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Friday, April 21, 2006
Law - 6th Circuit rules Ohio's punch-card and central-count optical scan voting systems are unconstitutional
The 6th Circuit opinion is Stewart v. Blackwell, a 47-page decision issued today. Here is a story from the Toledo Blade that begins:
COLUMBUS — Ohio's continued use of punch-card ballots like those called into question after the 2000 presidential election in Florida discriminates against African Americans whose votes are less likely to be counted, a federal appeals court ruled this morning.The 2-1 ruling by the Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals may soon be moot since, as of the May 2 primary election, no voter in Ohio should be casting a punch-card ballot.
"Hopefully, the state will do this year what the 6th Circuit is telling them, which is, in effect, to get rid of its punch-card and central-count optical-scan systems,'' said Dan Tokaji, an Ohio State University law professor. He argued the case on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and plaintiff voters from Sandusky, Hamilton, Montgomery, and Summit counties.
"Every year for the past three years, the state has said it would replace those systems,'' he said. "Every year, the state has said one thing and done another. I hate to sound like Thomas, but I'll believe it when I see it."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 21, 2006 02:41 PM
Posted to General Law Related