Glitch forces GOP to withdraw many registration challenges

Associated Press

25 October 2004

COLUMBUS, Ohio - State Republicans have withdrawn thousands of more than 35,000 challenges to new voter registrations because of errors in their filings apparently caused by a computer glitch.

Republicans filed the challenges Friday in 65 of Ohio's 88 counties, saying mail sent to the newly registered voters was returned as undeliverable.

The party withdrew about 4,700 challenges in Hamilton County because the names and addresses on the GOP list didn't match voter rolls, and about two-thirds of the 4,200 challenges in Franklin County, officials said.

It's too late to file a new challenge under the statute the party used, said John Williams, election director in Hamilton County. There appeared to be an error in the database program used to print the challenges, so that addresses weren't matched with the correct names, he said.

But the largest single batch of challenges, some 17,000 in Cuyahoga County, is still being processed because there were no errors, said Jane Platten, elections board spokeswoman.

Election workers spent the weekend matching each challenge to the registration list and preparing letters to notify the challenged voters that they are entitled to attend a hearing to defend their registrations.

The county is still seeking a venue large enough for the hearing, which likely will have to be stretched over several days, Platten said.

The challenges following a surge in new registrations are the latest drama in an unusual election.

Both Democrats and Republicans statewide have filed lists of election challengers and observers who could question individual voters on election day and will watch the election day activities of the competing parties.

In previous elections, representatives from both parties used to file paperwork to have designated challengers ready, but never acted on it, Williams of Hamilton County said.

"A lot of this stuff is new to everybody," Williams said.