Updated 03.05.08
Trouble Voting? If you had a problem voting on Election Day,
we’d like to hear from you.
Every Voter Should Be Allowed to Check Their
Ballot
Read the ACLU of
Ohio's letter to members and supporters about our voting
rights case.
ACLU Challenges Cuyahoga’s Unequal Voting Technology
in Federal Court
Case Background
In December 2007,
Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner issued a report outlining some
of the security shortcomings of Ohio's voting system. In addition,
Brunner proposed a system of paper ballots where the ballots are shipped
away immediately to a central place where they are 'read' by a machine
called an optical scan. Because the ballots are shipped away
immediately, voters would not get a chance to correct a mistake on their
ballots. At the end of the month, Brunner cast a tie-breaker vote forcing
Cuyahoga County to switch to this system for the March primary. The ACLU
is opposed to changing to any system that does not alert voters to
problems with their ballots and does not give the voter a chance to
correct those errors. If voters do not have the opportunity to correct
ballot errors, their votes likely will not be counted. This violates
both the Constitution and Ohio law.
The ACLU of Ohio delivered a letter in-person to Chairman Hagan of the
Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners on January 3, 2008. The Cuyahoga
County Board of Elections and Secretary Brunner need approval from the
Board of Commissioners before moving ahead with the change. This letter
urged the Board of Commissioners to oppose any voting system, paper
ballot or otherwise, that does not give voters a second chance to fix a
mistake.
On January 17, 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Ohio filed a lawsuit
(ACLU v. Brunner) against state election officials in federal court, challenging the use of unequal, inaccurate and inadequate voting technology in
Cuyahoga County.
On January 22, 2008, the Ohio
Association of Election Officials (OAEO), a bipartisan group that
represents all 88 county election boards, delivered a four-page
statement disagreeing with Secretary Brunner’s decision to switch voting systems before the March 4 primary elections.
On January 24, The ACLU of Ohio issued a press release calling on Ohio
Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Cuyahoga County Board of
Elections officials to heed the advice of the OAEO and reverse their decision to switch to voting technology that does not alert voters to errors on ballots.
On January 28, 2008, the American Civil
Liberties Union and American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed a
motion for preliminary injunction asking the Federal Court of the
Northern District of Ohio to prevent Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer
Brunner and the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections from using balloting
technology that does not give notice to voters of problems with their
ballot.
On February 5, 2008, federal district
court Judge Kathleen O’Malley denied the ACLU’s request for an
injunction for March 4th, 2008 primary. While the court recognized
that the ACLU raised valid concerns, the court found that it was too
late for Cuyahoga County to make changes in time for the primary
election. We expect the judge will set a date for a trial in the near future.
Read the 02/10/2008
case update.
Read our 01/28/2008
press release
announcing the filing of a Motion for Preliminary Injunction.
Read the
documents submitted with the Motion. Read our 01/24/2008 press release.
Read the 01/22/2008
OAEO Statement.
Read our 01/17/2008 press release
announcing the lawsuit.
Read the Complaint.
Read our 01/03/2008
press release.
Read our 12/27/2007 press release.
Read our 12/17/2007
press release.
Read the
letter presented to the Cuyahoga Board of County
Commissioners at their January 3, 2008 meeting.
Read the December 27, 2007 letter sent to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections
and Secretary of State Brunner by ACLU of Ohio Staff Counsel Carrie
Davis.
Read the
December 17, 2007
testimony provided by ACLU of Ohio
Board Member Daniel Tokaji.
Read the December 10, 2007 letter the
national ACLU Voting Rights Project sent to Secretary of State Brunner and the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Check out Daniel Tokaji's
blog on election related issues.
Get more info about the ACLU of Ohio's challenge to central count optical scan and punch card ballot technology in
Stewart v. Blackwell.
The right to vote has
been called the
“vital principle of self-government and individual liberty.”
When you register to vote and participate in elections, you play a
critical role in preserving our democracy.
What’s Happening Nationally
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of cases this term
addressing the constitutionality of voter ID requirements.
The cases are Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, No. 07-21 (an
ACLU case) and Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita, No. 07-25.
