Republicans Trying Hard to Protect the Integrity of the Vote

In the wake of recent stories that Democrats are out-registering the Republicans in new voters, comes this story (reg. req.):

Ohio [Republican] Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell ... has told county boards of elections to follow strictly two provisions in Ohio election law:

• One requires Ohio voter registration cards be printed on thick, 80-pound stock paper.

• The other ordered boards to strictly interpret the rules regarding provisional ballots, the ones cast by voters who move before the election but are still registered in Ohio.

This tactic has the salutary effect (if you're a Republican) of disenfranchising more Dem voters than GOP ones. Unfortunately for Blackwell, MyDD, a Kos diarist and Atrios caught it, some of the county election commissions are resisting it, and it turns out his little "voting integrity" move violates the Voting Rights Act (42 USC § 1971(a)(2)(B)):

No person acting under color of law shall ... deny the right of any individual to vote in any election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election.

Atrios gives contact information for Blackwell's office. I'm sending emails to reporters and my buds in the Ohio ACLU. You can stick typeface analysis up your ass.

Comments

[The Navigator]

Surely someone in Ohio could file a section 1983 suit?