RIP: Ohio Election Reform - It's OUR Fault.

[rucky]

I'm not a "Diebold doubter", there are 100 threads talking about the voting machines. I want to add my personal experience as another possible explanation why 2-5 were resoundingly defeated:

note: RON= Reform Ohio Now. Measures 2-5 were on the ballot and could have dramatically remedied the awful situation we have here. www.reformohionow.org did a great job writing the measures, but the fell asleep on the job when it came to promoting them:

You won't believe the run-around I got when I tried to Volunteer
my emails started two months ago: a call to the local party office and two emails to RON, saying I'm ready to volunteer.

I never once got a response, other than some sporadic mass emails asking for cash. I obliged, but I was ready to canvas, coordinate, call, pepper the landscape with signs, posters, flyers, greeting cards - and whatever.

TWO NIGHTS before the election, RON sent a special mailer out asking when people were available to volunteer. I checked the boxes and eagerly awaited my phone list and/or further instructions.

Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Maybe their strategy was to raise cash and run ads, but they could've coordinated their ground troops much better. Hell, I was ready to: with my infant daughte in-tow.

If the RON folks were going to fight a media war, they were soundly outspent by the cabal who brought us Coingate:

Ads saying that a "NO" vote would stop corruption (HA!) were running nonstop in Cinci-Dayton area.

The message actually said "Fight corruption in Ohio - vote no on 2-5"

they were counting on nobody actually reading the measures. They won again.

[OzarkDem]

1. An expensive boondoggle

As I've posted elsewhere, the more I research RON, the more I realize what a mess it was. None of the people in charge were very well qualified for what they were doing, but they were good at raising money.

There was little or no research or collaboration with potential allies - a strictly top-down set of proposals many of which had serious flaws that could have been fixed. The consultants hired to run the campaign have a long record of failure, and it showed.

The best we can do is learn from our mistakes. Next time, we need to put some more thought into election reform and take the time to develop a better plan.

[Kukesa]

2. Kick! n/t

[femrap]

3. The person in charge of coordinating the Cincinnati area

did a piss poor job. He spent no time whatsoever with people on the ground. I hate the fact that he was paid to do nothing. Anyone know who the head honcho of RON is?