On October 26, a federal judge issued an injunction against Ohio’s photo ID requirement for absentee voters. There is a hearing on November 1 on whether to issue an injunction against photo-ID at the polls. One of the problems with the Ohio ID law is that it is so poorly worded, each county is interpreting it differently.
During the two weeks, Republicans have filed lawsuits to disqualify various Democratic nominees in Alabama, California and Ohio. Since the ballots have already been printed, and since these lawsuits could have been filed months ago, it is unlikely that courts will take them seriously. In Alabama, the Republican nominee for Attorney General filed a lawsuit to block counting any votes for four particular Democratic State Senators who failed to file a particular campaign finance report months ago. In California, some Republicans filed a lawsuit to block counting any votes for the Democratic nominee for Attorney General, on the grounds that during part of the past five years, he was only an inactive member of the Bar. And in Ohio, some Republicans filed a lawsuit to disqualify the Democratic nominee for Governor on the grounds that he doesn’t actually live at the address where he is registered to vote.
In California, a lower state court ruled that the case should not be expedited, so it won’t be heard until after the election. In Ohio, the state court of appeals rejected the lawsuit. The Alabama lawsuit has a hearing on October 31.
A national TV show, the Keith Oberman evening news/politics show on MSNBC, conducted a friendly interview of Loretta Nall, Libertarian write-in candidate for Governor of Alabama, on October 25.
A SurveyUSA poll released on October 24 shows these results for US House in Kentucky’s 4th district: Republican incumbent 46%, Democrat 44%, Libertarian 7%, undecided 3%. A similar poll two weeks ago had showed the Libertarian, Brian Houillion, at 6%. Kentucky’s 4th district is along the Ohio River east of Louisville; its largest population centers are the Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati.
On October 24, a US District Court invalidated Florida’s law, requiring exit pollsters to remain outside the 100 foot limit at polling places. CBS v Cobb, 06-22463, southern dist.
