Bush calls for Ohio voter probe

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the status of 200,000 newly registered Ohio voters, the White House said.

The request came amid challenges by Ohio Republicans to the validity of the registrations because names on voter registration forms do not match voters' names on other government databases. Republican officials contend the new voters must reconfirm their registration data before they can vote Nov. 4, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week dismissed a case brought by the Ohio Republican Party in the matter.

Republicans insist the issue is one of fraudulent voter registration. Democrats accuse the GOP of using such legal maneuvers to suppress the vote by poor people and minorities.

Bush Friday asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey to review the matter, after House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, urged the president to seek a Justice Department probe. In a letter to Bush, Boehner said "there is a significant risk if not a certainty, that unlawful votes will be cast and counted."