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In Ohio Vote, Woes, Yes, Fraud, No
By JAMES DAO    New York Times   June 23, 2005

WASHINGTON, June 22 - A five-month study for the Democratic National Committee found that more than one in four Ohio voters experienced problems at the polls last fall, , but the study did not find evidence of widespread election fraud that might have contributed to President Bush's narrow victory there.

The detailed report, released Wednesday, said that disproportionately high numbers of blacks and young people had complained about long lines, intimidation and malfunctioning machines. But Democratic officials said they could not conclude that Mr. Bush's Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, would have won in Ohio even if voting had gone smoothly.

"The purpose of this study was not to challenge the results of the election," Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told reporters at the party's headquarters in Washington.

But Dr. Dean said the volume of problems reported by blacks and young people suggested that Republicans had tried to suppress the vote in heavily Democratic districts. The report called on state legislatures to enact rules that would improve voting; for example, by issuing clear standards for allocating voting machines, replacing punch-card and other voting machines with so-called precinct-tabulated optical scan systems and adopting more lenient standards for absentee voting.

"This is bad for America," Dr. Dean said. "We need to repair and restructure the way we conduct elections in America."

Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, called the report "pure political fiction," asserting that Democratic groups did more to subvert voting last year by submitting false voter registrations in Ohio.

"Republicans will continue to register and inspire new voters, make it easier for everyone to vote at the polls and protect everyone's franchise from being canceled out by illegal or fraudulent registration," Mr. Mehlman said in a statement.

The Democratic investigation was conducted by pollsters, political scientists and voting-machine experts led by Donna L. Brazile, head of the party's Voting Rights Institute. It was based on a survey of 1,201 randomly ed Ohioans and a precinct-by-precinct analysis of registration data, turnout and results.



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