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10/29/2004:

"Ohio Court Battles Flare Over Challenges to Voters"

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 28 - Ohio was a confusing patchwork of litigation and election board hearings on Thursday as Democratic and Republican lawyers waged courtroom battles from Cincinnati to Newark, N.J., over the rights of tens of thousands of Ohioans to cast ballots next week.

At the heart of the legal jousting was an effort by the state Republican Party to challenge 23,000 new voter registrations in 62 counties. On Wednesday, Judge Susan J. Dlott of Federal District Court in Cincinnati temporarily blocked hearings for those challenges in six counties, including the state's two largest, Cuyahoga and Franklin.

But on Thursday, Attorney General Jim Petro, a Republican, and the Franklin County Board of Elections appealed Judge Dlott's order, seeking to proceed with hearings on Friday and through the weekend.

Election officials in Cuyahoga County, which encompasses Cleveland and where 17,000 challenges have been filed, said they might have run out of time to hold hearings. But officials in Franklin County, which includes Columbus, said they might proceed with hearings on Sunday if their appeal succeeds. Many smaller counties were also proceeding with plans for hearings.

Full Article: nytimes.com