Ohio Recount Gains Support

About 400 protesters gathered outside the Statehouse on Saturday to support a recount of the presidential election in Ohio and call for an investigation into election day irregularities.

Speakers addressing the crowd alleged that many voters were the victims of a fraud in which votes intended for Sen. John F. Kerry were given to President Bush.

“I would like to welcome you to the Ukraine,” said Susan Truitt, referring to the country where a new presidential runoff election was ordered after observers said the first one was rigged.

On Friday, a federal judge in Columbus ruled that a recount may proceed if two minority party candidates who sued for it could pay for it. Green and Libertarian party officials say they can. A recount probably would not begin before Dec. 13, when Ohio’s 20 electoral votes would be officially counted.

Kerry would have won the presidency had he carried the state’s 20 electoral votes. He conceded the day after the election, saying there were not enough provisional and other ballots to swing the results his way.

Bush won the state by about 119,000 votes, or 2 percentage points, according to an analysis of results by Associated Press.

The Kerry campaign has joined the lawsuit seeking a recount to make sure any recount is “done accurately and completely.”