Confusion Said to Create Invalid Ballots

UPDATED - Tuesday February 22, 2005 9:49pm from our sister station WJLA-TV

http://www.wjla.com/headlines/0205/209048.html


COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A large voter turnout and poll workers' confusion contributed to the invalidation of many provisional ballots cast in the Nov. 2 election, the president of the League of Women Voters said Tuesday.

In Ohio, 21 percent of provisional ballots were found to be invalid, compared with 13 percent statewide in the 2000 presidential election.

Nationally, 32 percent of provisional ballots cast in last year's election were thrown out. Most states were using them for the first time.

Last year, 5.7 million Ohioans voted, compared with 4.8 million in the 2000 election. Ohio was pivotal in the 2004 election. President Bush (website/news/bio) won the state by 118,000 votes, giving him the 270 electoral votes needed for re-election.

Maxwell was among the witnesses scheduled to testify in Columbus Wednesday before the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, created by Congress after the 2000 election. The commission planned its first hearing since the 2004 election to study the impact of provisional voting. © 2005