By Dan Horn
Enquirer staff writer

State officials are trying to establish ways to ensure that Ohio's system of registering voters does not deprive felons of the right to vote.

Representatives from Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's office, the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and State Sen. Mark Mallory met this week to discuss the issue and hope to recommend some changes to the registration system soon.

Their interest in the voting rights of ex-convicts grew Tuesday when a prisoners' advocacy group sued Ohio elections officials, claiming they routinely give bad advice that discourages felons from voting.

The lawsuit accused them of telling felons they must complete parole, apply for registration in person or fill out unnecessary paperwork before registering to vote.

Ohio law allows felons to register like anyone else, as long as they are no longer in prison.

The suit claims as many as 21,000 ex-convicts may be affected and demands that state officials take immediate steps to correct the problem.

After the lawsuit was filed, Mallory hosted a meeting with prison officials and representatives of Blackwell's office. The ideas discussed included:

• Requiring county elections boards to use the prison system's Web site to verify whether felons applying for registration by mail have been released from prison. Some boards require them to register in person or to provide additional documentation.

• Informing felons of their voting rights upon their release and allowing them to register to vote at the offices of their parole officers.

• Allowing elections boards to receive computerized, monthly updates from the prison system on who has been released. The boards then could immediately update their records to restore voting eligibility to newly released felons.

Mallory said he thought the parties had reached a "tentative agreement" on corrective action, but a spokesman for Blackwell said that was not true.

"It seems Senator Mallory is eating the pie before it's baked," said Blackwell's spokesman, Carlo Loparo.

Loparo said Blackwell may not be able to make all of the changes because Ohio law leaves many administrative reforms to the discretion of each county elections board.

Mallory said he's confident the changes eventually will be made. "I imagine the pressure of having this lawsuit out there will spur them along."

Email dhorn@enquirer.com