Sandusky County Democratic Party v. Blackwell

Secretary of State of Ohio J. Kenneth Blackwell appeals the award of attorneys’ fees and costs to the plaintiffs in this action brought pursuant to the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in connection with the 2004 presidential election. We affirm the decision of the court below.

I

The plaintiffs in this case are political and labor organizations. They filed suit in the months leading up to the 2004 presidential election, arguing that HAVA expanded the right of registered voters to cast “provisional” ballots in federal elections. Though HAVA was enacted on October 29, 2002, it was not until…