Democrats' suit: Blackwell trying to stymie new voters
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Sandy Theis
Cleveland Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus

Democrats filed a federal lawsuit Friday that accuses Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell of trying to stymie legions of new voters. 
 
 The complaint mirrors a pending lawsuit, filed Oct. 5, by a voting-rights group.

Both lawsuits center on Blackwell's directive to county boards of election requiring that newly registered voters show some form of identification if their registration form failed to include either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver's license number.

Some counties are returning the registration forms to voters and asking them to provide the necessary information, said Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Dan Trevas.

"How are they planning to get this done? It's already Oct. 15," Trevas said.

Although Blackwell's office would not comment on the latest lawsuit, spokesman Carlo LoParo has defended the directive, saying it complies with the federal Help America Vote Act.

Democrats already won one legal victory Thursday when U.S. District Judge James Carr of Toledo ordered Blackwell, a Republican, to no longer instruct boards of election to redirect voters seeking provisional ballots to the precinct in which they live.

Democrats contend that voters should receive the ballots, as long as they attempt to vote in the county in which they are registered.

Blackwell has appealed the ruling.

Provisional ballots are given to people who believe they are registered, although their names do not appear on the voter rolls on Election Day. The ballots are set aside so election officials can later determine whether the voters are eligible. In a close race, such ballots could be pivotal.