- I talked to the

people there at the table and had asked and they

sent me next door.

MR. DOUGLAS: Off the record a minute.

(Discussion off the record.)

MR. COLOMBO: Back on the record.

BY MR. COLOMBO:

Q. Ms. Rees, just to clarify, when you said they sent

you next door, do you mean that in the sense of

the same building?

A. In the same building, yeah. There were two rooms.

impnrtant c1 ari fi nati on. because

sometimes poll locations are just that close --

A. Right.

Q. -- where it would be next door. When you

got -- you indicated your driver's license had the

9th Street address?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you still own that home during that day?

A. No.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 109 of 141


11

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q. And I should ask, was that a home or an apartment?

A. It was a home.

Q. Okay. How about the Dover Avenue address? Was

that an apartment or a house?

A. It's a house. My father-in-law rents it.

Q. And how about the -- and where are you moving to?

A. 938 East 3rd Street. That's in Dover.

Q. Thank you. And when did you get ownership of that

house?

A. We closed on the house -- let me think.

MR. DOUGLAS: December 5.

A. Yeah, it wasn't exactly 30 days, I think, that it

ended up, but I think it was, like, December 4th

or 5th.

Q. 2012?

A. Uh-huh.

^ r.V71i..1C ^11 you ex^,..J

1lalilcu

...a tl.-l.v +Lil

l-^^c p oll rw

.rovi,>^..i ^.arlror i-h-t ^r'iY1^^. U.u.,, ,>.^...

of how you were moving, did any poll worker tell

you that you were at the wrong location?

A. No. They had said -- they asked what my address

was that day, and I gave them the Dover Avenue

address. And they said that then that would put

me at the next precinct. So that's when they sent

me to the next room.

Q. Okay. When you got to -- my questions from here


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 110 of 141


12

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q•

A.

Q•

on out will deal with the second table --

Uh-huh.

-- going forward. When you went to the second

table, did any poll worker tell you you were at

the wrong location?

With my West 9th Street address, I was. And I

explained to them that I was at the room next door

and they sent me there because of the -- the Dover

Avenue address. And so they, of course, looked at

the records and my name wasn't there, but then

decided amongst themselves that they would give me

the provisional ballot.

Did any of the poll workers tell you the name of a


A. No.

Q. Did any poll worker tell you that -- and this is

_ il.. L11

.^ i,. .C se

,., ,^ a- -, Y. l ^ • n; i-1 M n N1'7 n n 1 1 w n r k A ragaindic L1A (. r+^,--..^-•^-d^.oltu i.ciu

tell you that if you cast your ballot there at

that time, it would not be counted?

A. No.

Q. And just to recap, what were you told by the poll

workers about why you had to cast a provisional

ballot?

A. Because my name wasn't on the list with that

address.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 111 of 141


13

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q. This is a long-shot question, but do you remember

the names of any of the poll workers you spoke to?

A. No.

Q. If you had been told your ballot would not be

counted unless you went to a different location to

vote, would you have gone to a different location?


A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Of course.

Okay. And by the way, she's objecting to me, not

to you, just so you know.

Do you remember before the election, did

you receive any kind of postcard or correspondence

from the board of elections telling you -- I'm

sorry. Let me finish that. Any correspondence of

any kind from the board telling you where you

should go to vote?

i_ _v e

,.. ^l.

,.C t

.,. 1o^.

r e g i o ^..^c. t r nu ^. ...++i- i ^ n !^

1L y v v ^-r a u^ r ^ .I n d

And does that -- does the voter registration card

have your Dover -- I'm sorry, your West 9th Street

address?

West 9th Street, yep.

Okay. Since the time you voted on election day,

have you received any follow-up correspondence

from the board --

No.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 112 of 141


14

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

Q

-- of elections? No? When was the last time you

voted before November 2012?

It would have been the last election before that.

It would be May, was it? I think.

So you would have voted in the primary election?

Yeah.

And for that election, then, did you go to the

St. Joe Family Life Center?

Yep.

Do you remember when you were leaving the polling

site, di-d they give you any kind of handout or

documentation?

Not that I know of. Not that I can remember.

And to be a little more specific, was there any

kind of handout about your rights as a provisional

voter?

T a^'^' } }1^ "-.1.I l.iVll l. trllltt.n.

I just want to show you -- and I'm almost done

asking questions. We're confirming with voters

that a paperwork we have on file is what you would

have filled out on election day.

(Whereupon, Exhibit 00 was marked for

identification.)

