Ohio Must Check Voter Registrations: Court

A federal appeals court has sided with the GOP and ordered Ohio to set up a computer system by Friday to verify new voter registrations, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Registrations must now be cross-checked with other government information. Ohio's secretary of state, accused of partisan bias by Republicans, had argued that the existing system was sufficient.

The current system "is essentially useless," the court ruled—"not unlike asking for a drink of water and being given access to a fire hose at full volume." Ohio's election process has been the focus of fierce partisan battles, and is among the states where the left-leaning group ACORN is accused of registration fraud. It’s unclear whether the decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court.
(More Ohio stories.)