Obama: thank god we've got democrats in charge of the machines

and, via the next right :

Jeff Ortega, from Ohio Secretary of State's Jennifer Brunner's office, was just on WTAM-AM in Cleveland. After six minutes of trying to explain why you aren't actually "voting" when casting an early vote, he says "I have to go now" and hangs up on host Bob Frantz:

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[rquoter]State Supreme Court overrules Brunner on absentee-ballot check-box issue
Application forms had been mailed by McCain campaign
Thursday, October 2, 2008 2:56 PM

Click here to read today's Ohio Supreme Court decision (PDF)
The Ohio Supreme Court this afternoon ordered Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to direct county elections boards to accept disputed applications for absentee ballots that don't have a box on the form checked.

Brunner, a Democrat, had ruled that the applications from Republican John McCain's campaign should be rejected because the box must be checked to affirm that the applicant is a qualified elector as required by law.

But two Hamilton County residents sued, arguing that there is a statement on the form declaring the applicant is qualified, and that the applicant's signature is enough to satisfy the law even if the box isn't checked.

The court agreed, ruling that there is no requirement in the law that a box be checked or that the applicant's signature be close to an affirmation statement.

"No vital public purpose or public interest is served by rejecting electors' applications for absentee ballots because of an unmarked check box next to a qualified-elector statement," the court wrote. "There is also no evidence of fraud."

The forms in question were among 1 million mailed by McCain's campaign, which feared that thousands would be rejected because the box wasn't checked.

Today's ruling is the latest in a series of decisions in lawsuits that were filed in disputes in battleground Ohio over absentee voting, which began Tuesday. It was the first ruling against Brunner.

Earlier this week, the Ohio Supreme Court and a federal court upheld Brunner's directive that citizens may register and immediately cast an absentee ballot until registration deadline, which is Monday.[/rquoter]