And I'd like for our court reporter to identify

this exhibit I'm handing you as 00. And just take


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 113 of 141


15

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

Yes.

And again, is that your signature at the bottom of

the page?

Yes.

4-_i L. ^ l.., . .. ,.. i r m o m ^ v' [ 7 i- h i CAnu ^U.st to i1C1^J 1la^/

,LAJC l.Ligger y^ aiic.a«v-Y, -••^^

would have been on a yellow envelope. Does that

sound familiar?

Pretty large envelope, yep.

Right. On step 3 there, there's a statement they

ask people to read before signing. Can you read

that out loud for me?

"Write the name and address of the voter's" --

I'm sorry. I do this every time.

a minute to look that over.

Ms. Rees, is that signature on the bottom

of the first page? Is that your signature?

Yes.

Okay. And it looks like your name is printed out

at the top. Is that your handwriting?

Yes.

And it looks like on this first page you would

have provided your Social Security number?

Yep.

If you look at the second page, is that your

handwriting?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 114 of 141


16

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

ti

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A. Oh.

Q. If you go back to the first page.

A. Oh, okay.

Q. I'll learn one of these days. The statement under

step 3.

A. "I solemnly swear or affirm that I am a registered

voter in the precinct in which I am voting this

provisional ballot and that I am eligible to vote

in this election for which I am casting this

provisional ballot. I understand that if the

information I provide on this provisional ballot

affirmation is not fully complete and correct,

and/or if the board of elections determines that I

am not registered to vote, a resident of this

precinct, or eligible to vote in this election,

and/or if the board of elections determines that I

Li,t a

-,v c a

-, li r e a

-, .du^% `v^ : o i

L .^u- o r-] i n +- h i c o l o r i- i n n t h i C

ii 1=11U ^.L^VIiiV==, .==y-+

provisional ballot will not be counted.

"I further understand that knowingly

providing false information is a violation of law

and subjects me to possible criminal prosecution.

I hereby declare under penalty of election

falsification that the above statements are true

and correct to the best of my knowledge and

belief."


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 115 of 141


17

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q. Great. Thanks. Based on your best knowledge and

belief, did you provide all accurate information

to the board of elections and poll workers?

A. Yeah.

Q. And based on your best knowledge and belief, were

you at the -- to your understanding, were you at

the correct poll location to vote?

A. That's what they told me.

Q. Okay.

A. Uh-huh.

Q. The poll worker did tell you you were at the

correct location?

A. Yeah. Yeah.

Q. And that was based on your address during

that -- for that day?

A. With the 1526. And I explained that we had moved

and I wasn't sure, because my 320 VVest 9th 8treet

address was where I was previously registered, if

that would affect my voting. And this is where

they sent me and this is what they gave me.

Q. And so I -- just to resolve any confusion, did

both table 1 and table 2, which are both

precincts, did both table 1 and table 2 tell you

that the second table was the correct precinct for

you?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 116 of 141


18

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. Again, that was based on your address?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. Back to the statement real quick, do you

remember, did you read this before you signed it?

A. I think I did. I mean, I would assume that I

wouldn't have signed it without reading it.

Q. Okay. With that, Ms. Rees, I do not have any

questions at this time, further, but I'd like to

turn it over to the other counsel at the table to

ask questions.

EXAMINATION

BY MR. DOUGLAS:

Q. Good morning, Ms. Rees.

A. Good morning.

Q. As Mr. Colombo told you, my name is Andy Douglas,

..,.. .aU I1

f'rerresel

.-. l i-L l-l.l L.lC

.. L1JV-. .-.a.^ur i-1 v..

t-F cl' l

ie^-• i-ivaa(' r^ o ,.^ •vh ^ i- r 1.^. ^^^. vv iav ^ i ua11

to facilitate your right to vote as best they

could. I need to get the logistics straight for

just a moment, because I think Mr. Colombo got

them, but I just didn't understand.

When you looked at your driver's license,

if you'd look at it today, what address is on

there?

A. 320 West 9th, because we haven't moved into our


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 117 of 141


19

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

Q.

3rd Street house. So we didn't get our licenses

changed with the 1526 within those few days.

So your license says 320 West 9th?

Right.

And where do you actually live?

Right now we live at 1526 Dover Avenue.

And when you went to vote on November 6th, is the

date, in 2012, where did you live?

1526 Dover Avenue.

And when you voted in the May primary of 2012,

where did you live?

320 West 9th Street.

Was there a third location in here that I missed?

No. Today there will be a third location.

