Cincinnati — Two federal judges Monday barred Republican Party representatives from challenging the eligibility of voters at Ohio polling places on Election Day.
U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott said that a black couple suing over such challenges would probably be able to prove them unconstitutional. In a similar case in Akron, U.S. District Judge John Adams said it was up to regular poll workers to determine whether voters are eligible.
"In light of these extraordinary circumstances, and the contentious nature of the imminent election, the court cannot and must not turn a blind eye to the substantial likelihood that significant harm will result not only to voters, but also to the voting process itself, if appointed challengers are permitted at the polls," Adams said.
The GOP said it appealed the first ruling and would do so in the second.
Republicans wanted to put challengers in many polling places, citing the possibility of tens of thousands of fraudulent voter registrations in a state both President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry say they need to win. The Democrats argued that such challenges were aimed at intimidating black voters and suppressing Democratic turnout.
Republicans initially said Adams' ruling would allow them to observe at the polls Tuesday, but later backed off that interpretation.
Dlott ruled on a lawsuit by a black couple who said Republican plans to deploy challengers in largely black precincts in the Cincinnati area were meant to intimidate black voters.
Adams' ruling came in a lawsuit from the Akron-area Democratic Party, which claimed that the law allowing registration challenges was unconstitutional because it did not give a disqualified voter a chance to appeal in time to cast a ballot.
The GOP registered about 3,500 challengers. The Democrats said they had registered thousands, too.
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