AllieBaba
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- Oct 2, 2007
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Obama can say bye-bye to Ohio now.
Federal judge orders Ohio's top elections official to verify the identity of newly registered voters by matching them with other government documents
Thursday, October 09, 2008
A federal judge has ordered Ohio's top elections official to verify the identities of newly registered voters, specifically citing questionable forms turned in by an activist group that's under investigation in states across the country.
U.S. District Judge George C. Smith in Columbus Thursday ruled that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner must perform verification required by the Help America Vote Act. That includes matching new registrants' information against information in databases maintained by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration.
The court found Brunner was breaking the law by not purging the state's centralized database of potentially fraudulent names. The court noted that this database includes large numbers of names submitted by The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN -- including 65,000 in Cuyahoga County alone over the last year.
The court pointed out that ACORN's own organizers recently conceded they cannot eradicate fraud from their efforts.
The order was the result of a lawsuit the Ohio Republican Party filed against Brunner, a Democrat.
"Plaintiffs assert, and the court agrees, that it is hard to imagine a public interest more compelling than safeguarding the legitimacy of the election of the president of the United States," Smith wrote in his ruling.
Brunner also was ordered to establish a process by which Ohio's 88 county election boards can access information generated by the checks.
Residents registering to vote must provide their name, address, date of birth and either their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
Brunner has said the state matches registration information against data in the Bureau of Motor Vehicles system and the Social Security database. But she also has said federal law doesn't say what should be done if a mismatch is discovered, and it is up to counties to check the system for flagged registrations and investigate if warranted.
An after-hours call seeking Brunner's comment on the ruling was not immediately returned Thursday.
Republicans, who have been at odds frequently with Brunner, hailed the ruling.
"For some reason, Jennifer Brunner does not want these new registrations checked," said Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine. "Her refusal to comply with federal law raises serious concerns about her ability to objectively oversee this election."
Separately Thursday, the sheriff in Greene County in southwest Ohio requested registration cards and address change forms for all 302 people who registered to vote and cast ballots during the state's weeklong same-day voting window, which ended Monday.
Sheriff Gene Fischer, a Republican, told elections officials he had been flooded with telephone calls from people concerned about possible fraud.
Greene County is home to five colleges or universities -- Wright State, Central State, Wilberforce and Cedarville universities and Antioch College. Most of its students lean Democratic.
County Prosecutor Stephen Haller, who is representing Fischer, said the records request was not politically motivated. Haller is a former law partner of Mike DeWine, a former U.S. senator and chairman of the Ohio campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
McCain's rival, Democrat Barack Obama, launched a major push to attract new voters during the window, which was the subject of an unsuccessful challenge by the Ohio Republican Party.
Lyn McCoy, the county's deputy elections director, said the records request was being processed. Names, telephone numbers and Social Security numbers will be blackened out before the documents are release, she said.
ACORN's Las Vegas office was raided on Tuesday by state authorities as part of a voter fraud investigation.
And in Lake County, Ind., local election officials reportedly said ACORN filed about 2,500 fraudulent voter registrations over the past two weeks.
FOX News' Bill Sammon and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ohio Secretary of State Ordered to Verify Voter Registrations - FOXNews.com Elections
Federal judge orders Ohio's top elections official to verify the identity of newly registered voters by matching them with other government documents
Thursday, October 09, 2008
A federal judge has ordered Ohio's top elections official to verify the identities of newly registered voters, specifically citing questionable forms turned in by an activist group that's under investigation in states across the country.
U.S. District Judge George C. Smith in Columbus Thursday ruled that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner must perform verification required by the Help America Vote Act. That includes matching new registrants' information against information in databases maintained by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration.
The court found Brunner was breaking the law by not purging the state's centralized database of potentially fraudulent names. The court noted that this database includes large numbers of names submitted by The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN -- including 65,000 in Cuyahoga County alone over the last year.
The court pointed out that ACORN's own organizers recently conceded they cannot eradicate fraud from their efforts.
The order was the result of a lawsuit the Ohio Republican Party filed against Brunner, a Democrat.
"Plaintiffs assert, and the court agrees, that it is hard to imagine a public interest more compelling than safeguarding the legitimacy of the election of the president of the United States," Smith wrote in his ruling.
Brunner also was ordered to establish a process by which Ohio's 88 county election boards can access information generated by the checks.
Residents registering to vote must provide their name, address, date of birth and either their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
Brunner has said the state matches registration information against data in the Bureau of Motor Vehicles system and the Social Security database. But she also has said federal law doesn't say what should be done if a mismatch is discovered, and it is up to counties to check the system for flagged registrations and investigate if warranted.
An after-hours call seeking Brunner's comment on the ruling was not immediately returned Thursday.
Republicans, who have been at odds frequently with Brunner, hailed the ruling.
"For some reason, Jennifer Brunner does not want these new registrations checked," said Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine. "Her refusal to comply with federal law raises serious concerns about her ability to objectively oversee this election."
Separately Thursday, the sheriff in Greene County in southwest Ohio requested registration cards and address change forms for all 302 people who registered to vote and cast ballots during the state's weeklong same-day voting window, which ended Monday.
Sheriff Gene Fischer, a Republican, told elections officials he had been flooded with telephone calls from people concerned about possible fraud.
Greene County is home to five colleges or universities -- Wright State, Central State, Wilberforce and Cedarville universities and Antioch College. Most of its students lean Democratic.
County Prosecutor Stephen Haller, who is representing Fischer, said the records request was not politically motivated. Haller is a former law partner of Mike DeWine, a former U.S. senator and chairman of the Ohio campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
McCain's rival, Democrat Barack Obama, launched a major push to attract new voters during the window, which was the subject of an unsuccessful challenge by the Ohio Republican Party.
Lyn McCoy, the county's deputy elections director, said the records request was being processed. Names, telephone numbers and Social Security numbers will be blackened out before the documents are release, she said.
ACORN's Las Vegas office was raided on Tuesday by state authorities as part of a voter fraud investigation.
And in Lake County, Ind., local election officials reportedly said ACORN filed about 2,500 fraudulent voter registrations over the past two weeks.
FOX News' Bill Sammon and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ohio Secretary of State Ordered to Verify Voter Registrations - FOXNews.com Elections