Good. Okay. So when you present yourself to vote

on November 6th, you actually lived at„1526 Dover

T_ a l 0 1^, !. ra a ra 2') (1 Tn7 o c t- Ca i- h 7[-iV eill.ie aiiu your 1ii.eil..c7e .7iavvvcu .c. v v•^.v ^ -•-. •

Right.

You went to that precinct where you were before

because you weren't sure where to go?

Right.

Did you have some feeling that because you had a

different address from what your driver's license

was that you maybe would be in the wrong precinct?

I asked them. That's why I asked.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 118 of 141


20

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

, "71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q. You asked because you felt there was some

discrepancy?

A. I was not sure because I thought, at that point, I

thought, well, we haven't been in a new house a

week yet, and I didn't want to say I still live at

9th Street, give me my ballot, let me vote,

because that's not where we lived. So I was

trying to be honest and asked about it, and that's

when they said if you don't live on 9th Street, go

to the next room over. That's the precinct for

the Dover Avenue address.

Q. Now, while you were trying to determine this, did

the poll worker look your name up at the first

station in their poll book?

A. Yes.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Was your name there?

17 C 7 .

Did you notice the address that was there?

Yes.

And it was?

It was 320 West 9th Street.

Okay. So I take it you said to the poll worker,

that's not right, I don't live there anymore, what

do I do?

Right.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 119 of 141


21

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q. And the poll worker responded?

A. They consulted with each other for a moment and

then said you should probably go next -- to the

next room over because that is the Dover Avenue

address, that's the precinct for that address.

Q. So they were attempting to place you in the right

precinct?

A. Yes.

Q. So you go to the second station, let's call it,

and you say to the poll worker there, my name is

so-and-so and I want to vote?

A. Uh-huh.

Q. What did they say?

A. They tried to look up my name and it was not

there.

Q. Wasn't in the big book, was it?

_^^.i i L _ ^_ __ ^_ T ^ a r ._. l

1_d

... a .t^l,

l..lld

_ a..l,

^ L. ..A. It wa5i1 l.^ 1i1 l.il^ IJoC)K. L-^llu 1 ex^J111CU 1.11C

people in the next room, I had already been next

door and asked what I needed to do, and then they

said, "We'll just give you a provisional ballot";

and that's what they did.

Q. At this point in that entire sequence, did you

have some reservations of whether or not you were

voting properly in one place or another?

A. I assumed that they were guiding me to the right


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 120 of 141


22

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

i7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

Q. And you seemed to have some reservations about

that response. Did you?

A. I don't know that I had reservations. I just

trusted what they had told me. They're the

workers. They tell us where to go and what to do

and I --

Q. But you sure recognized there was some confusion

going on because of your changes of address?

A. Right. There usually is confusion going on.

Q. Okay. In May when you voted, did you vote on the

`^ci. li c ^,.. .. dL .- ir o mu c, r. 1-ii^ i.i. iria co :ii i C i«.

A. Yes.

Q. When you were not permitted to vote on the

electronic machine in November, did that raise

some issue in your mind?

A. Not really, because of the address. I wasn't sure

that I would be allowed

Q. So you knew -- excuse me. Okay. You knew because

of the confusion or the discrepancy, let's call

place. My main reservation was, is this vote

going to be counted?

I asked you that question because your exact quote

was, That is what they told me, to go to the next

place to vote.

Uh-huh.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 121 of 141


35

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A. That's what I told the assistant principal

yesterday. I said, I have to take this -- I don't

know if it's a half day, a whole day. I don't

know how we're going to do this. And he said,

"Are you going to tell the kids?" I said, "I

think when it's over with, I'll tell the kids."

Q. Well, you can tell them whatever you need to tell

them. Just tell them we think you're a fine lady

and a great voter.

A. Thank you. I don't even know why I got upset. I

don't know.

MR. COLOMBO: Yeah, and we can tell them

that you're here all day, if that helps. I

do have one or two, just real quick. And

these aren't tough.

FURTHER EXAMINATION

RY MR lC1T.(1MR(1 •

Q. I forgot to ask this. Did you see any of the poll

workers call anyone at the board of elections?

A. No. No.

Q. Did anyone leave the room indicating they had to

make a phone call to the board?

A. No.

Q. Did anyone tell you you need to go to the

Methodist church?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 122 of 141


36

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A. No.

Q. And do you think as a voter you should be able to

rely on your poll workers to direct you in the

right place?

A. Yes.

Q. Are they or are you in a better position to know

the precincts?

MS. BRYAN: Obiection.

