More Vote Fraud in Ohio, More Voters Disenfranchised

Hamilton County Ohio is finding more people who committed vote fraud. 

Two more people were indicted today on charges of illegal voting, bringing the total of indicted voters in Hamilton County to eight.

One of those indicted today - Ellen Elizabeth Duncan of Avondale - was a poll worker at the Urban League offices on Reading Road. She is accused of voting by absentee ballot and in person at last fall's election.

The other, Timothy Merman of Fairfax, is accused of using a Fairfax business address as his residence when voting in 2012. Prosecutors say Merman actually lived in Kentucky at the time.

Hamilton County has a long history of vote fraud problems.  Take 2008 for example.

In Hamilton County, near Cincinnati, there is overwhelming evidence that fraudulent votes have already been cast during the week when voters could register and cast their ballot on the same day. Attorney Mike O'Neill has been appointed to investigate 41 percent of the 610 ballots that were subpoenaed by Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters. Deters stepped down from the case amid controversy over his Republican Party affiliations.  Assistant County Prosecutor for the Board of Elections Dave Stevens said, "We should be able to resolve some of these fraudulent votes before the election, but my guess is there are over 100 illegal votes in the system already and they will not be taken care of until after the election."

The only difference is now they are doing something about it.  However the problem remains that people who voted legally were disenfranchised as a result of the double voting.  Unlike the fail-safe of provisional ballots which allows voters who were wrongly removed from the voting rolls to still have their vote counted, there is no remedy for the voters who have been disenfranchised as a result of these crimes.