October 29, 2008 Jennifer Brunner
Obviously, we at BuzzFlash are hesitant to give out awards for simply doing one's job. But when you're a secretary of state trying to protect voters' rights in a swing state such as Ohio, doing your job will cost you. So it has been for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. She has recently gotten death threats and the Secretary of State's Web site was hacked last week. Her office was even sent a package covered with threatening messages and containing a mysterious white powder. Not to mention that this is the same subject matter that got eight U.S. attorneys fired in 2006. Brunner has had her priorities straight from the start. The motto emblazoned on the top of her campaign site says it all: "Participation is the fullest measure of democracy." She's brought courage to the post ever since she was elected. As soon as she entered office, she commissioned the EVEREST report, in the wake of the electoral misdeeds of her infamous predecessor J. Kenneth Blackwell. The report found widespread equipment problems and security failures. More than just pointing out seemingly intractable problems, she suggested solutions. She pushed for an all-paper ballot election, but the legislature denied her that. Instead, she's providing more paper ballots this election year, so that some voters who feel uncomfortable using voting machines have the option of paper. She secured the legal use of absentee ballots without an "excuse," allowing many to vote early. Last month, Ohio Republicans filed a lawsuit in a last-ditch effort to subvert voter rights, objecting to same-day early voting. They wanted to close the window during which Ohio voters could both register and vote in the same stop. They were unsuccessful in that bid, so others started asking for the records of people who took advantage of the window, which was decried as voter intimidation. That request was withdrawn, but the filer instead said that Brunner would have to check registrants against state motor vehicle records and Social Security numbers, a notoriously inaccurate database. Such checks have been called both unnecessary and fraught with problems that might disqualify legal voters. Brunner stood up to that one, too, and the Supreme Court ruled in her favor. Now, President Bush is intervening at the request of House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), asking the Justice Department to look into whether or not the voters called into question should have to confirm their registration before Election Day. Long story short: There is little rest for Secretary Brunner this election season. It all comes down to the widely misunderstood difference between voter fraud and registration fraud. Registration fraud is what Republicans are all up in arms about when it comes to ACORN. A canvasser paid to turn in registration forms for new voters fabricates a few, usually to get more money or greater acclaim at their place of employment. Then, the employer (ACORN, others) works with the secretary of state to verify which registrations are real and throw out the ones that aren't. Voter fraud, on the other hand, is when a person lies about who they are in order to vote under that identity, a very rare situation. "The fears... really are unfounded," Brunner said on Democracy Now, noting the very small number of actual voter fraud cases. Brunner also noted that the early voting/registration window, which ended Oct. 6 and has resulted in the highest number of registered voters ever in Ohio, was approved by the Republican-led Ohio legislature. She then predicted that lame duck Republicans will try to repeal it in their waning days in the state legislature. To be fair, we weren't the first to notice Brunner's commitment to democracy. Earlier this year, she was honored with the Profiles of Courage award by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. But she's also has received her fair share of not-so-nice awards. So, with all of the new invective (and did we mention death threats?) she's taken of late, we had to honor her too. When you raise these levels of anger, you know you must be doing something right. * * * Nominated by the BuzzFlash staff.
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