Blackwell Ordered Not to Enforce Voting Machine Directive
Two state court judges have ordered Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell not to enforce a directive that required county boards of election to choose an optical-scan voting system, or have one chosen for them. The AP has this story.

Blackwell had required the counties to select a precinct-count optical scan system from one of two vendors, reversing an earlier order that allowed the counties to choose either precinct-count optical scan or electronic voting equipment. Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro yesterday issued an opinion saying that Blackwell lacked the authority to make counties choose an optical scan system by today, February 9. Judge Laurie Pittman of Portage County and John Bessey of Franklin County both issued orders requiring that Blackwell hold off on enforcing his directive.

Meanwhile, Blackwell offered some choice words for those who are challenging his authority to mandate precinct-count optical scans. In response to the opinion of A.G. Petro, who he's expecting to face in the 2006 gubenatorial election, Blackwell's spokesperson accused Petro of "playing politics with a federal mandate," namely the requirement that states receiving HAVA Title I money get rid of punch cards by 2006.

Blackwell himself directed some pointed criticism of Ohio Republican Party Chair Bob Bennett, who's also Chair of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports here that, after Bennett announced Cuyahoga's intent to move forward with Diebold touchscreens despite Blackwell's directive ...

Blackwell fired back, suggesting that Bennett's decision to spend more money on touch-screens is driven by the companies that make the machines.

"Having owned a couple of coal mines in my career and having married into a coal mining family, I know that coal mining is an honest day's work," he said. "I would prefer being in the darkness of a coal mine than in the darkness of some vendor's hip pocket."

No love lost there, I guess.
- posted by Dan Tokaji @ 11:24 PM