Second lawsuit challenges Ohio provisional voting rules
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Scott Hiaasen
Cleveland Plain Dealer Reporter

A voting-rights group filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's rules on provisional voting - the second such legal challenge over the controversial issue.

The suit, filed by the Ohio Voter Protection Project, says Blackwell will require some first-time voters to show identification before receiving a provisional ballot on Election Day - a violation of the federal Help America Vote Act, or HAVA. 
 The group, which includes several labor unions and the Ohio League of Women Voters, also challenged a Blackwell order that says voters who appear at the wrong voting precinct may not receive a provisional ballot.

The state Democratic Party has already gone to court over that issue, and a federal judge is expected to decide the case next week.

Provisional ballots are special ballots for voters who believe they are registered, though their names do not appear on the voter rolls on Election Day. The ballots are set aside so election officials can later determine if the voters are eligible.

Blackwell, citing state law, has told local election officials that these ballots must be given only to voters who appear at the correct precinct. But the lawsuits say the state's rules should have been changed after Congress passed HAVA in 2002, a law that encouraged the use of provisional ballots so legitimate voters aren't turned away.

Cuyahoga County election officials, saying they want to stay in compliance with HAVA, have said they will continue to give provisional ballots to those who ask for them.

But on Tuesday, Blackwell told the elections board in a letter to "cease and desist" and to follow his orders.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday also says Blackwell wrongly requires first-time voters who request a provisional ballot to present identification before that ballot will be counted.

Blackwell's spokesman, Carlo LoParo, said this is a requirement mandated by HAVA as a way to prevent fraud.

But the voter groups say it is actually contrary to HAVA's provisional ballot rules, which don't require IDs.

The Voter Protection Project has asked to merge its case with the Democratic Party's suit to resolve them quickly, attorney Sean Grayson said.