Brunner: I'll obey court order, but thousands could lose their right to vote (200,000)

The Plain Dealer ^ | October 15, 200 | Reginald Fields

[chemical_boy]

More than 200,000 Ohioans who registered to vote this year for the first time or updated their voting information since Jan. 1 could be affected by the latest court ruling requiring the state to set up a new registration verification system by Friday, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said.

Brunner said she would comply with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling late Tuesday but said she is deeply concerned that the decision is a veiled attempt at disenfranchising voters...

The court's 9-6 opinion, written by Judge Jeffrey Sutton, suggested that voters whose driver's license number or Social Security number does not exactly match those found on databases maintained by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or Social Security Administration could be required to use provisional ballots instead of conventional ones.

"The thing that concerns me is that Judge Sutton indicated that these mismatched names could be subjected to provisional voting and nowhere in [Help America Vote Act] is that the case. The Help America Vote Act is really not meant to be used to disenfranchise or to help determine voter eligibility," Brunner said in an interview today.

"Essentially that provision of HAVA is basically supposed to maintain voter registration databases," she said. "It is not for determining voter eligibility. The interpretation that seems to be coming from at least that particular judge takes HAVA and uses it as a means to exclude voters from a regular ballot. That is a concern."

The full 6th Circuit's opinion overturned the decision of a three-judge panel at the federal court last week and restored the ruling announced last week by U.S. District Court Judge George C. Smith.

Since Jan. 1, Ohio has 666,000 newly registered or updated voters -- all of whom fall under scrutiny by this latest court ruling. Brunner said an initial review found that at least 200,000 of them might have mismatched information. Once the office identifies all of the mismatched voters, Brunner will send the list to the county boards of election where the individuals have registered.

[K-oneTexas]

Thousands of democrats could lose their vote?

[Ann Archy]

Save the drama for your mamma, Bruenner......just WHY would LEGAL VOTERS not be able to vote....LEGAL being then operative word, honey.

[stocksthatgoup]

Under Federal Law anyone not registered will be given a provisional ballot. (NO ONE WILL LOSE THEIR LEGITIMATE RIGHT TO VOTE!}

[grobdriver]

If you’d done it right in the first place, ya dummy, it wouldn’t be a problem now.

[kimchi lover]

So, if McCain wins, will this be lawsuit #1 for the Obama Bunch?

[Arkinsaw]

but said she is deeply concerned that the decision is a veiled attempt at disenfranchising voters...

And if I were the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals I would order AG Brunner to come and explain why an officer of the court is accusing me and my colleagues of attempting disenfranchise voters.....and would expect her to have a thorough answer.

[facedown]

Typical Democrat.

[Stentor]

Does this hag sound like every guy’s ex-wife?

[kempster]

And just what cabinet position was she going to get?

[mapmaker77]

Another whining lib dim. If she had been doing her job none of this would be happening.
Do you hear the pitter-patter of little lawyer feet approaching?

[ssaftler]

If you’d done it right in the first place, ya dummy, it wouldn’t be a problem now.

She did it right in the first place (at least according to the Saul Alinsky playbook). The problem is that she got caught at it!

[TCats]

“Brunner said an initial review found that at least 200,000 of them might have mismatched information.”

From what I've been hearing I'm surprised it is only 200K.

IMO This is going on in all States and sets the stage for massive legal challenges and, if those don't work, riots.

[suijuris]

Brunner said an initial review found that at least 200,000 of them might have mismatched information.

30% of new registered voters in Ohio have mis matched information and this bitch wanted to sit on he a$$ to help Obama? She needs to be in jail!

[Michael.SF.]

Brunner said an initial review found that at least 200,000 of them might have mismatched information.

That is almost one out of three based on an "initial" review. That is a pretty high rate of potential fraud.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

voters whose driver's license number or Social Security number does not exactly match those found on databases maintained by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles or Social Security Administration could be required to use provisional ballots instead of conventional ones.

What a shame. People with questionable numbers are given provisional ballots. If your numbers don't match, you shouldn't get a regular ballot. It's a no-brainer.

[Brown Deer]

Register and vote often!

[avacado]

"Brunner said she would comply with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling late Tuesday but said she is deeply concerned that the decision is a veiled attempt at disenfranchising voters..."

ARRRRRGGGGHH!!!! Honest voters get disenfranchised when Democrats vote with a fraudulent registration! Brunner YOU ARE A MORON!

[singfreedom]

This dissembling bitch just makes me sick! If the “Help America Vote Act” is not designed to validate registrations, I’m sure they assumed the state had SOME means already in place to validate registrations. This POS evidently thinks she should let everything that walks in the door cast a vote!

Congress and the President just need to suck it up and demand that everyone that votes shows photo ID, not utility bills or any of that other crap!

[originalbuckeye]

I heard someone on one of the morning show say (paraphrase) ‘it's so sad that Republicans don't want everyone to be able to vote’. That's the MSM spin on this. We have to trumpet the truth. Republicans want everyone ENTITLED to vote to be able to vote. We just don't want the illegal votes to throw the election to Obama. I suspect that has been Obama’s plan all along.