A coalition of organizations and individuals have filed suit to stop new voter registration rules in Ohio, charging they are designed to suppress the registration of minority and economically disadvantaged voters.

The organizations are requesting an injunction to prevent rules established by Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell from being implemented. In the complaint, the groups argue that the new rules will be burdensome on volunteers who register voters and may have a chilling effect on the ability of nonprofit organizations, such as Project Vote, Common Cause, and the People for the American Way, and their volunteers to register new voters.

At issue are procedural requirements for the return of the voter application forms and a new interactive training program. Specifically, the organizations charge that the rules require any "compensated worker" to return voter registration forms directly to the Ohio Secretary of State or Board Elections Office. Failure to do so is a felony punishable by six to 18 months in jail.

On June 14, the rules were revised to allow return to the Secretary of State by mail, but forms must still be sent by the person that registered the voter, not an organization sponsoring a voter registration drive. Critics argue that the requirements make it difficult for the third-party group organizing voter registration activities to double-check forms and keep necessary records. Additionally, although the new requirements apply only to compensated workers, the rules do not define "compensation." According to the Toledo Blade, groups like the League of Women Voters of Ohio fear that the failure to define "compensation" will discourage volunteer efforts because potential volunteers may think "compensation" could include drinks, t-shirts, or food.

Another of the organization's major concerns is a requirement that voter registration workers complete an individualized online training program. The regulations provide no alternative to completing the training online, making it difficult to train workers in poorer, disadvantaged neighborhoods with little or no access to the Internet.

In the suit, the organizations claim the rule has already begun to hinder their voter registration efforts. According to the Plain Dealer, Donita Judge, staff attorney with the Washington-based Advancement Project, argues that, "the effects of the law and rules disproportionately affect voter registration drives in minority communities, where many residents don't have transportation, lack the technological skills to register online and are, in some cases, functionally illiterate."

The rules stem from Ohio House Bill 3, passed by Ohio's state legislature and signed by Gov. Bob Taft in January, intend to create strict procedures for registering voters. The new rules were upheld in a party-line vote by the state's Joint Committee on Agency Rules Review (JCARR), which, according to Patrick Cramer of Ohio State's Moritz School of Law, cannot alter the proposed rule, but can instead recommend to the General Assembly that it invalidate the rule.