toledoblade.com --

WASHINGTON - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said yesterday that a study commissioned by Democrats of the election in Ohio last November showed that the system "failed the citizens of Ohio in 2004, and in particular failed African Americans, new registrants, younger voters, and voters in places using touch screen machines."

Mr. Dean, a former governor of Vermont who also ran for president last year, said the report was not done to challenge the results of the presidential election.

President Bush received 286 electoral votes, 16 more than the 270 needed to win.

Thus, without Ohio's 20 votes, he would not have been re-elected.

Mr. Dean said that "reliving the past" was not the motivation for the study but improving the voting process for future elections.

Democrats hope that because of scandals plaguing the Taft administration they will do better in Ohio than they have in recent years.

There have been a number of studies and congressional hearings about voting problems last November, with Ohio getting the most attention.

Mr. Dean said that while Ohio reported the bulk of the problems, there was anecdotal evidence from around the nation that indicates systemic problems.

Ken Blackwell, Ohio's secretary of state and chief elections officer responsible for the conduct of the elections, has been a focal point of criticism by Democrats. He issued directives that were seen as confusing.

Republican Rep. Bob Ney, who represents Ohio's 18th District, held hearings about the election in Ohio as chairman of the House Administration Committee.

He disputes the report's contention that there was racial discrimination in the vote, especially in Franklin Country, where Columbus is located.

His office issued a statement yesterday saying, "The inherent problem with theories such as this though is that they are in contradiction to extensive testimony under oath to the House Administration Committee earlier this year by a number of Ohio election officials including Bill Anthony who is not only chairman of the Board of Elections in Franklin County, but is also a leader in the black community and chairman of the local Democratic Party."

Mr. Anthony testified in March that he drove around Franklin County in the rain and found long lines in urban and suburban neighborhoods, black and white communities, and Democrat and Republican precincts.

The 200-page study includes 23 recommendations for change. Mr. Dean said he would present an "action plan" at the next Democratic National Committee meeting in September.

The report team was headed by Donna Brazile, a Democratic activist who heads the DNC's Voting Rights Institute and who ran Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000.

The report claims:

●More than 1-in-4 Ohio voters had problems with voting, including waiting long lines;

●Two times as many black voters as white voters had problems. Blacks reported waiting an average of 52 minutes compared with 18 minutes for whites;

●Five times as many voters had identification questioned than there should have been, based on registration statistics.

Contact Ann McFeatters at:
amcfeatters@nationalpress.com
or 202-662-7071.

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