Boccieri blasts Blackwell on voter registration

The new rules would hinder voter registration, a Democratic rep claims.
By ZACH STIPE
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- State Rep. John Boccieri blasted Republican gubernatorial candidate Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell on Wednesday at the Mahoning County Board of Elections regarding recent changes to election law governing voter registration procedures.
Boccieri, of New Middletown, D-61st, said he finds it ironic that the United States is promoting free and fair elections in Iraq, even though "it is clear that we must still fight for it here in the Midwest."
Boccieri is an Air Force Reserve pilot who served four tours in Iraq during the past two years.
"All Iraqis had to do was show up and dip their finger in ink," Boccieri said regarding voter registration in the Middle East nation. "The secretary of state and the Ohio Legislature are creating more barriers for Ohioans to exercise their constitutional right to vote."
Groups using both volunteer and paid circulators would be affected by the new ruling issued this week, Boccieri said.
The rules are expected to take effect after a June 26 hearing before the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review.
Boccieri thinks that these provisions will hinder the registration process for minority and low-income voters.
At the core
The focus of the most ire is a provision that says registrars must return applicants' forms directly to the secretary of state's office or a county board of elections.
Boccieri said that if these changes are interpreted as so, the ability of grassroots organizations to register voters is hindered.
Peg Rosenfield, elections specialist for the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said a strict interpretation of that rule means a person who registers a voter can't even turn the form over to his or her supervisor for review. She added that managers of groups like the League would be prohibited from collecting forms from workers and delivering them in large quantities. Violators could be charged with a felony.
James Lee, spokesman for the secretary of state's office, dismissed Boccieri's and Rosenfield's claims.
Detractors of the rules are unfairly applying blame to Blackwell, Lee said.
"It's a process that goes through a lot of checks and balances," Lee said, reiterating that Blackwell is not the only one drafting the rules.
A registrar can either deliver registration forms to their county's board of elections or to the secretary of state's office in person or by mail, he said.
The new rules provide accountability to paid registrars so the workers don't hand over registration forms to people who have no contact with a registered voter, he said.
Ohio system blasted
Heightening the controversy surrounding voting rules changes is a New York Times editorial, published Wednesday, which called Ohio's election system corrupt and suggested that Blackwell "hand over responsibility for elections to a decision-maker whose only loyalty is to the voters and the law."
Lee said that the Times never called the secretary of state's office to check facts.
"It's ill-informed and short on the facts," he said.
Boccieri, who is running as the Democratic nominee for the Ohio 33rd Senate District seat, views the new changes as another addition to a growing list of controversial voting rulings attributed to Blackwell.