A. I don't --

Q. It's an opinion.

A. Yeah, I -- I think I probably should have checked,

but I didn't know. And I really think they did

the best of what they knew to do, too, by sending

me next door.

Q. Okay. That's fair. I think we've all asked all

the questions we want. You've been very honest

^.n^-] ^ nrth r .i ny.h. t . Z^nr] i-hr^ f i na 1 1-h i nr^r T naarl i-n^..^. . ^ ^..^.. ..,.. . ^^a.^ ^ ^..^..y ^... .. ..

tell you is, when a person does a deposition, you

have the right, if you want, to review the

transcript before it's certified for accuracy, the

spellings of names and your comments.

A. Can you take out that I cried?

Q. Yeah, we can take that out. You also have the

right to waive that if you don't care to read the

transcript.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 123 of 141


38

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1'71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

^


STATE OF OHIO,SS:

SUMMIT COUNTY.

I, Anika W. Patrick, a Registered Merit Reporter,Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, COURTNEY REES, was by me first duly sworn totestify the truth, the whole truth and nothing but thetruth in the cause aforesaid; that the testimony sogiven by her was by me reduced to Stenotype in thepresence of said witness; afterwards prepared andproduced by means of Computer-Aided Transcription, andthat the foregoing is a true and correct transcriptionof the testimony so given by her as aforesaid.

I do further certify that this deposition wastaken at the time and place in the foregoing captionspecified.



iiv vviTivESSVYHEREOF T iiave ilereuiltv Set lly 1iaild

and affixed my seal of office at Akron, Ohio, this 8thday of January, 2013.

- --- ----------- ----------------=-Anika W. Patrick, RMR, CRR & Notary PublicMy commission expires March 13, 2015


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 124 of 141


1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 '71 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25




Contestor,

CASE NO. 2012-2151

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,


DEPOSITION OF

TINA SNYDER

Deposition of TINA SNYDER, a Witness herein,





4:.„^ ^ 1 o Ci- ntc ^lhin at -Fh0= nffirac nf KV1rm r_1 V 1 l. 11 V U l. u l. L. v L v 1 a 1 v, u a. a+ i v v i+. ^ v v v v^ +. . 1 -` .i -,



10:32 a.m.




Page 125 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

, -,1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

6

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

^•

A.

Q-

A.

4•

A.

reporter. If you don't understand or hear any of

our questions, just ask us to repeat it or

rephrase it.

Okay.

Is that fair?

Yeah.

Okay. And I'm going to ask the questions first,

and then the other counsel in the room will have

some questions. But I just want you to know in

advance, none of us are here today to try to, you

know, harass you or embarrass you in any way.

We're just trying to get information. So you're

not the only person in this position. A lot of

people have -- also didn't have their ballots

counted that we're going to be talking to.

Okay.

rv. u , 1.u

,^ i„^t vou state and

spell your name for the record?

Tina Snyder. It's S-n-y-d-e-r.

Okay. What's your home address?

1242 Schneider's Crossing Road, Apartment C,

Northwest, Dover, Ohio.

When you -- you voted in the November 2012

election, correct?

Yes.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 126 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

l^

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

7

4•

A.

Q.

A.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

u•

A.

A.

4•

A.

And would you have gone -- where did you go to

vote?

I went to the Dover Middle School to vote.


Actually, I went to the on-line site that tells

you where you should go to vote. They actually

had my old address listed as my residence.

By on-line site, do you mean the board of

elections' website?

Yeah.

Okay. And the website had your old address,

right?

Correct. Yes.

How long has it been since you'd lived at that old

address?

Five years. Almost five years.

u^c'r0 [1!1„ voted in IhP nrinr five vears?ii a v c y

No.

Do you remember, by chance, the last election you

voted?

I think when -- the last time Clinton was in

office. I'm pretty positive about that.

I apologize if I pause here and there. I'm just

taking some notes.

That's okay.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 127 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

8

4•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

Did the board of elections' website tell you to go

to Dover Middle School?

Yes.

And that was based on your prior address?

Yes.

Okay. When you went to the Dover Middle School,

did you provide -- did you meet with poll workers?

Yes.

Did you give the poll workers your new or old

address?

Actually, I just gave them my name. They had a

list that they just looked down through and she

asked me what my address was. Well, she asked me

for my ID and then asked me if my address was

correct on my ID or the paper that they had my

name and address listed on. I said my ID.

r,i_ r^r ^ <Y,r,,,r Til vniir C']ri vPr' S license?Vlidy . vvao vu.^ ^-^. J.....-

Yes.

