In a press release this morning, Brunner announced:

"Due to security concerns experienced by the Secretary of State's website, full functionality of the website has been suspended to protect the integrity of state records and data. Full functionality will be restored when we are assured that all data has been protected to acceptable levels of security..."

And she explained just what she and her staff are going through, trying to hold this election in Ohio:

"In recent weeks, phone lines and e-mail channels have been barraged, even in the business filings section of the office, with menacing messages and even threats of harm or death. Last week, a suspicious package covered with threatening messages and containing an unidentified powder was mailed to the Secretary of State's office via (a previously used address)"

See what happens when you rile people up and make them think it's acceptable to yell things like "Kill Him!" about your political rival? To imply that they're dangerous, they're terrorists, they're un-American?

Meanwhile, Brunner is still battling with Republicans over their efforts to keep an estimated 200,000 Ohioans from voting because of errors or mismatches on voter registration forms.

Republicans have sued to force Brunner to kick back new registrations with any discrepancy between the info. on the forms and other records, such as drivers' licenses and social security info., including things like whether someone used a middle initial or not, whether someone like my husband might have referred to himself as the informal and almost always used "Bob" instead of his formal name, "Robert." (Oooh, scary fraud stuff there.)

For the full story, see: http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/...

Which offers the cheery headline today: Election Night Might Be A Mess in Ohio. (To which I say, "God, save us, please. God, and Obama and all his supporters. Let it not be even close.")

For an explanation of the new lawsuit, still over forcing Brunner to match voter registration info. to other state and federal databases, see: http://www.dailykos.com/...

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Brunner tried to get the new challenge bumped up to federal court, but a federal judge has refused, sending it back to the Ohio state Supreme Court, where four of the seven justices have "financial ties to the GOP fundraiser who filed the lawsuit" according to Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, who called for those justices to recuse themselves.

Two, who are facing re-election in November, have agreed not to be involved in the case. Two have not.