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A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 10 OctOber 2020
Ohio county says nearly 50,000 voters received wrong ballots

By ANDREW WELSH-HUG- LaRose said Friday that
GINS while the Franklin County
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — board made "a serious mis-
Nearly 50,000 voters re- take," the county was work-
ceived incorrect absentee ing hard to fix it. LaRose not-
ballots in the county that ed Ohio's elections boards
is home to Ohio's capital are bipartisan to ensure fair
and largest city, elections elections.
officials said Friday as they "The bottom line is this:
promised corrected ballots Ohioans can be assured —
would be mailed within 72 we will have a safe, secure,
hours. and accurate election,"
With about 240,000 ballots LaRose said in a statement.
mailed, that meant one President Donald Trump,
in five voters received a who has alleged fraud as-
wrong ballot. The error hap- sociated with voting by
pened Saturday afternoon mail with no evidence such
when someone changed fraud exists, quickly cited
a setting on a machine the Franklin County case
that places absentee bal- on Twitter, calling it a case
lots into mailing envelopes, of a "rigged election."
Franklin County elections No such evidence exists.
officials said Thursday. "Mr. President, it certainly
Some ballots had an incor- was a serious mistake, but
rect congressional race, a serious mistake that we're
while others had the cor- working hard to make
rect information but were This photo made on Oct. 6, 2020, in Westerville, Ohio, shows Ohio absentee ballots. right," the board tweeted
sent to voters in a differ- Associated Press in response to Trump. "Our
ent precinct. The Franklin board is bipartisan and our
County Elections Board was underway Friday, the place to ensure only one voting. elections are fair. And ev-
said 49,669 voters received Franklin County Elections voter can cast a ballot, On Tuesday, Ohio's elec- ery vote will be counted."
incorrect ballots out of Board announced. including rejecting any re- tions chief announced that Just minutes after his tweet
237,498 that were mailed. The board also said it will placement ballots if some- Ohio's 88 elections boards alleging fraud in Ohio, the
That represents 6% of Frank- mail postcards to all af- one went ahead and vot- received a record number president tweeted in sup-
lin County's approximately fected voters detailing the ed in person. of absentee ballot applica- port of Colorado, which
880,000 registered voters, situation and highlight- The news of the incorrect tions. Republican Secretary has an all-mail balloting
and 0.6% of the 8 million ing voters' options moving ballots brought renewed of State Frank LaRose said system.
voters registered statewide forward. Those options in- focus on an election see- 2,154,235 applications had "COLORADO! Your mail
in the presidential battle- clude voting in-person at ing an unprecedented been received — more ballots are being sent out
ground. the board's offices on the number of absentee bal- than double the 1,091,188 beginning TODAY! Fill them
The process to print, stuff city's north side. lot requests, spurred by the absentee ballots applica- out and VOTE #Trump-
the replacement ballots in The elections board said coronavirus pandemic and tions at the same time four Pence2020!" the president
envelopes and mail them multiple checks are in concerns about in-person years ago. tweeted.q

Delaware suspect in Whitmer plot was pardoned last year

ernor for crimes dating to convicted on Dec. 1, 1997, don. The board's recom- Jonathan Starkey, a spokes-
1994, according to state re- of possession of a firearm mendation for a pardon man for Carney, noted that
cords.Barry G. Croft Jr., 44, during the commission of was based on the lack of the charges in Croft's un-
was taken into custody this a felony. That sentence fol- opposition from the state opposed pardon petition
week after being arrested lowed a one-year stint that "and the need for a pardon were from 1994 and 1997,
by the FBI in Swedesboro, ended in March 1996. for employment purposes." more than 20 years earlier,
New Jersey. Croft made In April 2019, one week af- "The prior administration did and the pardon was unop-
an initial appearance be- ter Delaware revenue of- not oppose this application posed.
fore a federal magistrate in ficials filed a state tax lien because Croft's criminal "The charges brought in
Wilmington on Thursday. against Croft for more than history was more than 20 Michigan are disturbing
Croft was being held Fri- $36,700, Democratic Gov. years old and it appeared and everyone charged
day at a state prison in John Carney granted him to everyone involved that in this plot should be pros-
Wilmington. A hearing on a pardon for the 1997 gun his offenses were in his ecuted to the fullest extent
This booking photo provided
by the Delaware Department his continued detention charge and several other past and that he had got- of the law," Starkey said.
of Justice shows Barry Croft. and removal to Michigan is convictions from 1994 to ten himself on the right "This is also another warn-
Associated Press scheduled for Tuesday. 1996. The crimes involved track," said Mat Marshall, ing sign about the growing
Five other men, all from included assault, burglary, a spokeswoman for Dem- threat of violence and radi-
DOVER, Del. (AP) — The Michigan, were charged theft and receiving stolen ocratic Attorney General calization in our politics."
Delaware man charged in the alleged scheme that property. Kathy Jennings. "Needless In addition to Croft's crimi-
in federal court with con- involved months of plan- Carney's pardon came to say, nobody — neither nal convictions, authorities
spiring to kidnap Michigan ning and even rehearsals after a December 2018 the DOJ nor the bipartisan in Delaware twice sought
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to snatch Whitmer from her Board of Pardons hearing Board of Pardons — would to have him declared a
has a long criminal history vacation home. at which the attorney gen- have endorsed a pardon habitual offender for motor
and was pardoned just last Croft spent nearly three eral's office did not object had they known what the vehicle offenses, first in 1995
year by Delaware's gov- years in prison after being to Croft's request for a par- future held." and again in 2004.q