OxfordPress.com

COLUMBUS — Conflict has erupted on two fronts in the ongoing battle between Republicans and Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner over how Ohio runs its elections.

• On Friday, Sept. 12, a Republican-supported lawsuit was filed in the Ohio Supreme Court challenging a Brunner directive that says for six days Ohio law allows people to simultaneously register to vote and cast an absentee ballot.

• Also on Friday, the Ohio Republican Party and Republican John McCain's presidential campaign rejected Brunner's effort to help voters whose applications for absentee ballots supplied by McCain's campaign have been rejected.

The lawsuit asks the Supreme Court to tell Brunner, the state's chief elections officer, to issue a new directive stating that a voter must be registered for 30 days before receiving an absentee ballot.

Brunner has told the county boards that an Ohio law, adopted by a Republican-controlled legislature, permits a person to register and vote absentee on the same day from Sept. 30, the opening of absentee voting, and the voter registration deadline of Oct. 6. She said there have been no problems with voter fraud.

However, Kevin DeWine, Ohio Republican Party deputy chairman, said in a press release that the law clearly requires the 30-day wait.

"No one will be denied a ballot in this election," said DeWine. "This is about a chief elections officer who's willing to illegally open the voting process when it benefits Democrats, but she'll use every little technicality to keep Republicans from a ballot."

Brunner fired back in her own release.

"... it is unfortunate that a small, but vocal group of Republican leaders continues to inject confusion and chaos in our elections."

"The pattern of attempting to inject chaos and confusion into the state's election process has the very real potential to shake voter confidence in our elections," she said.

Brunner has five days to file a response with the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, she used a news conference to outline her plan to solve the problem with the absentee ballot applications supplied by the McCain campaign.

Those applications, unlike the forms prescribed by Brunner's office, contain a box the applicant is supposed to check stating that he or she is a qualified elector. Brunner has told county boards of election that under Ohio law an application must be rejected if the box is not checked.

DeWine and the McCain campaign have said the applications should be accepted if the person signs the form and supplies other identification, no matter whether the box is checked.

Brunner said that next week she would roll out a plan for county boards of elections to let her office process faulty request forms.

At the request of the county boards, Brunner's office would notify voters with the faulty forms that they could go to the secretary of state's Web site to supply the needed information. Each voter would be given an access code to use the site. The voters also would be provided a new absentee application if they preferred to use that, she said.

"I think it's lame and nobody is going to use that process," said DeWine.

However, state Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern, in a press release, applauded Brunner for "going above and beyond to help voters endangered by the McCain's campaign's confusing early voting request form."