September 14, 2007 SECRETARY OF STATE S PLANNED STUDY OF OHIO ELECTRIC VOTING MACHINES IN JEOPARDY BECAUSE OF ALLEGED INHEREHNT BIAS OF REVIEWERS

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1 September 14, 2007 SECRETARY OF STATE S PLANNED STUDY OF OHIO ELECTRIC VOTING MACHINES IN JEOPARDY BECAUSE OF ALLEGED INHEREHNT BIAS OF REVIEWERS This week saw the scuttling of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner s planned study of electronic voting machines as Republican members of the Controlling Board refused to release monies for the proposed study, instead deferring consideration for two weeks. Secretary Brunner's request to waive competitive selection for a $1.6 million contract with SysTest Labs of Denver, and a $138,578 contract with MicroSolved Inc., Columbus, was deferred until the board's Sept. 24 meeting. Speaker Husted had requested a delay hours earlier. "At the present time, too many outstanding questions remain regarding the scope of this request and the intent of the study - issues I believe can be properly addressed by allowing time for a more thoughtful and deliberative review of the request," Husted said. On Tuesday, Republicans aired their concerns with the planned review, particularly with research showing some certainly disconcerting comments made by the various academic reviewers and concerns as to the objectivity of the panel. In fact, three of the four lead academic experts in the proposed study were part of a California study that led to touch-screen devices there being decertified. The Republicans revealed quotes from the reviewers that included one expert saying he doubts electronic voting machines can ever be made secure, another calling certain machines fatally flawed. One researcher, Matt Blaze, an associate professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania, had even created a bingo game mocking vendor excuses for security problems, such as La, la, la, we re not listening. Said Matt Damschroder, director of the Franklin County Board of Elections and President of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, It demonstrates an inherent bias that would likely color any report that they give. State Senators John Carey (R-Wellston) and Steve Stivers (R- Columbus) then sent the Secretary a missive Thursday asking 23 questions regarding the study. Said the joint letter, We don t have any objections to testing voting machines to make sure they are secure and working properly. However, we believe it is important for significant questions regarding objectivity, transparency and accountability to be resolved. The Secretary of State s office fired back saying they expected the experts would treat Ohio as new territory and citing the various academics impeccable credentials. However, late in the week, Secretary Brunner admitted she was reconsidering Blaze s role in the proposed study. Commented Senator Carey, We definitely want the machines to be accurate and we want people to be comfortable with them. But I personally don t want to put the state at risk of having 1

2 to spend millions of dollars unnecessarily. Added Speaker Husted, We spent an awful lot of money on those machines and we should be getting it right on them. The machines at risk, which are touch screen systems, are used in over 50 counties statewide. CCAO SENDS LETTER TO GOVERNOR ABOUT DAY CARE PROVIDERS On Thursday, the policy staff sent a letter to Governor Strickland conveying our concerns about an upcoming executive order giving day care providers the right to collectively bargain with the state. Counties currently certify Type B day care providers, which are providers who care for between one and six children at one time and in which no more than three children are under two years of age at one time. Type B providers only are certified if they accept payment from public funds. These providers are treated under Ohio law as independent contractors of the county instead of county employees. Thus far, the Internal Revenue Service has agreed, although sometimes reluctantly, that these providers are in fact independent contractors. We detailed how counties are concerned that if these providers are granted the right to collectively bargain, which is a right usually solely reserved for employees, that they will become county employees in the view of the IRS. If this were to occur, counties would be subject to many additional responsibilities, such as increased liability for the acts of the day care providers and increased costs for the providers employee benefits, including retirement benefits, vacation, sick leave, and insurance benefits. We recognize that many counties in Ohio are small to medium in size, and often struggle to find enough money to fund all of the vital services county residents need. We expressed our desire to work with the Governor to ensure that counties can continue to provide an adequate number of day care slots so that we can serve Ohio s children in need in the future. Importantly, we emphasized that we do not believe or want to advocate for child care providers receiving inadequate payment or acknowledgement for the incredible services they provide to children on a daily basis. But, we expressed concerns that an executive order granting day care providers collective bargaining rights at the state level will undercut the counties ability to contend that these providers are viewed as independent contractors as opposed to county employees. As a result, we suggested that, if Governor Strickland chooses to collectively bargain with these providers, the state assume the responsibility of certifying Type B day care providers. This would alleviate the counties concerns. INTEREST GROUPS AIR ELECTION CONCERNS; SPEAKER SAYS NO TO CUYAHOGA REQUEST FOR PRIMARY DELAY As Ohio nears the one year presidential election cycle, all too familiar candidates are not alone in focusing on the state as interest groups once again offer allegations as to the integrity of the Ohio voting process. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio urged state and county officials to address recurring, systemic problems in the voting system before the 2008 presidential election. Carrie Davis, ACLU attorney, said she is not confident that election laws are being uniformly applied across the state. The ACLU cited the basis for their contentions as several thousand voting related complaints statewide from balloting in 2004 and

