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CINCINNATI - Two federal judges Monday barred Republican Party representatives from challenging the eligibility of voters at polling places on Election Day.
U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott said that a black couple suing over such challenges would probably be able to prove them unconstitutional. In a similar case in Akron, U.S. District Judge John Adams said it is up to regular poll workers to determine if voters are eligible.
"In light of these extraordinary circumstances, and the contentious nature of the imminent election, the court cannot and must not turn a blind eye to the substantial likelihood that significant harm will result not only to voters, but also to the voting process itself, if appointed challengers are permitted at the polls," Adams said.
The rulings apply to all of Ohio's 88 counties, a spokesman for Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, Carlo LoParo, told the Associated Press.
Republicans wanted to put challengers in many polling places, citing the possibility of tens of thousands of fraudulent voter registrations in a state both President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry say they need to win. The Democrats argued that such challenges were aimed at intimidating black voters and suppressing Democratic turnout.
The GOP filed an appeal with a federal appeals court.
State Republican Party lawyer Mark Weaver said Republican poll watchers will still be allowed to be present at polling places to watch and take notes.
Dlott ruled on a lawsuit by a black couple who said Republican plans to deploy challengers in largely black precincts in the Cincinnati area was meant to intimidate black voters.
Adams' ruling came in a lawsuit from the Akron-area Democratic Party, which said that the law allowing registration challenges is unconstitutional because it does not give a voter a chance to appeal in time to cast a ballot.
The GOP registered about 3,500 challengers. The Democrats said they have registered thousands, too.
If the challengers are barred from polling places, the only people under state law who could then issue challenges to would-be voters would be the four election officers at each precinct, two Republican and two Democrat, or another voter.
Under state law, voters may be challenged on their citizenship, age or residency. Poll workers might challenge someone if his or her signature did not match the one in the poll book, or if the poll worker recognized the individual as someone who did not belong.
In a separate case last week, Dlott blocked Ohio's Republicans from holding pre-election hearings to challenge tens of thousands of voter registrations.
[Last modified November 2, 2004, 10:46:24]
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