OH: Suit filed against Voter ID Law

[BillORightsMan]

I was wondering when this would happen.

Suit Filed Against Ohio Voter ID Law
Tuesday, October 24, 2006

By JULIE CARR SMYTH, Associated Press Writer via foxnews

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Labor and poverty groups sued to block Ohio's new voter identification law Tuesday, claiming that inconsistencies in how the law is applied make it unconstitutional.

"There's a significant risk here that tens of thousands of ballots will not be counted,"said Subodh Chandra, a Cleveland attorney representing the group.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, seeks a temporary restraining order on behalf of Service Employees International Union Local 1199 and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless.

Chandra, a one-time Democratic attorney general candidate, said Ohio's 88 county boards of elections are inconsistently applying the new law in voting that is already under way.

~snip~
Among the provisions questioned in the complaint is one that allows an Ohio driver's license number to be provided as identification. Gentry said that there are two numbers on a driver's license, the actual license number and an identifier that appears above the card's photograph.

Subodh Chandra is an EXCELLENT attorney and ran in the primary for OH AG (I worked my A$$ off for him!). Chandra was one of the attorneys that got the Proof of Citizenship part overturned (see PeeDee article here).

I hope they can at least void this part of HB 3 for Election Day.
:woohoo:

:patriot:

[EFerrari]

1. Go, OHIO!

K&R

[Dread Pirate KR Read]

2. slight correction on the link thar, me matey!

herein, be the link...

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Oct24/0,4670,OhioElectionLawsuit,00.html

Too bad for GOPs that Chandra is spoiling any possible attempt by SoS Blackwell to throw out "incomplete" voter ballots.

[BillORightsMan]

4. Thanks, Dread Pirate!

I was so excited I mis-typed the link!

ARRRRRRRRR I HATE when that happens!

Thanks for the correction!

[Algorem]

3. another write-up-

IDENTITY CRISIS

http://www.freetimes.com/story/4257

Lawyers seem to have found the right strategy to attack the most insidious provision of Ohio's new election laws, requiring voters to bring ID to the polls.

Cleveland attorney Subodh Chandra has been railing against various provisions of the law for months. In August he filed a lawsuit against letting poll workers demand citizenship papers from voters they thought might be naturalized citizens. But voter ID was a tougher nut to crack. After all, voters had a slew of alternatives before them: passports, utility bills, drivers' licenses, Social Security numbers. There seemed little to go after.

But then Chandra started hearing stories of absentee voters being turned away, of absentee ballots being held to unnecessarily higher ID standards, and of boards of elections around the state giving differing answers to what sorts of ID would be accepted. The situation screamed of violations of due process and equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution.

On Tuesday, Chandra and two other law firms filed a lawsuit in federal court against Secretary of State Ken Blackwell for not creating uniform interpretations for BOEs on the voter ID provisions. The lawyers are representing the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and Service Employees International Union, Local 1199...

[BillORightsMan]

5. Good Item, Algorem!

Nice to see the SEIU involved with this. That's Andy Stern's union. He has a new book out:
A Country That Works and has been doing the talk show rounds.

Thanks for the link!
:patriot:

[Algorem]

6. no problemo,today's Cleveland Pain Dealer version-

...U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost today will hold a hearing on the groups' request...

Dan Tokaji, an Ohio State University law professor, said the lawsuit in some ways is similar to the challenge that halted recounts in Florida in the 2000 presidential election because standards varied from county to county.

"It's certainly a plausible theory if they can prove what they claim," Tokaji said.

http://www.cleveland.com/election/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1161765345260920.xml&coll=2



i keep forgetting to check out the local Cleveland union radio show since they moved it,but they have GOT to have some great info&guests on in next two weeks,8-9 am,EST,live stream-

http://www.awfradio.com/

http://www.welw.com/programming/schedule.html


And Everybody is Okay With This?

http://www.wruw.org/guide/show.php?show_id=334

with Victoria (Lovegren)

Thursdays 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Genre(s): Public Affairs

I will be reading articles, playing tapes of speeches/programs, interviewing guests, and playing music that will heighten public awareness of government and corporate abuses and empower people to participate in true democracy.


http://wecount2006.org/radioblog


thurs.,npr
http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/06/10/26.php#11452

10:00Electronic Voting Machines
Topic and guests to be announced

[BillORightsMan]

7. More stories hitting MSM

And here we go folks! National exposure! Coast to coast!

CBS News (same AP story)
Suit Filed Against Ohio Voter ID Law

Boston.com (same AP story)
Suit filed against Ohio voter ID law

SeattlePI.com (same AP story)
Suit filed against Ohio voter ID law

Equal Vote Blog - Dan Tokaji (one of the attorneys filing - GOOD STUFF! With Link to complaint!)
Ohio Voter ID Lawsuit

International! Guardian UK! (same AP story tho')
Suit Filed Against Ohio Voter ID Law

Cleveland.com calls it a NEWSFLASH! (yes - AP story - but better headline)
Groups file new charges over Ohio voter ID requirements

Ah but the freepers got a hold of it, too.
BEWARE! Link to Free Republic

A few more minutes to rate up folks!

:patriot:

btw, if you're near the teevee tonight, look for this story on the 11 o'clock news. I sent it to WCPN-FM 90.3 (CLE OH NPR) this morning after I didn't hear about it on their 8AM newscast...

[The Brethren]

8. .

:kick:

[jimshoes]

9. Well at least all the absentee ballots will

be counted it seems. Inside my Absentee Ballot packet from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections along with the ballot, the instructions, return envelopes was a 8 1/2 x 11 Yellow sheet of paper with the headline

"CHANGE IN INSTRUCTIONS" ...

Persuant to federal court order, YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PROVIDE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION OR DOCUMENTATION IN FILLING OUT THIS APPLICATION ...

1. Ohio Driver License number or
2. Last 4 digits etc or
3. A copy of a current etc...

All other information required by the application including your date of birth, must be provided