US Supreme Court Axes TRO in Ohio GOP Suit Over Newly Registered Voters

Ending, at least for now, a challenge by the Ohio Republican Party to the Ohio's secretary of state's plan for handling new voter registrations, the U.S. Supreme Court today vacated a temporary restraining order won by the GOP in lower court rulings.

A trial court had ordered Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, to do more to compare data provided by some 600,000 newly registered voters with information contained in Ohio motor vehicle records, and a divided Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld that order. However, the Supreme Court indicated in a written opinion (PDF) today that the federal Help America Vote Act probably does not allow private parties to sue to enforce its provisions, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The GOP had contended that Brunner isn't complying with a statutory requirement that she provide a computerized comparison of the two sets of records; she says she did comply. The supreme court ruling didn't reach the compliance issue; it only held that the GOP probably isn't the proper party to enforce the voter statute.

The issue could be important to the outcome of the November election this year, because Ohio is expected to be a swing state.

Additional coverage:

Bloomberg: "Ohio Democrats Win at Top U.S. Court in Voting Fight"

New York Times: "Justices Rule Against Ohio G.O.P. in Voting Case"