The suit gained widespread national attention, including news stories and editorial comment in the New York Times. On September 11, 2006, Federal Judge Algernon Marbley issued an order preserving the ballots pending the outcome of what has become known as the King-Lincoln lawsuit.
Blackwell left the office of Secretary of State earlier this year, in the wake of his unsuccessful run as the GOP's 2006 nominee for Governor of Ohio. By and large, the materials have been stored by Ohio's 88 counties.
As the new Secretary of State, Brunner has now agreed to a joint motion as defendant in the King-Lincoln suit. The motion effectively transfers the custody of "…all ballots from the 2004 presidential election, on paper or in any other format, including electronic data,…" from the counties to Ohio Secretary of State's office.
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann's office is representing Brunner.
In a Memorandum in Support of the Joint Motion, the parties state: "To lessen the burden on the respective boards of elections and to provide a central repository for records, the parties are jointly requesting that an order be entered in this matter requiring the 88 county boards of elections to transfer to the custody of the Secretary of State all ballots from the 2004 presidential election…."
Voting rights activists have urged the state to preserve all the records and open them to interested parties following the Florida 2000 election model, which created a centralized accessible repository following the controversial 2000 election in the Sunshine State.
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