ACLU to Appeal Punch Card Ruling - Broken Voting Machines Discriminate Against Blacks
/The American Civil Liberties Union says it is appealing a ruling
by a federal judge in Akron that Ohio's punch-card voting system does
not discriminate against blacks. The ACLU says it is appealing to the
Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. The ACLU contends
punch-card ballots should be declared unconstitutional because they're
error prone and don't alert voters to mistakes. It says the punch cards
violate the voting rights of blacks, who predominantly live in counties
that use punch cards. US District Court Judge David Dowd ruled in
December that all voters in a county, regardless of race, use the same
voting system to cast a ballot, and no one is denied the opportunity to
cast a valid vote because of their race. A spokesman for Secretary of
State Kenneth Blackwell implied the issue is moot because plans call
for Ohio's punch-card machines to be phased out by November. [more]
