Ohio Preparing to Destroy 2004 Presidential Election Ballots

First heard on Stephanie Miller this morning, Ohio officials are preparing to destroy the ballots from the 2004 Presidential Election:

Ohio officials will soon begin destroying the paper ballots from the 2004 presidential election despite objections from voter rights groups.

"Soon after the 2004 presidential election, questions emerged about how votes were tallied in Ohio, a battleground state that delivered the presidency to George W. Bush," Ian Urbina writes in a story slated for the New York Times.

"Now, following a routine procedure, state officials are preparing to destroy the paper ballots from the election," writes Urbina.

"Critics say the ballots should be preserved for more study," the article continues.

If this is truly a routine procedure, put in place before the 2004 elections, I can't fault the officials for following procedure. I can, however, fault them for not making the ballots public before this year, I will definitely fault them for not making exception to procedure in this highly suspect and volatile instance - we need those ballots, as they are the only physical proof election protection activists have regarding Ohio's role in the outcome of the 2004 election, especially since none exist for the Diebold voting machines that were used.