New Directive to Increase Protection for Ohio Voters From Partisan Voter Caging

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to strong
concerns expressed by Project Vote and Advancement Project about the potential
for partisan abuse of Ohio's vague voter challenger laws, Ohio's Secretary of
State Jennifer Brunner took an important step to clarify the law and protect
Ohio voters from partisan voter caging. In a directive issued on Friday to all
Ohio Elections Boards, the secretary makes it clear that Ohio voters must be
afforded notice and due process before their right to vote is challenged, and
that returned mail alone can not be used as a partisan tool to suppress the
vote in this presidential election year.

The directive helps restore basic rights that the Ohio legislature took away
in a controversial series of voter challenge laws, passed in 2006, which
required county boards of election to send non-forwardable mailings to each
registered voter 60 days before the election. Names on the lists of returned
or undeliverable notice letters could be accessed by partisan operatives
through public records laws to create ready-made "voter caging" lists. Project
Vote and Advancement Project expressed concerns that up to 600,000 eligible
voters -- including a disproportionate number of minorities and youths --
could be unlawfully stricken from the voter rolls based solely on problems
with the mail.

Recent history shows that such concerns are justified. In 2004, partisans
filed 35,000 challenges to Ohio voters in a mass voter caging that
disproportionally impacted people of color. The challenges were based solely
on a single piece of returned, non-forwardable mail. The resulting chaos
disenfranchised voters, overwhelmed boards of election, and led to multiple
lawsuits.

"Partisan, challengers who have obtained a list of returned letters shouldn't
be allowed to intimidate low-income and minority Ohioans, or strip eligible
voters of their rights," says Teresa James, attorney with Project Vote.
"Particularly in light of the troubling history of voter caging in Ohio,
Secretary Brunner is to be commended for her strong leadership on this issue
and her firm commitment to protecting the rights of Ohio voters."

Under the directive all challenged voters are to be given basic American
rights such as notice of any challenge to their right to vote and a chance to
dispute the challenge. Most importantly, Secretary Brunner's directive makes
it clear that no challenge to a registered voter can be granted on the basis
of returned mail alone, and that to do so would be a clear violation of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993.

Concerns still remain that partisan operatives might file frivolous challenges
anyway to intimidate voters and suppress voter turnout. While Brunner's
directive makes it clear that these challenges would ultimately be denied, it
is unclear whether even baseless filings would result in challenge notices
being mailed to thousands of eligible voters -- a tactic that could have a
chilling effect on voter turnout.

Project Vote and Advancement Project will continue to cooperate with Secretary
Brunner's office to address these concerns, but see today's directive as an
encouraging step forward and a victory for Ohio voters. "With the new
directive, Secretary Brunner has dealt a major win for voting rights in Ohio,"
says James. "We are thrilled she has taken such strong action to protect
voters from partisan attacks."

Project Vote is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes
voting in historically underrepresented communities. In 2008, Project Vote
plans to help 1.2 million Americans register to vote in the country's largest
nonpartisan voter registration program.

SOURCE Project Vote

Eleiza Braun, +1-415-420-4059, eleizabraun@massey-media.com, for Project Vote