Read more about the cases
What’s happening in Ohio
Important Dates for 2008
November 4 - General election day
Click
here to see the full Ohio election calendar
Election Reform
In September 2007, the ACLU of Ohio released a report on systemic Ohio
election problems from 2004-present. The ACLU issued a list of
recommendations, urging the Secretary of State and Boards of Elections
to address these concerns prior to the 2008 election.
Read the press
release and
list
of recommendations
Youth Poll Workers
In 2006, Ohio law was changed to allow 17-year-old high school seniors
to be permitted to serve as poll workers. The ACLU of Ohio encourages
young people to get active!
Information for students
Information for teachers
Read a news article about students who have signed up to be poll workers in the Dayton area.
Read
ACLU of Ohio Staff Attorney Carrie Davis' April 22, 2008 testimony
before the Ohio Senate State & Local Government & Veterans Affairs Committee.
Read ACLU of Ohio Staff Attorney Carrie Davis'
January 10, 2008 testimony before the Ohio House State Government and
Elections Committee.
Cuyahoga County
In March 2007, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner asked for the resignation of all four members of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
Read the ACLU of
Ohio press release on Secretary Brunner's decision.
Read news articles related
to this and other voting rights issues.
ACLU litigation
Boustani v. Blackwell
On October 4, 2006, the ACLU of Ohio and other voting rights groups were
handed a victory in this important voting rights lawsuit. The groups
challenged a provision that would have allowed poll workers to inquire
if a voter is a naturalized citizen and require those voters to provide
proof that they were naturalized. The law singled out one group of U.S.
citizens and placed an unfair extra burden on them to cast their ballot.
Read
the 08.29.06 press release.
Read
the 02.01.06 press release.
Read the
complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief.
Read the
court decision.
Read the
court opinion and order.
Stewart v. Blackwell
The ACLU sued the State of Ohio after the 2000 presidential election
exposed several constitutional and statutory violations in the process
by which elections were conducted in several Ohio counties. Disparities
between punch-card and optical scanning and/or touch screen systems
arbitrarily deprive voters of the equal protection of the law and the
right to due process. Statistics show that voters in counties that use
punch-card systems are more likely to be African-American and/or
indigent.
Read
the 04.21.06 press release.
Read the 12.05.05
press release.
Read
the 07.23.04 press release.
Read the 10.10.02
press release.
Read the legal
docket.
Read
the legal complaint.
Get Active!
- Register to vote and participate in
elections. The
Secretary of
State oversees the election process ion each of Ohio's 88
counties.
- Democracy needs an operator! Become a poll worker.
Elections can not be held without poll workers. You are eligible if
you are a registered voter, are available for training sessions, and
can work on Election Day. Compensation is available. Please contact your
local board of elections
for details.
- Distribute Voter Empowerment Cards. ACLU voter cards detail the
ins and outs of voting laws in Ohio. Distribute to friends, family,
neighbors, students, and disperse throughout the community. Download the
card here (PDF,
HTML). To place an order, send an
email or call (216)
472-2200.
- Host an ACLU Freedom Files voting rights party. Invite your friends
and neighbors to view a Freedom Files episode about voting rights and
learn about elections in Ohio. We supply the material, you supply the
get-together. To learn more about the ACLU TV series, click
here. For help
setting up a party, send an
email to the ACLU office.
Resources
Ohio Secretary of
State's website
Summary of the Ohio Elections Cycle
Cuyahoga Election
Review Panel Final Report, 07.20.06
Our
Voter Empowerment Card gives you all the information you need to
make sure your vote counts.
Voter information from League of Women Voters of Ohio
Voting rights updates across the country from the
national ACLU
Election reform and voting rights
blog
by Dan Tokaji, ACLU of Ohio board member, volunteer attorney, and voting
rights advocate
Information and insight on the laws governing federal, state, and local
elections from Ohio State University's
Moritz
College of Law
Read
From Registration to Recounts: The Election Ecosystems of Five
Midwestern States, published by Election Law @ Moritz.
While Ohio restores voting rights to people convicted of felonies, many states do
not and this has garnered international condemnation. Read the
Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. See also the recent ACLU report
Race & Ethnicity in America: Turning a Blind Eye to Injustice.
Read voting rights press releases and news articles in our
News Center.
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