Judge stops Blackwell from enforcing deadline in county

Associated Press   09 February 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Portage County judge on Wednesday ordered Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell not to enforce a deadline for the county to choose a new voting system vendor, saying the law under which Blackwell acted was unclear.

Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman issued the order in response to a complaint filed by the Portage County Board of Elections. The board said a dispute between Blackwell and Attorney General Jim Petro should be resolved before the northeast Ohio county picks a vendor.

Blackwell on Jan. 12 issued a directive ordering Ohio's 88 counties to choose by Wednesday one of two vendors supplying optical scan machines, which read the choices voters make by marking paper ballots with a pencil. Blackwell said his office would choose a system for any county that missed the deadline.

Petro on Tuesday issued an opinion that Blackwell was not acting within his authority when he issued his directive.

Portage and other county boards have complained that Blackwell has eliminated the choice of electronic touch-screen machines from a federal program that will pay for the new equipment. Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002 after the outcome of the 2000 presidential election was held up by problems with punch card voting in Florida.

Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo said Pittman's order will have minimal effect because 83 counties have chosen optical-scan machine vendors.