by Thomas J. Sheeran
Associated Press
Cleveland -- The state has agreed to settle a federal court lawsuit over expanded voter-registration procedures for low-income people.
Under the agreement filed last week in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, low-income people must be given the chance to register to vote when applying for public assistance. The lawsuit said such services are required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
The lawsuit was filed three years ago on behalf of the group ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, and two people who went to welfare offices but weren't asked about registering to vote, Carrie Harkless of Lorain and Tameca Mardis of Cleveland.
The settlement agreement includes Ohio's top election official, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Brunner's spokesman, Jeff Ortega, said Nov. 30 that her office would abide by the settlement.
Lisa Danetz, an attorney who represented Harkless and Mardis, said the settlement could lead to hundreds of thousands of registrations by low-income people who are eligible to vote. She said Nov. 30 the state agency and local welfare offices shared responsibility for making sure welfare applicants have a chance to register to vote.
Computers used by case workers will carry information on voter registration, under the terms of the agreement, and employees with responsibility to register voters will be trained.
In addition, the secretary of state's office agreed to do unannounced spot checks of the voter-registration procedures at local welfare offices and will collect data on voter registrations at welfare offices.
Under the agreement, both sides will discuss legal fees that can be recovered by those who filed the lawsuit.
The National Voter Registration Act was enacted in 1993 and requires state public assistance agencies, which administer such programs as Food Stamps and Medicaid, to provide its clients with the chance to register to vote. The agencies are also required to help the clients complete the registrations.