“It is hard to find another explanation for complaints that are filed with only a few days remaining before the election,” the lawmakers wrote. “To comply with HAVA, former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, instituted a voter registration database, known by the acronym SWVRD, in 2006. The State continues to maintain the SWVRD in accordance with federal and state law.
“No complaints concerning its implementation or operation were received by the Secretary of State’s office until the Ohio Republican Party initiated litigation on September 26, 2008. The lawsuit sought to compel the Ohio Secretary of State to implement new standards for the SWVRD – standards that are not required under either HAVA or Ohio law.”
Since the Supreme Court issued an opinion on Oct. 17, the case was refiled in state court and then dismissed by the plaintiffs.
“These proceedings reinforce our understanding of Section 303, which required states to create a system to keep a permanent record of voter registrations and to ensure that localities are able to share and update information regarding voters, in particular, those that move,” says the letter sent to Mukasey by Brown and his colleagues. “We are aware of no evidence that indicates the state is operating in anything but a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner. Absent these grounds, the involvement of the Department of Justice is unnecessary as HAVA specifically recognizes that implementation of the act is to be left to the states.
“Ohio’s eighty-eight (88) county boards of elections are presently verifying thousands of new registration and voter registration change of name and residence updates in accordance with state and federal requirements. The creation of another process to verify new registrations is unnecessary and has the potential to create confusion and reduce voter turnout. As Ohio saw in the last election, some voters will understandably turn away after waiting for hours on line.”
Brown said he was “disappointed” that Bush “chose to interject partisan politics into the election.”
It is unknown whether the Department of Justice will act on Bush’s request. Federal intervention – if ordered by Mukasey – could wreak havoc at polling places across Ohio, with Republican operatives using data on mismatches to challenge thousands of voters and causing long lines in Democratic strongholds.
Federal investigative guidelines, however, discourage election-related probes before ballots are cast because of the likelihood that the inquiries will become politicized and might influence the election outcomes.
“In most cases, voters should not be interviewed, or other voter-related investigation done, until after the election is over,” according to the Justice Department’s guidelines for election offenses.
Ohio’s 20 electoral votes could be crucial for McCain to achieve a comeback victory over his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, who is leading in Ohio by five to seven percentage points, according to most polls.
Republican success in disqualifying large numbers of new voters – while creating long lines in Democratic precincts – could tip Ohio into McCain’s column on Election Night.
“No complaints concerning its implementation or operation were received by the Secretary of State’s office until the Ohio Republican Party initiated litigation on September 26, 2008. The lawsuit sought to compel the Ohio Secretary of State to implement new standards for the SWVRD – standards that are not required under either HAVA or Ohio law.”
Since the Supreme Court issued an opinion on Oct. 17, the case was refiled in state court and then dismissed by the plaintiffs.
“These proceedings reinforce our understanding of Section 303, which required states to create a system to keep a permanent record of voter registrations and to ensure that localities are able to share and update information regarding voters, in particular, those that move,” says the letter sent to Mukasey by Brown and his colleagues. “We are aware of no evidence that indicates the state is operating in anything but a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner. Absent these grounds, the involvement of the Department of Justice is unnecessary as HAVA specifically recognizes that implementation of the act is to be left to the states.
Brown said he was “disappointed” that Bush “chose to interject partisan politics into the election.”
It is unknown whether the Department of Justice will act on Bush’s request. Federal intervention – if ordered by Mukasey – could wreak havoc at polling places across Ohio, with Republican operatives using data on mismatches to challenge thousands of voters and causing long lines in Democratic strongholds.
Federal investigative guidelines, however, discourage election-related probes before ballots are cast because of the likelihood that the inquiries will become politicized and might influence the election outcomes.
“In most cases, voters should not be interviewed, or other voter-related investigation done, until after the election is over,” according to the Justice Department’s guidelines for election offenses.
Ohio’s 20 electoral votes could be crucial for McCain to achieve a comeback victory over his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, who is leading in Ohio by five to seven percentage points, according to most polls.
Republican success in disqualifying large numbers of new voters – while creating long lines in Democratic precincts – could tip Ohio into McCain’s column on Election Night.
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