3 A sampling of the ACLU suggestions for election reform included: --Have shorter hourly shifts for poll workers on Election Day, better training, and a widespread effort to recruit more young people, particularly high school students. --Encourage early voting in an attempt to ease congestion on Election Day, requiring county boards to have early voting procedures in place. --Ease confusion over voting in the proper polling place by not requiring individuals to cast provisional ballots when their correct precincts may be only steps away. --Handle absentee voting with greater care, ensuring that people who request such ballots receive them. --Clarify voter identification requirements through a Secretary of State directive to provide uniformity among all counties. The ACLU said it received "numerous calls from people who were asked to leave the polls to get other identification or were forced to vote a provisional ballot." Both Secretary of State Brunner and Ohio Association of Election Officials President Matt Damschroder endorsed the concept of allowing two high school students, rather than just one, work a polling station to help ease the burden of long shifts on poll workers. Secretary Brunner and Mr. Damschroder also noted the increasing number of public employees used to staff polling stations on Election Day. Nearly 25% of poll workers used most recently in Franklin County were public employees or participants in the Champions of Democracy program, which recruits from the private sector. The General Assembly passed legislation in 2004 that permits local governments to enter into agreements with boards of elections to permit their employees to take paid leave to staff polling stations. In related news, Speaker Husted has made it clear that he is not inclined to move back the presidential primary election date as had been requested by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Said Husted, I ve got two bills that want to move it forward, people who want to move it back. I think we re going to leave it right where it is. I think it s really too late in the process to change the rules on anyone at this point in time that means forward or backward. CCAO remains steadfast in its opposition to any legislation moving the primary date forward, as it would result in unbudgeted election costs for counties in the present calendar year. ENERGY REGULATION POSTURING HEATS UP; WIND PROJECTS RECEIVE DOD GRANTS The rhetoric continues between the executive and legislative branch, as well as the two parties, as electric regulation plans are unveiled or awaited. The electric regulation debate now centers on two questions: 1) Will alternative energy standards be separated from energy re-regulation legislation, and 2) Will the alternative standard put an emphasis on renewable energy standards? Capital insiders insist that the legislature plans to de-link energy re-regulation from alternative energy standard requirements and introduce separate legislation. Alternative energy 3

