Although Diebold officially banned political donations by top brass in 2004, Diebold executives have continued to feed money to Republican campaigns, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
The story was earlier reported by blogger Michael Petrelis.
After a Bush campaign fundraiser and controversial statements by CEO Walden O'Dell, Diebold barred its CEO, financial officer, and Election Systems VP from making political donations. However, that ban has not stopped other executives from giving to GOP campaigns.
In all, Diebold executives contributed $2,400 to the campaigns of Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Ohio State Senator Kirk Schuring (R-Canton).
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Excerpts of the Plain Dealer story follow:
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News of the donations came as a voluminous election-reform bill was set to clear a key Ohio Senate committee late Wednesday, bearing evidence of continued political strife over what constituted the worst problems in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004.
Republican lawmakers, indignant over suggestions that President Bush's victories are somehow suspect, used the measure to crack down on potential abuse of the election system.
The proposal - likely to win Senate approval soon - mandates that all voters show identification to vote, makes it tougher to get a constitutional amendment on Ohio's ballot, and severely limits the scope of voter registration drives.
Democrats left the room still insisting the biggest problems in the past two national elections were voter disenfranchisement and unreliable technology, for which they see Diebold as a poster child.
