Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Coalition in Ohio brings class action suit on 2004 election

Voting rights activists have been busy in Ohio bringing suit against Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, and protecting 2004 presidential ballots from being destroyed.

On August 31, a coalition of organizations, represented by AfD Co-Chair Cliff Arnebeck, filed a civil rights lawsuit against Blackwell alleging that he supervised the unequal distribution of voting machines between black and white neighborhoods and purged voter registrations prior to the 2004 election. The suit also alleges that black voters were assigned provisional ballots at a higher rate than whites, and a greater percentage of those ballots were subsequently disqualified. This tactic effectively took votes away from Democrats and handed the state, and the presidency, to George W. Bush. The suit asks to have Blackwell removed from oversight of the 2006 elections. For updates on the suit, visit the Ohio Honest Election Campaign website.

Activists have also asked for ballots to be preserved past the September 3 deadline for destroying them, because various individuals and public interest groups have found irregularities in the ballots they've been able to look at so far. So far, Blackwell has pledged to delay destruction by several months--an important victory. Read more at www.savetheballots.org.

No comments: