On April 21, the 6th circuit ruled that Ohio violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment when, in 2002, it used punchcard ballots in some counties, and better voting methods in other counties. Stewart v Blackwell, 05-3044. The vote was 2-1. All three judges were appointed by Democratic presidents. It is very likely that Ohio will ask for a rehearing en banc.

The majority based its decision on Bush v Gore. The dissent asserted that Bush v Gore is not a binding or meaningful precedent. Bush v Gore, the famous decision of December 12, 2000, which settled the presidential election of 2000, said, “Having once granted the right to vote on equal terms, the state may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person’s vote over that of another.” Also, “the idea that one group can be granted greater voting strength than another is hostile to the one man, one vote basis of our representative government.” If Bush v Gore were followed faithfully by lower courts, and by the US Supreme Court itself, many problems that prevent voters from voting freely for a minor party or independent candidate could be swept away. Therefore, it is refreshing to find this most recent example of a lower court taking Bush v Gore seriously.