Civil rights lawyers for
the Bush administration's Justice Department have notified a federal
judge that they see no conflict with Republican plans to post thousands
of partisan challengers in Ohio polling places on Election Day. The
Justice Department's letter to U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott appears
designed to undercut Democrats and their allies in civil rights groups.
Dlott is presiding over a closely watched pre-election lawsuit that
claims GOP plans to station challengers in the polls violate the U.S.
Constitution and the 1965 Voting Rights Act because it targets black
neighborhoods in Hamilton County. Republicans plan to put about 3,600
challengers in the polls across the state; Democrats plan slightly more
than 2,000. Hearings on the lawsuit whose outcome could affect the
presidential race are scheduled to resume tonight at the U.S.
Courthouse in Cincinnati. A decision is expected before polls open
Tuesday. Dlott is considering whether to bar challengers, also known as
poll watchers, on grounds they are little more than a partisan army for
intimidating newly registered voters in black neighborhoods across the
state. [more]
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