3rd member of Cuyahoga elections board quits

CLEVELAND (AP) -- A third member of the embattled Cuyahoga County elections board quit Tuesday under pressure from Ohio's top election official, leaving Ohio's Republican chairman as the lone holdout.
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner had demanded the four board members step down or face a removal hearing for allegedly shoddy work running elections in Ohio's most populous county.
Sally Florkiewicz, a Republican, resigned from the board effective Monday and said in a statement that Brunner, a Democrat, was trying to "advance a partisan agenda" in the removal effort.
Also Monday, a removal hearing is to be convened at Brunner's direction to try to oust Robert Bennett, the elections board chairman and head of the state GOP.
"Cuyahoga County has become an early turf war in the 2008 presidential election," Florkiewicz said.
The two Democratic board members, Loree K. Soggs and Edward C. Coaxum Jr., resigned last week.
"Our elections will never be flawless, but this board has made significant progress toward a fair and efficient system that ensures voter confidence," Florkiewicz said in her resignation letter.
"The secretary of state has decided to use the Cuyahoga County board of elections to advance a partisan agenda and I am not willing to be used as a political statement," she said.
Brunner's removal complaint against the board members said they ignored warnings, including one by its own outside monitor, that a recount of the 2004 presidential election was being conducted in violation of state rules.
Two board employees were convicted of rigging the recount to avoid a more thorough review and were sentenced to 18 months in prison.
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