Rights Prevail: Scum Lose!!!

Ohio GOP Loses Bid to Fight Registrations

October 29, 2004 12:04 PM EDT


COLUMBUS, Ohio - Republicans lost an attempt Friday to restart hearings on thousands of voter registrations the party has contested, and the court's decision could mean the hearings will never be held.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati turned down several Republican appeals, clearing the way for a lower-court judge to decide whether to extend her temporary order stopping the hearings.

The court action could prevent the hearings from ever taking place because they must be held within two days of the election, state Republicans have said.

Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro, who filed one of the appeals, said stopping the hearings "has just thrown Ohio's electoral process into disarray, and has opened the door to voter fraud."

A fresh challenge arose Thursday over the presence of polling-place witnesses who can question voters' identities. In federal court in Akron, the Summit County Democratic Party sued the state to block those witnesses, saying voters who end up being disqualified are unconstitutionally denied the right to appeal in time to cast their ballots.

Democrats and Republicans have signed up thousands of polling place representatives, although Democrats say they do not plan to challenge registrations and will monitor the conduct of Republican representatives.

Ohio GOP spokesman Jason Mauk said the lawsuit challenging the polling place representatives was an attempt by Democrats to win the election in the courts.

State Democratic spokesman Dan Trevas said the state party, which is not part of the lawsuit, supported the idea of removing the witnesses "if this makes the process run more smoothly."

Ohio could end up deciding who wins the White House. No Republican has ever been elected president without taking Ohio; only two Democrats have done so in 100 years. Polls show President Bush and Sen. John Kerry are running even in the state.

On the questioned voter registrations, the GOP originally challenged about 35,000 voters but few registrations have been rejected. The party withdrew about 7,500 challenges because of mistakes, and county elections boards have thrown out hundreds more.

U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott in Cincinnati was holding a hearing Friday to determine whether to extend her temporary order Wednesday halting hearings on Republican challenges of registrations in six counties. Democrats had argued the effort singles out the poor and minorities, who move more often, and that it could keep legitimate votes from being counted.

Republicans say challenged voters still could cast a provisional ballot regardless of the outcome of the hearings. The counting of such ballots doesn't take place until 10 days after the election as voters' registrations are verified.

Democrats, who sued to stop the Republican challenges, say the voters being challenged should have the right to cast a regular ballot.