Kiev, Ohio

Even the casual obsever of the election mess in Ohio must concede that things are getting interesting. John Kerry sent a letter to the various Election Boards in Ohio (not, pointedly, to Secretary of State and Ohio Bush campaign co-chair Kenneth Harris... I mean Blackwell) that laid out 11 items he'd like to see as part of the statewide recount, which will happen starting this week. His chief concerns are the undervote and absentee ballots:

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Democrat John Kerry is asking county elections officials to allow his witnesses to visually inspect the 92,000 ballots cast in Ohio in which no vote for president was recorded, a Kerry lawyer said Sunday night.

"We're trying to increase the transparency of the election process," said Donald McTigue, the lawyer handling the recount for the Kerry campaign.

Other requests include the use of independent experts to check the programming and calibration of the election equipment, something McTigue said has never been allowed.

McTigue also asked that counties accept the help of a group called Votewatch to determine which precincts will be chosen for that part of the vote that will be counted by hand. McTigue said using the group will ensure that the ballots are selected using a valid random sampling method.

The procedures require 3 percent of ballots to be counted by hand in each county, and then all ballots to be counted if the initial check turns up problems.

Meanwhile, Cliff Arnebeck, Alliance for Democracy's lawyer, will officially contest the election in the state Supreme Court as early as tomorrow (somehow I think this'll get less coverage than the Scott Peterson trial did today). And Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), who convened a public hearing on the Ohio situation in Wasington last week, plans to do the same in Columbus later this week. There is even talk of a redux of the Congressional Black Caucus contesting the election during the Electoral College session in January, as they did in 2000. That time they were unable to find a Senator to co-sign on the dispute, allowing Bush to be elected. This time? Not so sure.

All this despite the fact that Ohio's electors today cast their ballots for George W. Bush. Of course, that's little more than a formality.

The crowds are smaller, the protests are further under the radar, but something is brewing in the Buckeye State.