the buzzflash winner of the wings of justice award

is ohio secretary of state jennifer brunner. i had NO idea the shite she had to and continues to have to wade through. i personally want to thank her for being a PATRIOT

can someone 'splain to me why republicans want to stop people from voting? isn't it PATRIOTIC to vote? isn't it AMERICAN to vote?

now what would make them want 'true americans' NOT to vote???? hmmmmmm i wonder

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner Wins This Week's Wings of Justice for Protecting Buckeye Votes

Submitted by meg

WINGS OF JUSTICE

Ohio Secretary of State 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 like 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 That request was withdrawn, but the filer instead said that Brunner would have to check registrants against state motor vehicle records and social security numbers, a notoriously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 which might disqualify legal voters. Brunner stood up to that one, too, and the Supreme Court ruled in her favor............