Cobb Says Blackwell Has Refused to Answer His Questions

NEWS RELEASE


For immediate release: December 22, 2004

Contact: Blair Bobier, Media Director at 541.929.5755

BLACKWELL CONTINUES TO DODGE QUESTIONS

Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb said today that
Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell has refused to answer questions
about the recount process and about a multitude of problems with the
underlying presidential election in Ohio.
"Mr. Blackwell's conduct is insulting and inexcusable. He has
refused to answer clarifying questions about the recount process and has
also refused to answer questions posed to him in writing by a number of
members of Congress," said Cobb.
Cobb had previously called for Blackwell's recusal from the
recount process, citing Blackwell's conflict of interest by serving
simultaneously as a co-chair for the Bush campaign in Ohio and as the state
official responsible for overseeing the election. Reverend Jesse Jackson,
Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik and a number of citizens'
organizations have joined Cobb's demand for Blackwell's recusal.

"Given Mr. Blackwell's lack of cooperation and the problems
which have plagued the recount, we have to wonder whether he is an
incompetent elections administrator or whether he is deliberately
obstructing the recount process. It is very clear that he has a conflict of
interest and should have stepped aside weeks ago," said Cobb.
Cobb's legal team had sent Mr. Blackwell a letter on December 7
requesting clarification on a number of points about the recount process.
Mr. Blackwell never replied.
Representative John Conyers and eleven other members of the U.S.
House of Representatives sent Mr. Blackwell a letter on December 2, posing
36 questions to the Ohio Secretary of State concerning irregularities in the
presidential election. Mr. Blackwell did not answer any of the questions.
Representative Conyers stated in a subsequent letter to Mr.
Blackwell that Blackwell's refusal to answer the questions is "part of a
pattern of decisions that have worked to obstruct and stonewall a search for
the truth about voting irregularities."

General information about the Cobb-LaMarche campaign and the
Green Party can be found at http://www.votecobb.org. To see first hand
reports from observers monitoring the county-by-county Ohio recount, see
http://www.votecobb.org/recount/ohio_reports/index.php.