Non-Partisan Lawsuit Seeks to Redress Decade-Old Constitutional Defects in the Way Ohio Conducts Elections

July 28, 2005 – (Toledo, OH) – Seeking to redress decades-old Constitutional defects in the way Ohio conducts federal elections, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, the League of Women Voters of Toledo-Lucas County, and more than a dozen Ohio citizens today filed a historic, non-partisan lawsuit against the State of Ohio.

The lawsuit alleges that Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, Governor Bob Taft, and their predecessors have failed to protect the fundamental rights of eligible Ohio voters to cast a meaningful ballot, as required by the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In addition, the complaint contends that Ohio has not met its obligations under the Help America Vote Act. The lawsuit does not challenge the results of any past elections, but instead seeks to bring about changes necessary to protect the rights of Ohio voters in future elections.

Click a document below for detailed information regarding this lawsuit:

  Complaint (Right click and choose "Save As" to download to your computer)

  Lawsuit Press Release (July 2005)

  Remarks of Peg Rosenfield, Elections Specialist (July 28, 2005)

  Lawsuit Fact Sheet