Protecting the impartiality of the ballot box in Ohio

Imagine, if you will, a class election in which the person responsible for recording and counting the ballots announces in advance that he is "committed" to the election of one of the candidates. Would the school administration allow the election to go forward?
Of course not. And it shouldn't.
Now, let's say that the election wasn't in a school, but in the state of Ohio, and the office in question was president of the United States. And let's say that the chief executive of one of the companies bidding to provide computerized voting machines and vote counters was on record as saying that he is "committed" to the re-election of President Bush.
Should his company still be in the running for dozens of multimillion-dollar contracts to provide voting machines to Ohio counties?
We'd say of course not. But Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell doesn't have any problem at all with it.
One of three likely successful bidders for state contracts to provide new voting equipment in Ohio is Canton-based Diebold Inc.. The three were supposed to be named Aug. 15, but that was delayed because one of the unsuccessful bidders has filed suit. That suit could be addressed by the court as early as today, clearing the way for Blackwell to announce his office's decision.
Ordinarily, we'd be strongly in favor of a Northeast Ohio company getting as big a piece of the $160 million election machinery pie as possible.
But Diebold Inc.'s CEO, Walden O'Dell, has shown such an astounding lack of judgment that his company should be disqualified from consideration.
Walden is for 'W'
August 14, the day before Blackwell was to announce which three contractors had survived his office's vetting process, O'Dell sent a fund-raising letter to Republican friends and acquaintances inviting them to a $1,000-per-plate dinner at his suburban Columbus mansion. He suggested that they consider donating $10,000 each and declared that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." That's strong language from a man who wants to count your vote.
The reason that the federal and state governments are committed to spending hundreds of millions of dollars on new voting equipment is to restore the public's faith in the sanctity of the ballot box following the tabulation debacle in Florida in 2000.
How much confidence can the voter have using equipment produced by a company whose chief executive is already committed to a certain outcome?
It's not as if there aren't questions being raised about the security of touchscreen voting and computerized tabulation. Johns Hopkins University researchers released a study July 23 asserting that Diebold's software is susceptible to hackers. Diebold quickly disputed the report, saying it was based on outdated data and that it was biased.
The company could be right. Johns Hopkins researchers could be biased. But there is not even a question about the bias of Diebold's CEO. He put it down in black and white. He's committed to delivering Ohio to President Bush.
They all do it
Meanwhile, Blackwell has made it clear that he has no intention of eliminating Diebold on the basis of O'Dell's bias. His rationale is almost as disturbing as his refusal. In effect, he says, Diebold is no worse than any of the others. "Believe me, if there is a political lever to be pulled, all of them have pulled it," Blackwell told The Plain Dealer.
Isn't that encouraging?
On top of that, Blackwell's office is more than happy to pass the buck. The secretary of state will do no more than certify three acceptable bidders, a Blackwell spokesman noted. It will be up to each county board of elections to pick the one it prefers, and if any board is bothered by O'Dell's statement, it can choose a bidder other than Diebold.
The voters have every right to expect more from the secretary of state, an elected official who is responsible for eliminating even the hint of impropriety in the conduct of every election, from the moment each voter arrives at the polls until the last vote is counted and the results are certified.