THE CHALLENGE

Voters can be challenged if there is cause to think that they: • Are not U.S. citizens. • Have not been Ohio residents for the 30 days before the election. • Are not 18 years old by Election Day. • Do not reside in the county or precinct where they're attempting to vote. A federal judge ruled last week that voters may vote in any precinct in their county, but Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell is appealing that decision.

ELECTION SECTION

• Election 2004 page

"We've never seen what's about to happen," county Democratic Chairman Tim Burke said.

And that's before he'd heard the latest: Republicans are pre-emptively challenging 5,000 newly registered voters in Hamilton County because mail delivered to their listed addresses came back as undeliverable. A record 84,000 new voters registered in Hamilton County this year, many signed up by groups affiliated with Democratic causes.

It's all part of a statewide and nationwide phenomenon as the too-close-to-call race between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry nears a fever pitch.

The Hamilton County challenges were among 35,000 by Republicans in 65 Ohio counties Friday. Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett said the party was combating widespread reports of voter-registration fraud.

"This is an effort to clarify questionable registrations in advance so they don't become an issue on Election Day," he said.

The Hamilton County Board of Elections asked the prosecutor's office to investigate about three dozen suspect voter registrations Friday, and Director John Williams said he is suspicious of even more.

But Burke characterized the GOP's challenges as an effort to disenfranchise thousands of voters: "This is just another Republican trick to discourage Democrats from coming out to vote."

Burke, who is also chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Elections, said he has no idea how the board can decide the validity of 5,000 voter registrations before Nov. 2. Williams, too, was still trying to figure out the answer to that late Friday.

Also Friday, election boards in all 88 counties received lists of people who want a front-row seat for the electoral process.

That was the deadline to name challengers and witnesses under a little-used 1953 law.

1,100 named challengers

Hamilton County Democrats listed about 400 challengers and witnesses, and Republicans about 700, but it was not immediately clear how many of the names on either list were duplicates.

The parties' main goal was to establish which of the county's 593 polling places they would staff. Names can be added and removed until Nov. 1, but polling places cannot be added.

Blackwell issued guidelines for challengers and witnesses this week, and Hamilton County's Board of Elections fleshed out the rules Friday.

Witnesses can observe election officials' handling of ballots, starting with absentee ballots that will begin to be processed Monday.

Challengers can be inside polling places on Election Day, and they can challenge a person's right to vote - but only before a ballot is cast. They can tell the presiding judge if they think the voter is not old enough, not a resident of the state, county or precinct, or not who he says he is.

The presiding judge asks a series of questions to determine if the challenge is valid, and the person cannot vote if he or she refuses to answer.

Michael Barrett, chairman of the county Republican Party, said the challengers are there to help the process, not hurt it.

"If you anticipate stuff, things go more smoothly," he said. "One of the things I think we need to do as we go through this is make sure voters understand they won't be hassled."

Chip Gerhardt, another Republican, said Republicans will chiefly be looking for people who are not in the poll book or whose mail has come back as undeliverable.

Phyllis Bossin, top lawyer for the Southwest Ohio Kerry campaign, said Democrats don't intend to challenge voters - their challengers will only be there to keep an eye on the Republicans.

"We're going to be observing to see if there is a good-faith basis for the challenge," Bossin said.

What can, cannot happen

Among the guidelines developed by the county board and Blackwell:

• Challengers cannot talk to voters, use cell phones or touch election materials.

• Challengers and witnesses can only be posted by political parties; groups working for or against issues; or groups of five or more candidates.

• A single challenger can be present at multiple precincts if they're all in the same polling place. The county has 1,013 precincts in 593 polling locations.

Daniel Tokaji, assistant Ohio State University law professor and voting-rights lawyer, calls the challengers the "sleeper issue of 2004."

Abuse of process

Tokaji said there is a "real possibility" that Democrats or Republicans could abuse the process.

"Asking a lengthy series of questions of a large number of voters ... could result in long lines and voters being turned away," he said. "This, from my perspective, is a truly frightening prospect."

Blackwell's memo in two places says a voter may be challenged "for good cause," and it says poll workers may kick out a challenger who is slowing down or intimidating voters.

But Tokaji notes that Ohio law dealing with poll challengers says nothing of needing "good cause" to make a challenge.

"It will be interesting to see how this plays out if a large number of voters are challenged for no apparent reason," he said.

Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Blackwell, noted that each poll site is run by a Republican and a Democrat worker. Although this is the first time poll challengers have been used to this extent, he's confident that things won't get out of hand.

"Poll workers, and the presiding judge in particular, will not be in a mood to deal with shenanigans," he said.

Reporter Jim Siegel contributed. E-mail candrews@enquirer.com