toledoblade.com --

The Green and Libertarian parties yesterday filed a federal lawsuit to force the immediate recount of the 5.5 million presidential votes cast in Ohio on Nov. 2.

Filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Toledo, the suit argues that the state's schedule doesn't leave enough time for a full-hand recount in all 88 counties before the state's 20 electoral votes are formally handed to President Bush on Dec. 13.

"We don't know whether the vote will change sufficiently to change the result of who won Ohio's electoral votes," said David Cobb, the Green Party's write-in presidential candidate.

The Ohio Democratic Party supports the recount with John Kerry's blessing, although neither expects the outcome of the election to change, spokesman Dan Trevas said. The Democrats are not a part of the lawsuit seeking to accelerate the process.

Mr. Cobb and Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik requested the recount Friday and say they have raised $150,000 in contributions over the Internet, more than enough to cover the $10-per-precinct fee.

But Mr. Blackwell's office said no recount may be requested until after he certifies the final vote.

"You cannot recount something that has yet to be counted," said Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo. He noted that counties would have to absorb the estimated $1.5 million to complete the recount.

The schedule requires counties to send their final results by Dec. 1 to Mr. Blackwell, who hopes to certify the count no later than Dec. 6. If a recount were then immediately requested, counties would give all candidates five days advance notice, meaning the recount could not begin until a few days at the earliest before the Dec. 13 meeting of the Ohio Electoral College in Columbus.

The last statewide recount in Ohio occurred in 1990 when the tight margin of an attorney general's race triggered an automatic recount. It took weeks to complete.

The lawsuit challenges Mr. Blackwell's interpretation of Ohio law in setting the schedule.

John Bonifaz, Boston attorney for the plaintiffs, said the suit seeks a preliminary injunction to force counties to begin the recount as soon as they certify their results.

Roughly 136,000 votes separated Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry in the unofficial count on Nov. 2. Mr. Kerry conceded the pivotal Ohio battleground and the national election to Mr. Bush the next day.

"There were 92,000 so-called spiked ballots, which are alleged over votes or under votes," Mr. Cobb said. "An under-vote is the function of a hanging chad. We've got Florida happening all over again."

The Democratic Party and the smaller party candidates are going into the recount hoping to gather information on problems with Ohio's election system. They are aware that a count of votes actually cast may do little to answer questions about votes not cast because of long lines or registration problems.

Anita Rios, of Toledo, former national co-chairman of the Green Party, is one of the suit's plaintiffs. She said she wrote in Mr. Cobb's name using one of Lucas County's leased optical-scan machines, but she's unsure whether she did it correctly or whether it will be counted.

"I feel like we're pennies," she said. "Nobody cares enough to keep track of us, but if you lose enough pennies, it amounts to a lot. ... If I could respect the process, I could accept the outcome."

Mr. Cobb and Mr. Badnarik have asked Mr. Blackwell, who served as chairman of Mr. Bush's Ohio campaign, to recuse himself from the process. Mr. LoParo said Mr. Blackwell has no intention of doing so. The lawsuit does not address this issue.

Contact Jim Provance at:
jprovance@theblade.com
or 614-221-0496.

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