CINCINNATI, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The Ohio Republican Party vowed to appeal a federal judge's decision Monday to ban thousands of GOP poll watchers across the pivotal state.
Identified as a key battleground state in Tuesday's election between President Bush and John Kerry, Republicans had recruited 3,600 polling site challengers to work in the most populous counties of the Buckeye State, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
But early Monday U.S. District Court Judge Susan Dlott, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, declared unconstitutional that part of Ohio law that allows challengers in polling places.
A lawyer for the state Republican Party vowed a quick appeal, arguing the challengers would have been there to prevent voter fraud.
Republicans and Democrats had planned to place more than 1,000 challengers in Hamilton County alone.
Dlott's ruling noted "vast" numbers of new voter registrations around the state are likely to cause long lines and crowded conditions at many polling places. Having inexperienced challengers questioning voters would increase those long lines and could intimidate some voters.
A federal judge in Akron also ruled against the poll watchers in a ruling that only applied to Summit County.
