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DEMOCRAT CALLS GOP CHALLENGE AN ACT OF VOTER INTIMIDATION
AP- Canton Repository
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
CANTON ... Attorney Allen Schulman is challenging Republicans' challenges of 66 local voter registrations.
On Friday, the Ohio Republican Party filed 35,000 challenges statewide to new voter registrations. On Monday, it withdrew thousands of the challenges because of errors apparently caused by a computer glitch.
In a letter to the Stark County Board of Elections, Schulman asked the board to dismiss all 66 remaining challenges filed with it Friday. Schulman, who said he is acting on behalf of the Ohio Democratic Coordinated Campaign and Kerry-Edwards 2004, noted that the challenges require that the would-be voters attend a hearing to prove that they are eligible to vote.
"The sanctioning of this outrageous and blatant attempt to intimidate voters and suppress voter turnout should be summarily rejected," the letter says.
Board of Elections Director Jeff Matthews said the board will hold a hearing on the local challenges at 1 p.m. Friday.
"If I understand this correctly, we have an obligation to hold a hearing, and we're going to," he said.
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