Ohio GOP Files New Suit Against Ohio Sec. State. Brunner

The Ohio GOP has filed a new suit against Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, to compel compliance with state election law mandating the state share database information with local election boards to determine eligibility of voter registrants. This comes one day after the US Supreme Court reversed a federal court decision on grounds that the Ohio GOP lacked standing to address the issue:

Specifically, the lawsuit asks the Ohio Supreme Court to require Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to order county elections boards not to count any absentee ballot from voters registered after Jan. 1 without first checking the statewide voter registration database to ensure there is no mismatch.

If there is a mismatch, the boards would be required to determine whether the person is an eligible voter.

"This action seeks this (Ohio Supreme Court's) urgent intervention to remedy the secretary of state's steadfast refusal to fully implement the Statewide Voter Registration Database (SWVRD) in a manner required by both federal and state law -- in essence, to share 'mismatch' information regarding a registrant's driver's license or Social Security information with county boards of elections in a manner that gives those boards a meaningful opportunity to investigate the mismatches," the lawsuit says.

The court ordered that arguments by both sides must be filed by next Friday, only 10 days before the Nov. 4 election.