Lawyers Defend Challenge to Ohio Vote

[struggle4progress]

Friday, January 28, 2005 10:24 p.m. ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Four lawyers behind a failed challenge of Ohio's presidential election results defended themselves Friday against the state attorney general's efforts to have them sanctioned for filing a "meritless claim."

In legal documents filed with the Ohio Supreme Court, the lawyers said the challenge they filed on behalf of 37 voters included enough evidence of voting irregularities to back up their allegations of widespread fraud.

The filing by Cliff Arnebeck, Robert Fitrakis, Susan Truitt and Peter Peckarsky was in response to Attorney General Jim Petro's Jan. 19 request to sanction them. If the court sanctions the lawyers, they could be forced to repay attorney's fees and court costs. <snip>

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=982452&tw=wn_wire_story


COLUMBUS (AP) -- State legislative leaders are giving top priority to a bill that would require election challengers to pay the entire cost of recounts that fail to change the results of the election.

The measure also would create a statewide voter database, require first-time voters to bring identification and define who gets a provisional ballot. And it would make clear that optical scan ballots marked in pencil and read by a machine would count even if they are marked incorrectly.

Challengers of the presidential election paid $113,000 dollars to re-count the state's precincts, but Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell estimated the actual cost at $1.5 million dollars. <snip>

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=2858298