Ohio -- ACLU Punch-Card Lawsuit Goes to Trial
/A trial will start today in federal court in
Akron in which the American Civil Liberties Union alleges that Hamilton
County and three other counties in Ohio that use punch-card ballots are
violating the rights of voters. It is the first ACLU voting case to go
to trial since the 2000 presidential election debacle. Similar lawsuits
filed in California, Illinois, Georgia and Florida were settled out of
court, according to ACLU attorney Richard Saphire, a University of
Dayton professor. The ACLU will argue that the punch cards used in 69
of Ohio's 88 counties are more mistake-prone than other voting methods.
The ACLU also says African Americans are almost seven times more likely
than other voters to pick too many candidates with punch cards. Such
so-called overvoting invalidates the vote. "The effect of this dual
system is to deny the votes and dilute the voting strength of Ohioans
compelled to use less reliable, less accurate machinery," the ACLU said
in a legal brief outlining its case. [more] and [more]
