Brunner won't need to change voter lists
Appeals court reverses ruling on registrations
Saturday, October 11, 2008 3:36 AM
By and Alan Johnson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 last night in favor of Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to put on hold an order sought by the Ohio Republican Party involving information about new voters and concerns about potential fraud.
The three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Brunner is not required to provide county elections boards with the names of voters whose personal information does not match state motor-vehicle or federal Social Security records, as ordered Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge George C. Smith of Columbus.
Brunner had sought an emergency order delaying Smith's order, and the appeals court agreed with Brunner that federal law does not require her to provide the names and that the Nov. 4 election is too close for major policy changes.
The panel noted that the process of matching voter information with state and federal records has been in place since 2007, and that the details about mismatches are available to counties on individual voter records, even if not in one list.
The panel scolded the state GOP for waiting until just before the election to challenge the process, saying, "(The party) itself created the sudden rush for determination, and we are not prepared to reward it for forcing all parties into this unenviable position."
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