And that had your new address?

Yes.

And I apologize if some of my questions appear

repetitive.

That's okay.

I maybe missed what you said or I'm just asking it

a different way.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 128 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 7

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

9

A.

Q.

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

4•

A.

So did you -- you told the poll worker

that your new address on your license was the

correct one?

Yes.

Did the poll worker, by chance, tell you that you


No.

Did any poll worker tell you the name of a


No.

Did anyone in this process tell you to go to -- if

you'll just bear with me. Did anyone tell you to

go to the G-e-i-b Remembrance Center?

No.


ballot at the Dover Middle School, it would not be

counted?

No.

Do you remember, did any poll workers indicate

they needed to make a call to the board of

elections?

No.

And why did you -- why were you told by the poll

workers you had to cast a provisional ballot?

Just because I hadn't voted for a while and that I


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 129 of 141


10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

had to use the paper ballot, is what they told me.

Did any poll worker tell you the reason you had to

do a provisional ballot is because you were in the

wrong location?

No.

They explained you needed to do this because you

had not voted in a long time?

Right.


counted unless you went to a different location,

would you have gone to a different location?

Yes.

When you voted back in what I'm guessing is the

'90s, did you vote at the Dover Middle School?

Uh-huh. Yes.

Do you remember, did you get any kind of postcard

v.,. iv,..LroC ^F .ho el ection tellina vou where to vote?uc.., .,.._..,^..._-- - ^ _

Q•

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A. No.

Q. Did you get any kind of postcard or correspondence

from the board of elections telling you where to

vote?

A. No. They did -- I did get a voter registration

card.

Q. That was after the election?

A. Yes. That was just, like, in the last couple


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 130 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1- 1

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

11

4

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

4•

weeks.

Do you remember, did you get a sheet of paper as

you were leaving the polling location that told

you your rights as a provisional ballot voter?

Yes.

When you went -- to back up a step, when you met

with the poll workers, did they try to find your

name in the poll book?

Is that the papers that they have listed? Because

the only thing they looked through, they had,

like, a group of papers and they just kind of

scanned down through and found my name.

Okay. So your name was on the list?

Yeah.

Do you remember if that was in some sort of book?

No, it actually was just -- it just seemed like it

o+ n 1-^iinrh nf nanPrs ho^^nd toaether. Iw a j ] „^

don't -- like some sort of printout that you kind

of just pull apart or whatever.

Okay. Do you happen to remember if they checked

in what's called a poll book? Usually looks more

like a book?

I didn't see anything like that.

I'd like to show you some paperwork from election

day just to have you identify it. If we could


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 131 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

9 r71 !

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

24


STATE OF OHIO,SS:

SUMMIT COUNTY.


Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, TINA SNYDER, was by me first duly sworn totestify the truth, the whole truth and nothing but thetruth in the cause aforesaid; that the testimony sogiven by her was by me reduced to Stenotype in the

presence of said witness; afterwards prepared andproduced by means of Computer-Aided Transcription, andthat the foregoing is a true and correct transcription



specified.




TM in,TTMT,'.cQ Tn1PFRRnF. T have hereunto set my hand1LV VV1tt uvv ---1__- i



Anika Ti. Patrick, RMR, CRR & Notary rubllc



Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 132 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

1




Contestor,

versus

AL LANDIS, et al.,


CASE NO. 2012-2151

DEPOSITION OF

CARRIE THOMAS

Deposition of CARRIE THOMAS, a Witness herein,





r_r l. 1t .lc .^^^.. c+--,

a+-.oc v Ohio , .^ nh;_ a.,.. t.. thet1,P nffices of Kvler,

- - -tU



11:06 a.m.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418www.premierreporters.eom


Page 133 of 141


6

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 '7J. /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

n1^ •

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

-- and words like that. Is that okay?

That's fine.

And all of us try to stick to the rule that we

talk one at a time, since everything we say is

being taken down by our court reporter. So let's

stick to that rule.

If you don't hear or understand a

question any of us are asking, just feel free to

tell us to rephrase it or repeat it. We'd be

happy to do so. And I will be asking the initial

questions, and then the other counsel at the table

will follow up with some questions.

Okay.

With that, is it all right if we begin with a few

questions?

Yes.

nU= X , rn„^ ri you also -iust state and spell yourvisuY . ^ 1 -- ^

name for the record?

Carrie Thomas, C-a-r-r-i-e, T-h-o-m-a-s.

And what's your current home address?

It is different than what is on the ballot. It's

actually 243 5th Drive Northwest, New Philly. I

have just moved there.

