Democrats Protecting Voters in Ohio, Across the Country

For Immediate Release
July 20, 2006
Contact: Damien LaVera - 202-863-8148

Democrats Protecting Voters in Ohio, Across the Country

Washington, DC - Facing difficult electoral prospects this fall, Republicans
like Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell are pushing election rules that
threaten to disenfranchise countless minority, elderly, disabled, rural and
student voters. Across the country, we've seen the American people’s
fundamental right to vote challenged by Republican schemes, including: a
criminal phone jamming scheme in New Hampshire; discriminatory voter ID laws in
states like Indiana, Georgia and Missouri; irresponsible voter registration
rules in Ohio; and inappropriate purges of voter lists in states like
Florida.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Ohio Democratic Party
Chairman Chris Redfern welcomed today's announcement that the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee are joining the DNC and the Ohio Democratic Party's efforts to combat
Republican schemes to disenfranchise voters in Ohio. These are part of a larger
DNC effort to protect the integrity of the vote in Ohio and across the country
heading into the November elections.

Redfern highlighted how, under the failed leadership of Republican Secretary of
State Ken Blackwell, Ohio has become ground zero in the Republican effort to
disenfranchise voters.

“What’s happening here in Ohio is happening in communities all across the
country,” said Redfern. “Ohio voters have seen Ken Blackwell compromise their
Social Security numbers twice in the last year, fail to fix critical problems
in the administration of their elections, and undermine critical voter
registration efforts. I am delighted to see the DCCC and the DSCC are joining
Ohio Democrats and the DNC in combating these shameful tactics.”

Dean highlighted some of the critical work the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute
and National Lawyers Council have done to combat the national Republican threat
to the integrity of the vote.

"From discriminatory voter ID laws and improper attempts to purge voter lists,
to the use of voting machines that leave no verifiable paper trails and
criminal phone jamming schemes, Republicans are pushing an arsenal of tools
aimed at enhancing their electoral prospects by denying people their right to
vote,” said Dean. “These schemes, which undermine our democracy, are yet
another sign that the Republican Party is out of step with American values.

“Democrats believe that the more people who vote, the better it is for our
democracy and for our country. We’ll be working very hard in Ohio and across
the country to ensure voters are able to exercise their fundamental right to
vote with confidence when they go to the polls this November.”

While VRI Executive Director Greg Moore will conduct a broader discussion of
the DNC’s voter protection work at the DNC Summer Meeting next month in
Chicago, the following is a fact sheet outlining a few examples of the DNC’s
voter protection efforts this year:

The DNC's Voting Rights Institute was created in 2001 to protect the
fundamental right of all Americans to participate in the political process.
Chairman Dean established the DNC National Lawyers Council to fight systematic
barriers to registration and voting across the country. This year, as part of
that effort, the VRI is spearheading Democratic efforts across the country to
stand up to Republican efforts to disenfranchise American voters to advance
their partisan agenda. The following are highlights of the DNC's effort:

National Voting Rights Summit

* Last month, the Voting Rights Institute and the National Lawyers Council
hosted a national Voting Rights Summit, which brought together state parties,
activists and lawyers to discuss election protection issues. Among the
important topics discussed were the highly-restrictive Voter ID provisions in
states like Ohio, Georgia, Indiana and Missouri which would disenfranchise
hundreds of thousands of eligible voters.

* Based on a model step by step program disseminated at the Summit, VRI and the
DNC National Lawyers Council continue to organize voter protection operations
throughout the country in conjunction with the state Democratic Parties, in-
state lawyers and activists, and leadership of the coordinated campaigns.

Ohio

* 2004 Election Report-In 2005, The VRI conducted the most thorough analysis of
the conduct of the 2004 election in Ohio. Based on an assessment by a non-
partisan group of leading experts in election systems, statistics and other key
areas, the report highlighted grave problems in the administration of Ohio's
voting system. More than 1 in 4 voters in Ohio faced problems at the polls,
including illegal requests for identification, long lines, poorly trained
election officials, and more. There were also dramatic disparities in voting
conditions among different races; African Americans waited nearly three times
as long, on average, as whites to vote.

* Voter Registration Rules-Last month, the VRI worked with national and local
civil rights groups to respond to the decision by the Ohio Joint Committee for
Agency Rule Review upholding Ken Blackwell’s needlessly restrictive voter
registration rules.

Indiana Voter ID Laws

* Voter Protection Hotline-After Indiana became the first state to conduct
elections after enacting the stringent Republican voter ID measures, the Voting
Rights Institute established a toll-free number to allow Hoosiers to report
incidents in which they were disenfranchised by the new law. Dozens of people
reported problems casting their ballot in this year’s primaries.

* Legal Assistance-Through the National Lawyers Council, the DNC is providing
critical legal assistance to the Indiana Democratic Party’s lawsuit aimed at
overturning Indiana’s discriminatory voter ID law.

New Orleans Voter Protection Efforts

* Election Protection Hotline-When the Department of Justice compelled the city
of New Orleans to hold its April 22 mayoral elections despite serious problems
providing satellite voting and other means of helping displaced voters exercise
their fundamental right to vote, the VRI established a toll-free number to
provide people with information about how to vote. An extensive advertising
campaign in communities with large populations of displaced voters led to
hundred of calls to the hotline from voters eager to exercise their right to
vote.

New Hampshire Phone Jamming

* Legal Assistance in Phone Jamming Case-On Election Day in 2002, Republican
operatives engaged in a criminal conspiracy to block phone lines at Democratic
get-out-the-vote call centers. Four key Republicans have received criminal
sentences in connection with the scheme, and there are indications that
national Republican operatives in the White House and the Republican National
Committee may have been involved in or known about it. The DNC has provided
legal assistance to the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s civil lawsuit against
the New Hampshire GOP and key players in the case.

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