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Democrats take up fight over ballots
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Bill Sloat
Plain Dealer Reporter
Cincinnati - Seeming to brush aside John Kerry's concession speech,
the Ohio Democratic Party has launched a federal court fight over
nearly 155,000 provisional ballots by contending a proper accounting
of those votes might decide who really won.
In Ohio, Bush now holds a lead of about 136,000 votes over Kerry.
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County officials across the state began tabulating provisional ballots Friday.
"Given the closeness of the presidential and other elections," Ohio's
provisional ballots "may prove determinative of the outcome,"
Democrats argue in a legal filing made public Wednesday by the U.S.
District Court.
The lawsuit asked U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson to order Ohio
Secretary of State Ken Blackwell to impose uniform standards for
counting provisional votes on all 88 counties. Democrats want the
judge to take action quickly - before the results of the election are
certified.
Watson, who was appointed by Bush, has not set a hearing.
Don McTigue, a Columbus lawyer who filed the lawsuit for the Ohio
Democratic Party, said the Democrats have concerns that different
standards are being applied from county to county.
"Our action is not tied to some hope of changing the outcome of the
election. We're being consistent with the Kerry campaign, and the
Democratic Party's interest in seeing all eligible ballots are
counted," McTigue said.
Carlo LoParo, a spokesman for Blackwell, defended Ohio's rules for
handling provisional ballots as explicit. He said Blackwell, a
Republican, is adamant that every valid vote will be counted.
In court papers, the Democrats cite Bush v. Gore - the Supreme Court
ruling after Florida's contested election that awarded Bush the White
House in 2000 - as a legal precedent for the Ohio lawsuit. That case
was decided by a majority of five justices.
"In Bush v. Gore, the United States Supreme Court held that the
failure to provide specific standards for counting of ballots that are
sufficient to assure a uniform count statewide violates the Equal
Protection Clause of the United States Constitution," their court
filing said.
In Ohio, Democrats argue, the state lacks clear statewide rules that
guarantee provisional ballots are processed consistently from county
to county.
Democrats intervened in an existing lawsuit filed by Republicans on
election night. That case has been inactive," said Dan Hoffheimer, the
Kerry campaign's chief lawyer in Ohio.
"I think the Republicans went to court first to protect their
interests. Now, it looks like the Ohio Democratic Party is doing the
same. Certainly, as far as I know today, the Kerry-Edwards campaign is
not planning to file such a case," Hoffheimer said.
Provisional ballots are special ballots used by voters who be lieve
they are registered but who don't appear on the rolls, those who could
not provide proof of identity and others who had moved, but did not
update their registration information. Once local officials verify
that the voters were indeed registered and that they voted in the
correct precinct, their provisional ballot can be counted.
Most of Ohio's provisional ballots were cast in urban areas where
Kerry typically fared well. Cuyahoga County had the most - nearly
25,000. About 13,000 of those had been verified as of Wednesday, with
about 8,600 of that group deemed valid.
Meanwhile, the presidential candidates from the Green and Libertarian
parties have said they will demand a recount of all the ballots in
Ohio - which could include a review of another group of votes; 92,672
"spoiled" ballots that recorded no vote for president.
Still, many political experts - including top Kerry campaign
operatives - believe Bush's margin cannot be overcome.
"I think the Democrats are more worried about avoiding a controversy
in 2006 or 2008," said Dan Takaji, an Ohio State University law
professor who is an expert on election law. He views the Democrats'
court action as a move to make sure that there are solid,
court-approved guidelines for future elections.
"But there's no way the math is going to change," Takaji said. "The
margin might shrink as the provisionals are counted, but if you look
seriously at the numbers, the outcome won't change."
Gene Beaupre, a political scientist at Xavier University in
Cincinnati, saw the suit as an effort by Democratic officials to
assuage party loyalists who feel Kerry quit without a fight in Ohio.
"There's certainly a feeling out there that people were let down by
the leadership," Beaupre said. "All you have to do is look on the
Internet, and that sense of disappointment is a political reality
among a lot of people who are Internet users."
To reach these Plain Dealer reporters:
[EMAIL PROTECTED], 513-631-4125
� 2004 The Plain Dealer
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