Okay. 243 5th Drive Northwest?

Uh-huh.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 134 of 141


7

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

L ^

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q-

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

^•

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

i c.. ^ .

Okay. You, if I'm correct, voted at the fire

station; is that correct?

Yes, in York Township.

And how did you choose to go there?

I had lived on Stonecreek Road prior to the 440

Deer Park Drive, and that's where I was

technically registered to vote.

What was the address there?

And is that -- what city is that in?

New Philadelphia.

Okay. You indicated you just moved there.

Yes.

When did you move there?

I do believe it was December 15th.

Okay.

So, just recently.

Okay. Let's go back, then. Where did you live

prior to that address?

It was 440 Deer Park Drive Northeast, New

Philadelphia.

And how long did you live there?

A year and a half.

This might be an obvious question, but is that

where you lived on election day?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 135 of 141


8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 /

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Q•

A.

Q-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

MR. DOUGLAS: 307.

THE WITNESS: 307. Thank you.

It's a little scary when we know more about where

you live than --

I was like -- yeah. That was 307 Stonecreek.

I promise you this is in the record -- or on the

documentation. And how long did you live there?

Five years.

And you indicated that's where you had been

registered to vote?

Yes.

Did you -- have you voted previously at the fire

station?

A. Yes.

Q. Okay. Is that where you voted the last time prior

to this November --

T V .t^. ics.

Q. -- 2012? Okay. When you got to the polling

station at the fire station, did you provide the

poll workers with any kind of identification of

who you were?

A. I had my driver's license.

Q. And did your -- which address did your driver's

license have on it? And you can look, if you

need.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 136 of 141


9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

1 '7-L 1

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A. I was going to say, it's the 3rd Street address,

because there was some confusion when I was there.

Q. I'm sorry. Do you mean 5th Drive?

A. No. (Indicating.)

Q. Thank you.

A. Uh-huh. It was the 3rd Street address.

Q. I'm sorry. When did you --

A. Can I -- am I allowed to, like, elaborate?

Q. Please. We're just trying to figure out the

background.

A. Because I lived on Stonecreek Road, then I left

there and went to 3rd Street, and then I moved

from 3rd Street to Deer Park, and then I went from

Dee.r Park to the 5th Drive.

Q. Okay. So 132 -- for the others in the room, she's

handed me a copy of her driver's license. It is,

Cho ; n^i ratArl _ 139 3rd StrPPt Nnrthwest; is that^... ^....y,.^.,.^.n, ^..^ ..__. __---- ------- ---•

correct?

A. Correct.

Q. Okay. How long did you live there?

A. Seven months.

Q. I'll hand that back to you. Thank you.

So the license you handed to them had the

3rd Street Northwest address?

A. Correct.


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 137 of 141


10

^

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

:14

15

16

1-/

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

4•

A.

4-

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

A.

Q•

Okay. Did you tell the poll workers, by chance,

that you now lived at a new address?

Yes. I gave them the 440 Deer Park Drive.

That was your current address as of the election

date?

Yes.

Do you remember, did any poll worker tell you that

you were at the wrong location?

Yes.

Okay. Where did they say was your correct

location?

They did not give me a precinct of where to go.

They just said I could write in, do the paper

ballot.

When they said you could do a paper ballot, did

they lead you to believe that that would be a

via_,c_,le_ opti on ^^ o l1,i ^U^^cso your ZTntP counted?..^^ .___ ---- ,

I guess I -- I mean, they didn't say my vote

wasn't going to be counted. I mean, there was no

stipulation of -- I guess there was no

conversation as to whether I was going to be

included in the counting or not.

Okay. Was your assumption that if you voted by

paper ballot, also known as provisional, that your

vote would be counted?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 138 of 141


11

^

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q•

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

Yes.

How many poll workers did you deal with that day?

Do you remember?

Probably four. Four or five. I don't remember.

What was the reasoning that the poll workers gave

you for why you had to cast a provisional ballot?

Because I was no longer at the Stonecreek

residence.

I know this is a long shot, but do you remember

any of the poll workers you met with? Did you

recognize any of them?

The names?

Yeah.

No.

Okay. That's fine. If you were told your ballot

would not have been counted unless you changed to

aau

;l .Pt

.l il^c

..i,,.,.c

,-, nn ianii 1ri vnt] have aone to aiv.,.u.^...., ....,.......,.. 1 --- ---- - - ^

different location?


A. Yes.

Q. That was directed towards me, not you.

A. Oh, okay.

MS. BRYAN: You're fine.

