200,000 new Ohio voters to be affected by ruling

200,000 new Ohio voters to be affected by ruling

CINCINNATI — About 200,000 newly registered Ohio voters will be affected by a federal appeals court ruling that requires the state to do more to help county election boards verify eligibility, an elections spokesman said Wednesday.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner estimated that an initial review found at least 200,000 potential voters reported driver’s license numbers or Social Security numbers that don’t match records in other government databases, said Kevin Kidder, a spokesman for the office.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati sided with the Ohio Republican Party on Tuesday and ordered Brunner to set up a system that provides those names to county elections boards.

The GOP contends the information will help prevent fraud.

Brunner, a Democrat, told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer on Wednesday she is concerned the court decision is a veiled attempt at disenfranchising voters.

Advice on security

WASHINGTON — Advice to the next president from George W. Bush’s former homeland security adviser: Tell the public quickly and clearly how you plan to protect the country from a terrorist attack.

“God help them if something happens before they’ve done that,” Frances Fragos Townsend said Wednesday during a discussion at George Washington University on homeland security and the presidential transition.

Either Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama will inherit the responsibility of preventing another attack on U.S. soil and managing the Homeland Security bureaucracy.

Intelligence officials view the 77 days between the Nov. 4 election and the Jan. 20 inauguration as a time when terrorists might try to attack the U.S. or American interests abroad.

Murtha: W. Pa. is racist

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. John Murtha said Wednesday his home base of western Pennsylvania is racist and that could reduce Barack Obama’s victory margin in the state by 4 percentage points.

The 17-term Democratic congressman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story posted Wednesday on its Web site: “There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area.”

Murtha said that it has taken time for many Pennsylvania voters to come around to embracing a black presidential candidate but that Obama should still win the state, though not in a runaway.

In a separate interview posted Wednesday on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Web site, Murtha said Obama has a problem with voters’ racial attitudes in western Pennsylvania that could trim his winning margin Nov. 4.

In a statement issued later Wednesday, Murtha spokesman Matt Mazonkey told The Associated Press: “It’s naive to think that race or gender doesn’t play a role in a voter’s perception of a candidate. Mr. Murtha makes the point that while race may be an issue for some, it’s evident that voters today are concerned about the issues that truly matter — issues like the economy, health care, and energy independence.”

Allegations of threats

WASHINGTON — The Secret Service is looking into a second allegation that a participant at a Republican political rally shouted “kill him,” referring to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

The Scranton Times-Tribune reported that someone in the crowd shouted “kill him” after the mention of Obama’s name during a rally Tuesday for GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin in Scranton, Pa.

Last week, The Washington Post reported a similar incident during a Palin rally in Clearwater, Fla. The Secret Service investigated that allegation and found no indication that “kill him” was ever said, or if it was said, that the remark was directed at Obama.

Listening to tapes of that rally, the Secret Service heard “tell him” or “tell them,” but agents never heard “kill him,” Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

“We would ask that anyone overhearing threatening language bring it to the attention of the Secret Service or other law enforcement at the event immediately,” Zahren said.

Combined dispatches