Ohio Republicans call supposed ‘foreclosure tactic’ a ‘leftwing blog conspiracy’ theory

The Ohio Republican Party went after Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner Thursday afternoon for "perpetuating a leftwing blog conspiracy about voter registration challenges."

The situation came about after a Michigan Web site, called the Michigan Messenger, misstated an Ohio GOP official's comments in an article that said Republicans were planning to challenge homeowners on foreclosure lists to keep them from voting (Associated Press).

The New York Times picked up on the story Thursday morning.

Ohio Republicans say Brunner issued an advisory ordering election administrators to reject challenges based on home foreclosures and went on to suggest that unnamed "presidential campaigns and political parties" are considering the tactic.

The ORP quoted a release from Brunner, "Presidential campaigns and political parties should focus on solving the foreclosure crisis, rather than on using it for political advantage to deprive a targeted group of their fundamental American right to vote."

ORP chair Bob Bennett responded.

"This is an outrageous and unfounded accusation by the state's chief elections officer," said Bennett.  "If she knows of a campaign or a political party that has publicly stated a willingness to pursue these deplorable tactics, she should say so.  She's making these indirect accusations based on nothing more than conspiracies being perpetuated by leftwing bloggers and the Obama campaign."

The ORP points out that the Obama campaign filed a federal lawsuit "based on an erroneous blog report in Michigan that has already admitted to misquoting sources in its posting." The lawsuit accuses Republicans of engaging in "massive voter suppression" by challenging voters who face home foreclosure.

"No such plan exists," said Bennett.  "It's a complete fabrication by desperate Democrats trying to use anger as a motivational tactic.  Let me be very clear on this.  We absolutely condemn any effort to challenge the eligibility of voters based on home foreclosures.  Jennifer Brunner needs to focus on real problems in this election, such as her blatant disenfranchisement of thousands of qualified Republican voters seeking an absentee ballot."

Ohio Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern had called on the ORP to renounce such foreclosure tactics after the New York Times story reported Bennett as saying that the ORP doesn't discuss election strategies. The Times later amended their story to include statement in an e-mail from Bennett saying that the ORP condemns any "any effort to challenge the eligibility of voters based on home foreclosures."

"As the country stands in the midst of a financial disaster, Ohio Republican Party leaders are apparently harboring plans to benefit from the foreclosure crisis by disenfranchising vulnerable voters who are losing their homes or struggling to keep them," Redfern said Thursday morning. "The Ohio Republican Party should apologize to the people of Ohio and immediately renounce the use of these despicable scare tactics.  Ohioans are fortunate to have a Secretary of State who has vowed to protect Ohioans from shameful, partisan attacks on their constitutional right to vote."

ORP spokesperson John McClelland called the 'foreclosure tactic' story a non-story being used by Democrats to fire up their base.