GOP loses Ohio voting case

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit to force Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to accept absentee ballot applications she said were incomplete.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Wednesday that the state high court rejected the lawsuit after Republican attorney Bill Todd, representing two voters, had not filed a required a brief by a Monday deadline.

The newspaper reported that at issue in the case was applications mailed to voters by the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, which contain a box next to a statement declaring that the applicant is a "qualified elector," as required by Ohio law.

But thousands of registered voters have returned the applications seeking an absentee ballot without checking the box.

The Democratic secretary of state instructed local elections officials not to accept the applications if the boxes are not checked.