Q. I'm the one in trouble; but I keep asking it.

Do you remember before the election, did


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 139 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

12

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

Q.

A.

4•

you get any kind of postcard or mailing from the

board telling you where to go?

I do not recall.

Okay. Do you remember after the election, did you

get any kind of correspondence in the mail?

No, I did not.

You didn't get anything or you don't recall?

I did not get anything.

Do you remember, did the poll workers, did they

make any phone call to the board of elections to

try to help you vote?

No.

Do you remember the last time you voted before

this election?

It was probably the last presidential election.

Do you generally just vote in the big elections,

^ 1- .. p r e S dc„ " } ; n^ ^L11C iuia.iu^ .

Yes.

Do you remember when you left the polling

location, did they give you any kind of handout

explaining your rights as a provisional voter?

No.

Did they give you a.phone number or anything for

the board of elections to call to see if your vote

was counted?


Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 140 of 141


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

28

STATE OF OHIO,

SUMMIT COUNTY.


SS:


Certified Realtime Reporter and Notary Public withinand for the State of Ohio, duly commissioned andqualified, do hereby certify that the within-namedWitness, CARRIE THOMAS, was by me first duly sworn totestify the truth, the whole truth and nothing but thetruth in the cause aforesaid; that the testimony sogiven by her was by me reduced to Stenotype in thepresence of said witness; afterwards prepared andproduced by means of Computer-Aided Transcription, andthat the foregoing is a true and correct transcription



specified.



,-m,,Tnnc• r,Truv nV nL- T ha7Te haraiintn Set mv handIN W 111VL^J vvriLnLVi , -



W^ Patrick, RM^, CRR & Notary Public



Canton 330.492.4221 Akron 330.928.1418


Page 141 of 141


1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

EASTERN DIVISION


Plaintiffs

vs.

JON HUSTED, et al.,

Defendants.

:::::::::::::




[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR

PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

AND FOR ENTRY OF A RULE 54(B)

PARTIAL FINAL JUDGMENT AND

PERMANENT INJUNCTION

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment

and for Entry of a Rule 54(b) Partial Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction, with respect to

Plaintiffs’ claims that Ohio’s mandatory disqualification of provisional ballots cast by lawfully-

registered voters in the correct polling location but wrong precinct because of poll-worker error

violates the right to vote guaranteed by the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

On June 22, 2012, Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit challenging an Ohio law that requires the

rejection of wrong-precinct provisional ballots. Ohio Rev. Code §3505.183(B)(4)(a)); see State

ex rel. Painter v. Brunner, 128 Ohio St.3d 17, 941 N.E.2d 782 (2011). Plaintiffs contend that

Ohio’s failure to count the votes of lawfully registered voters who arrive at the correct polling

location but, through poll-worker or election-official error, cast provisional ballots corresponding

to the wrong voting precinct violates the right to vote protected by the Constitution. Plaintiffs


2

immediately moved for a preliminary injunction requiring the State to count such “correct-

location/wrong-precinct” provisional ballots in the November 2012 election.

On August 27, 2012, this Court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the

disqualification of provisional ballots cast by registered voters in the correct polling location but

on a wrong-precinct ballot unless Ohio boards of elections determined that the voter was properly

informed of the correct precinct and refused to travel to the correct precinct and vote the proper

ballot. In granting the preliminary injunction, this Court reviewed extensive documentary

evidence from every recent election demonstrating that Ohio has rejected thousands of correct-

location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots and that these ballots are miscast due to poll-worker

error. Based on this compelling, extensive, and undisputed evidentiary record, the Court found a

strong likelihood that Plaintiffs would prevail on their claims that Ohio’s automatic rejection of

wrong-precinct provisional ballots cast by voters at the right polling location as a result of poll-

worker error violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the United States

Constitution.

The Sixth Circuit affirmed this portion of the Court’s preliminary injunction on October

11, 2012. NEOCH v. Husted, 696 F.3d 580, 599 (6th Cir. 2012). Recognizing the substantial

evidentiary record, the Sixth Circuit affirmed this Court’s “factual conclusion that most right-

place/wrong-precinct ballots result, and will continue to result, from poll-worker error.” Id. at

595. Applying the balancing test set forth in Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780 (1983), and

Burdick v. Takushi, 504 U.S. 428 (1992), the Sixth Circuit also affirmed this Court’s conclusion

that Plaintiffs had shown a likely equal protection violation. Specifically, it found that “the State

fail[ed] to identify precise interests justifying th[e] substantial burden” imposed by strict

application of its provisional ballot-counting law. NEOCH, 696 F.3d at 597. The Sixth Circuit


3

also agreed with this Court that Plaintiffs had established a likelihood that the State’s summary

rejection of correct-location/wrong-precinct ballots rendered its voting system fundamentally

unfair in violation of due process. Id. at 597-98.

