Federal Suit Filed Against Blackwell (R) Over Voter ID Requirement

As just reported in the Columbus Dispatch and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, lawyers Subodh Chandra and Caroline Gentry filed a federal lawsuit in Columbus today on behalf of the Northeast Coalition for the Homeless and Service Employees International Union Local 1199, seeking to enjoin Ohio's new voter I.D. law on the basis that inconsistencies in the way the law is being enforced by the 88 different boards of election around the state make it fundamentally unfair and therefore unconstitutional.

"There's a significant risk here that tens of thousands of ballots will not be counted," Chandra told the Dispatch. The complaint states that the new requirements "are confusing, vague, and impossible to apply," with the result that "[n]either M.C. Escher nor Rube Goldberg could make head or tails of Ohio’s disastrous voter-identification scheme." For example, boards of elections differ on what constitutes a "current" utility bill and which of two numbers listed on driver’s licenses is the one required as identification. Also, while the law allows military identification that shows the voter’s name and current address, IDs issued by the Army, Air Force, and Navy don’t show current addresses.

Chandra told the Dispatch he was hoping for a hearing later today on his request for a temporary restraining order, but the Plain Dealer reports that U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost scheduled a hearing for tomorrow (Wednesday).