I Agree with the Republicans

I know that this will come as a great shock to people who feel that I am one of those Demonic Democrats, totally blinded when it comes to common sense and reality, but I agree with the Republicans about one of the decisions Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner handed down.

The McCain campaign sent in a batch of voter registration forms and many of them did not have two check boxes checked:
1) Are you a US citizen? [X]Yes [ ]No
2) Will you be at least 18 years of age on or before the next general election? [X]Yes [ ]No

SOS Brunner wanted to disqualify any registrations that did not have both boxes checked. The Republicans sued. The courts found in favor of the Republicans. The courts were right. If you're trying to register to vote, both of these questions can assumed to be answered in the affirmative.

Brunner's other positions on matters pertaining to this election have also annoyed the Republicans, who took one case all the way to the US Supreme Court, only to have it withdrawn before the justices could throw it out.

And still they are trying to have registrations invalidated when a voter registration doesn't match a driver's license or Social Security record. Doesn't match? What do they mean by that?

• Joseph Lawrence Johnson (voter ID)
• Joseph Lawrence Johnston (driver's license)
  SORRY, PAL: YER OUTTA LUCK (at least according to the GOP)
  

Between 40% and 50% of registrations tested fail by this standard and voters are disenfranchised because somebody missed a "t" or typed an extra "t". Needless to say, Brunner thought the Republicans were being more than a little dishonest in their complaints. And so, surprisingly, did the Republican-dominated US Supreme Court.

For what it's worth, guidance from the Franklin County Board of Elections addresses this issue for this year's election. If a voter shows up with a driver's license on which the photo is clearly that of the person standing there and the only variance is a small difference in the way the name is presented (Elizabeth L. Miller on the poll book and Liz Miller on the driver's license), the person votes a standard ballot.

So I think that's a victory for the good guys. (The "good guys" are not Republicans or Democrats; the "good guys" are truth and justice.)