As the recount began, the Director and Deputy Director distributed copies of precinct by precinct Election Returns of the Presidential Vote of the 2004 General Election. These Election Returns distributed to the candidates' witnesses were the Election Returns obtaine'd by the illegal recount conducted on December 9, 2004 or December 10, 2004, rather than the Elections Returns certified by Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell on December 6, 2004, the Official Election Returns determined by the Secretary of State to be the Election Returns to be recounted. At no time did the Coshocton County Board of Election, the Director or Deputy Director inform the candidates' witnesses of the origin of the Election Returns presented to them, nor were these totals posted by the Coshocton County Board of Election or the Secretary of State for the general public prior to the recount. These totals were represented by the Coshocton County Board of Election, the Director and Deputy Director as the official Election Returns of the Presidential Vote of the 2004 General Election, November 2,2004. Upon further examination and analysis subsequent to the completion of the recount held on December 14,2004, inconsistencies were noted between Official Election Returns as certified by the Secretary of State on December 6, 2004 and those Election Returns supplied to candidates' witnesses on December 14, 2004 and represented as the Official Election Returns of the General Election, November 2, 2004. On December 19, 20041 submitted a letter to the Coshocton County Board of Election inquiring into the true circumstances of the events found to be inconsistent with the requirements of the Ohio Revised Code section 3515.04. In a follow up telephone conversation with the Director I was informed that a reply to my letter would be forthcoming after the Board of Election met and drafted an official response. I subsequently received the Board of Election's official reply, dated December 27, 2004, which detailed the aforementioned events of December 9,2004, December 10, 2004 and December 14, 2004.
ORC 3599.16, "Misconduct of Members of the Board of Election", states that, "No member, director or employee of a board of election shall: A) Willfully or negligently violate or neglect to perform any duty imposed upon him by law, or willfully perform or neglect to perform it in a way as to hinder the objects of the law, or willfully disobey any law incumbent upon him to do so." The Coshocton County Board of Election, the Director and the Deputy Director, with the full knowledge of and possibly at the direction of Mr. Michael Hernon and Ms. Patricia Wolfe, and other possible unnamed and unknown persons, violated ORC 3515.04 "Outline of Recount Procedures." By willfully conducting, concealing and misrepresenting the illegal recount of the Presidential Vote of the 2004 General Election on December 9,2004 or December 10, 2004, the Coshocton County Board of Election, the Director and the Deputy Director violated ORC 3599.16. This action also violates ORC 3515 "Outline of Recount Procedures, D2, Notice to Candidates." and referred to in ORC 3599.32, "Violations by election official not otherwise specified."
On December 10, 2004, the Coshocton County Board of Election, the Director and the Deputy Director, with the full knowledge of Ohio Secretary of State J, Kenneth Blackwell, Mr. Michael Hernon, Ms. Patricia Wolfe, Ms. Kathy Malot and other possible unknown and unnamed persons violated ORC 3599.29, "Possession of False Records.", which states, "No person shall have in the person's possession a falsely made, altered, forged or counterfeited registration card, form or list, poll book, tally sheet or list of election returns of an election, knowing it to be such with intent to hinder, defeat, or