Did Ohios Secretary of State Violate the Post-Bush v. Gore Federal Voting Statute?
In the wake of Bush v. Gore, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a statute that, among other things, sets standards for federal elections. In important respects, HAVA lives up to its name: One of its provisions requires that states permit people whose eligibility to vote is questioned by election officials to cast provisional ballots, so that if these voters are later determined to be eligible (and if the outcome is sufficiently uncertain that provisional ballots could make a difference), they will not be unfairly deprived of their votes. Another provision of HAVA is less about helping Americans vote than it is about preventing some people from voting. It obligates relevant state officials to match registered voter lists (typically kept at the county level) against motor vehicle records (typically kept statewide) “to the extent required to enable each such official to verify the accuracy of the information provided on applications for voter registration.” In the politica
