Ohio asks election board members to quit

All four election board members for Cuyahoga County, troubled by recount rigging charges and voting machine problems, have been told to resign or face being fired, a state official said Monday.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said she called the four board members of Ohio's most populous count late Sunday, asking them to leave by the close of business Wednesday.

The county, which includes all of Cleveland, has had difficulty adjusting to electronic voting. Last May's primary, the first attempt at electronic voting in the county, was marred by absent or poorly trained poll workers, lost vote-holding computer cards and a polling place that opened hours late.

Last week, two elections workers were sentenced to 18 months in prison for rigging a recount of the 2004 presidential election, not to affect the outcome but so they could avoid a more thorough review of the votes.

Brunner, a Democrat, said new leadership is needed in the county before the 2008 presidential election. She said that if the board members don't resign by her deadline, they would face public hearings and removal.

"No one can deny there's responsibility on the parts of all four board members when you have employees going to prison for the way they handled their job," Brunner said.

The board's chairman, Robert Bennett, also heads the Republican Party in Ohio. His term on the board ends in 2010. The other board members are two Democrats and one Republican.

Bennett said Monday that he plans to finish his term, which expires in 2010.

"We are making progress on our major goal, which is to restore voter confidence in Cuyahoga County elections," he said at a news conference.

Messages seeking comment at the homes or offices of board members Edward Coaxum Jr. and Loree Soggs were not immediately returned. There was no answer at the home of Sally Florkiewicz, the fourth member.

Bennett indicated that Florkiewicz would not leave the board. Brunner said Coaxum and Soggs told her they would not resign.

The county has more than 1 million registered voters.

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Associated Press writer John McCarthy in Columbus contributed to this report.