Plaintiffs now move for summary judgment with respect to their claim that Ohio’s

disqualification of provisional ballots cast at the correct polling location but in the wrong

precinct because of poll-worker error violates due process and equal protection. Plaintiffs further

request that this Court issue a permanent injunction and enter final judgment, pursuant to Federal

Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b), as to their correct-location/wrong-precinct claims. In support of

their motion, Plaintiffs rely on the extensive evidence already in the record and submit additional

evidence from the November 2012 election showing that poll-worker error continues to result in

significant numbers of provisional ballots cast by voters who arrive at the correct polling

location, but who receive and cast ballots for the wrong voting precinct.

Based on the undisputed statewide evidentiary record and factual findings with respect to

elections from 2008 - 2012 relied upon to issue the August 27, 2012 preliminary injunction, as

well as additional evidence from the November 2012 election, the Court finds that poll-worker

error has resulted, and will continue to result, in the disenfranchisement of lawfully registered

voters who cast wrong-precinct provisional ballots at the correct polling location in Ohio, absent

action by this Court. The Court finds further that the constitutional analysis provided by this

Court in granting the August 27, 2012 preliminary injunction and affirmed by the Sixth Circuit

requires the conclusion that the mandatory disenfranchisement of these voters violates

constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. No genuine issue of material fact

exists with respect to Plaintiffs’ correct-location/wrong-precinct claims, Plaintiffs have

established constitutional violations, and therefore summary judgment is appropriate.


4

The Court also finds that entry of a permanent injunction is necessary to prevent

continuing constitutional violations. Absent an injunction, the State will be bound by the Ohio

Supreme Court’s decision in State ex rel. Painter v. Brunner, 941 N.E.2d 782 (Ohio 2011),

which requires the disqualification of all wrong-precinct ballots, including those cast in the

correct polling location, regardless of whether the voter cast a wrong-precinct ballot due to poll-

worker error. Evidence from every recent election, including the November 2012 election,

shows that poll workers continue to err and that their errors continue to cause lawfully registered

voters to cast wrong-precinct ballots at multi-precinct locations. As of 2012, approximately 80

percent of voting precincts in Ohio are located in these multi-precinct locations. To prevent the

continuing and irreparable disenfranchisement of Ohio voters, the Court will issue the permanent

injunction requested by Plaintiffs.

By granting partial summary judgment and issuing a permanent injunction, the Court

fully resolves Plaintiffs’ claim that the mandatory disqualification under Ohio law of provisional

ballots cast by voters in the correct polling location but in the wrong precinct violates

constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. The Court agrees that no just

cause exists for delay in the complete resolution of these important constitutional claims. The

Court will therefore enter final judgment, pursuant to Rule 54(b), as to Plaintiffs’ claims that

disqualification of correct-location/wrong-precinct provisional ballots violates the Equal

Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States

Constitution.

Accordingly, for the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ motion for

partial summary judgment and for entry of a Rule 54(b) partial final judgment and a permanent


5

injunction with respect to the correct-location/wrong-precinct ballot claims. It is therefore hereby

ORDERED that:

The State of Ohio, the Ohio Secretary of State and his County Boards of Elections may

not reject any provisional ballot cast by a lawfully-registered voter in the correction polling

location in any election because the voter cast his or her provisional ballot in the wrong precinct,

unless the poll worker who processed the voter’s provisional ballot has:

(a) determined the correct precinct for the voter;

(b) directed the voter to the correct precinct;

(c) informed the voter that casting the wrong-precinct ballot would result in all voteson the ballot being rejected under Ohio law; and

(d) the voter refused to travel to the correct precinct and insisted on voting the invalidballot;

and the Board of Elections has verified that the precinct to which the poll worker directed the

voter was the correct precinct for that voter. If the County Board of Elections cannot verify that

the poll worker directed the voter to the correct precinct, the votes cast on the provisional ballot

must be counted in all races and for all issues for which the voter would have been eligible to

vote if he/she had cast the ballot in the correct precinct.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Date: ______________________ __________________________________HONORABLE ALGENON L. MARBLEYUnited States District Judge


in the united states district court for the ... - b.3cdn.net · jon husted, et al.,...

Documents