4 advocates fear that such separation will lead to a watered-down bill on alternative energy standard portfolio requirements. This scenario seemed increasingly likely as legislative leaders pressured the Governor for his legislation, allowing the introduction of separate stand alone energy portfolio legislation. Speaker Jon Husted (R-Kettering) signaled Tuesday that the longer the legislature waits to get a bill the less likely that it can be processed through both chambers by the end of the year. Rep. John Hagan (R-Alliance), who chairs the House Public Utilities Committee, already has expressed his concerns with the time it will take to consider alternative energy portfolios saying "I think it could stand alone." The Governor s Office continues to insist that the alternative energy portfolio and electric re-regulation legislation stay in one bill. Spokesman Keith Daily added that the Governor has submitted all the language for the bill and at this point we re waiting for the first draft to be retuned by LSC. Adding to the mix were Representatives Jim McGregor (R- Gahanna) and Mike Skindell (R- Lakewood), who have introduced their own proposals (Skindell s is in bill form) that would set alternative energy standards. Both proposals call for a greater focus on renewable energy; McGregor s calls for the alternative energy to originate in Ohio and allows for gas and oil drilling on state lands, while Skindell s would require a significant percentage of renewable energy to come only from the Lake Erie wind project. Both bills emphasize renewable energy (wind, solar, biomass) versus nuclear and clean coal technology which the Governor s proposal would allow. Quickly weighing in on the alternative/ renewable question was Mike Carey, president of the Ohio Coal Association, who offered caution on any plan that puts a focus on the role of renewable energy at the expense of the development of clean coal technology. In related news, the Governor announced up to $5 million in grant money for two companies developing wind energy projects. The General Assembly had approved funding for the Ohio Wind Production and manufacturing Incentive as part of legislative sponsored by Rep. Joe Uecker (R- Loveland) during the 126 th General Assembly. As the Department of Development issues its first round of grants, $3 million will be awarded to EverPower Renewables Buckeye Wind Project in Champaign and Logan counties, while up $2 million will be awarded to JW Great Lakes Wind Farm in Wood County. The EverPower project is a 100-megawatt venture designed to supply electricity for 30,000 homes, while the JW project is a 49.5-megawatt project designed to power 15,000 homes. Both projects are scheduled to be operational by July RETIREMENT PANEL BACKS FULL SERVICE CREDIT PRICES, DISCOURAGES BILL SEEKING MORE EDUCATION ALTERNATIVE RETIREMENT PLANS As reported in Gongwer Public employees who have been allowed to buy retirement service credits at a cost that is less than the actuarial price would have to pay the full price for future purchases under a recommendation approved by a state panel on Wednesday. The Ohio Retirement Study Council endorsed the concept - not yet embodied in a bill - by a unanimous vote. The vote on the service credit purchases came after the council's actuary said this spring that just seven of 19,000 public employees who purchased credit in 2005 paid the full actuarial price. In its report, the council noted that the policy of allowing discount purchases forces those who don't to subsidize the others. "This raises the public policy issue of whether a member's purchase of service credit should be subsidized by the retirement system," the council's analysis said. 4

5 Specifically, the council said the purchase price for all types of credit should equal the full actuarial liability, excluding credit purchases allowed in federal law. Additionally, the council said those who buy credits should be required to retire within 90 days of the purchase. The council also said lawmakers should exclude purchased credits from counting toward eligibility for health care coverage or subsidies. The Milliman report, based on statistics provided by the systems, indicates that Ohio Public Employees Retirement System members who bought credits paid an average of 29.1% of the cost. System purchase prices ranged from a low of 27.7% of actuarial cost at the State Teachers Retirement System to a high of 45.9% for the Highway Patrol Retirement System. SEITZ GETS GOP NOD FOR SENATE APPOINTMENT; PADGETT SAYS NO TO REELECTION BID A Senate Republican screening committee offered its recommendation that the full caucus select Representative Bill Seitz of Cincinnati to fill an upcoming vacancy in the chamber. Seitz will succeed Sen. Patricia Clancy (R-Cincinnati), who will leave the chamber for a position in the Hamilton County court system next month. The full Senate GOP caucus is not expected to formally endorse Rep. Seitz until Oct. 10 th as the chamber has cancelled its remaining September sessions. The upper chamber will see another new face as Senator Joy Padgett (R-Coshocton) has announced that she will forego another run for the Senate. In a letter to Senate President Bill Harris (R-Ashland), Padgett declined to say her decision to retire was based on any particular issue, but she did indicate that term limits played a large role. Harris was quick to praise Padgett s long record of public service, as a former school teacher, director of the Governor s Office of Appalachia, and the chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee. Not allowing for any replacement speculation, Harris quickly endorsed Representative Jimmy Stewart (R-Athens) to succeed Padgett. Said Harris statement Not only has he demonstrated a keen understanding of the needs of his region, but has evidenced by his performance in recent elections, he has shown he has the kind of broad appeal needed to speak for a diverse district like the 20 th. Rep. Stewart served in the Democratic-leaning Athens city government before winning election to three terms in the Ohio House. NEW INTRODUCTIONS HB 308 IMMIGRATION STATUS (Domenick, Combs) To require in specified situations the verification of immigration status of persons who are not United States citizens, to impose state income taxes at a rate of six per cent per annum on the compensation of specified independent contractors who fail to document such verification, and to restrict the employment, transport, post-secondary education benefits, driver's licenses and identification cards, and receipt of public benefits of persons who are not legal residents of the United States. Am. & En , , , , , , and , 8.01 to 8.10, , and HB 313 RENEWABLE ENERGY (Skindell) To create a renewable energy portfolio standard for electric suppliers and authorize a state system of tradable renewable energy credits. Am , , , , and