Remove Smith-Ille from the Election Board

Printed in the Herald-Times, November 25, 2011

To the Editor:

The 2011 election night vote-counting disaster was shameful. First, there is no excuse for county clerk Linda Robbins to not know the law. This does not bode well for the high-turnout 2012 election, and voters should remember this fiasco in 2014.

But it is the childish behavior of Republican Election Board appointee Judith Smith-Ille that deserves the most scorn. As a longtime Republican and a former Republican candidate for elective office, I am ashamed of her actions.

She admitted (H-T, 11/9/2011) that she knew months in advance about the process-breaking rules, but did not inform the clerk about it until two days in advance. This is unacceptable and reeks of sabotage.

Smith-Ille and her anonymous defenders whine that she is ignored by the Democrats on the Election Board.

Maybe they would have ignored her had she presented the facts. Then the election night disaster is completely on them. But Smith-Ille has a responsibility to the voters of Monroe County and to the Republican Party to provide the necessary information in a timely manner.

Monroe County Republican Party chairman Steve Hogan should remove Smith-Ille from the Election Board and apologize on her behalf to the voters of Monroe County.