Ohio secretary of state must verify registrations

[Dos Equis]

Why would the sec of state oppose this? 

Ohio secretary of state must verify registrations
By TERRY KINNEY – 17 hours ago

CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered Ohio's top elections official to verify the identity of newly registered voters by matching them with other government documents.

U.S. District Judge George C. Smith in Columbus 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 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.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hUHafp1cxJ8ULtxqbf9fo0lw-pegD93NCBV00

[Dos Equis]

Appeals Court Sides With Ohio Secretary of State
Court sets aside federal judge's order that Jennifer Brunner institute the means to verify voter registration information.

AP

Saturday, October 11, 2008

 
CINCINNATI - A federal appeals court sided with Ohio's top elections official Friday in her running battle with Republicans over how to verify the eligibility of newly registered voters.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set aside a federal judge's order a day earlier that Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner institute the means to verify voter registration information and make it available to Ohio's 88 county election boards.

Brunner argued that it would take two to three days to create the necessary computer programs, and that nothing in the Help America Vote Act required her to do what the lower court ordered. A three-judge panel of the appeals court agreed in a split decision.

"With less than a month until the election, and less than two weeks until the beginning of counting absentee ballots, the secretary cannot be required to undertake the extensive reprogramming and other changes to the election mechanics without complete disruption of the electoral process in Ohio," the majority said in its opinion. "The irreparable harm to the voting public caused by the district court's order is equally clear."

On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge George C. Smith in Columbus ordered Brunner to verify new registrations by matching information on them against a database maintained by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration. He also ordered her to establish a process by which the county boards can access the information generated by the checks.

Brunner praised Friday's decision, saying there are sufficient systems in place to verify new-voter registration.

"The ... Court of Appeals has halted another partisan lawsuit in Ohio," she said. "Under the Help America Vote Act, this verification process is not and has not been permitted to be used to determine a voter's eligibility."

The orders stemmed from a lawsuit the Ohio Republican Party filed against Brunner, whom Chairman Bob Bennett called "the most partisan secretary of state in Ohio history."

"It's a shame we don't have transparency in this election. She has done everything she can to help her candidate," Bennett said. "To not even check the registrations is a travesty of the first class."

Bennett said the party's lawyers would determine its next step, including whether to appeal. A message seeking comment was left late Friday at the office of Bill Todd, a lawyer for the party.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/11/appeals-court-sides-ohio-secretary-state/

[Dos Equis]

Court orders Ohio to verify newly registered voters
   
(CNN) -- A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered Ohio's secretary of state to establish a system to verify hundreds of thousands of newly registered voters by Friday.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner also has to make the eligibility information available to all 88 county election boards and use government records to check for voter registration fraud.

Nine of the 16 members of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with an opinion that upheld a lower court's ruling in the lawsuit filed by the Ohio Republican Party against Brunner.

"It is imperative that voters not be disenfranchised because of federal government red tape, misstated technical information or glitches in databases beyond the control of voters or the Secretary of State," said Brunner, a Democrat, after the ruling.

"That is why we will work with the federal court, even though we believe that the order goes beyond the requirements of (the Help American Vote Act)."

The long-running legal battle emerged from allegations of registration fraud in the crucial battleground state, namely accusing Brunner's office of "turning off" its process for the verification of voter registration while allowing Ohioans to cast ballots on the same day that they registered.

On Saturday, when a three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled against the Ohio Republicans, state GOP Chairman Bob Bennett accused Brunner of concealing fraudulent voter registrations in hopes of swinging the state to Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee.

"Jennifer Brunner continues to do everything she can to help her candidate," Bennett had said. "Her efforts to fight transparency and accountability in the voting process are shameful, and her actions to conceal fraudulent activity only serve to cast doubt on the integrity of this election. "

The majority opinion of the full court called Ohio's current system "essentially useless" and found it does "nothing to address the anti-fraud objective."

Brunner on Tuesday said she prepared for the court's "possible adverse decision" ahead of time by announcing plans to "further improve the statewide voter registration database."

"Our goal is to protect the rights of all eligible voters to vote and to have their votes count," she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/15/ohio.voters/

[Busted]

Do you remember what happened last time? before you start crying foul, go check your history book my friend....

[Dos Equis]

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[Eyeball Chambers]

You can't vote in Ohio without a License or two other forms of identification.