Recount rigging in Cuyahoga County

Yesterday there was this report from the Associated Press about the conviction of two election workers, who rigged the recount of ballots cast in the 2004 presidential election in Cuyahoga County.

While the recount was rigged, there isn’t evidence this actually had any effect on the final result of the presidential election in Cuyahoga County:

Special prosecutor Kevin Baxter, who was brought in from Erie County to handle the case, did not claim the workers’ actions affected the outcome of the election – Kerry gained 17 votes and Bush lost six in the county’s recount.

But Baxter insisted the employees broke the law when they worked behind closed doors three days before the public Dec. 16, 2004, recount to pick ballots they knew would not cause discrepancies when checked by hand so they could avoid a lengthier, more expensive hand recount of all votes.