Battlegrounders
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MICHIGAN: HANGING-CHAD'S VICTORY? [Henry Payne 10/20 11:42 AM]

Send in the clowns — er — lawyers! The Democratic party's legal assault on the 2004 elections scored a victory in Michigan Tuesday when a Clinton-appointed federal judge threw out long-standing Michigan election laws that require voters to cast ballots in their appointed precincts.

The decision brought a firestorm of criticism from state election officials amid fears that Michigan's presidential election may now become a bureaucratic mess at best, and a fraud-riddled legal nightmare at worst. Judge David Lawson's ruling "disturbs us greatly" said a spokesperson for Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land, Michigan's elections czar. Election officials warn that they do not have the resources to count ballots filed in the wrong precinct and that mistakes — or outright voting fraud — are inevitable if the ruling stands.

"This is a victory for the hanging chad crowd," said Greg McNeily, executive director for the Michigan Republican party. "Democrats have a detailed plan that involves lies and an attempt to steal this election." Indeed, the ruling is part of a concerted national Democratic strategy to preemptively cast doubt on a Bush victory. The strategy includes charges of voter intimidation and faulty ballots. Similar suits challenging election rules have been filed in Florida, Missouri, Colorado, and Ohio — though only Ohio and Michigan courts have ruled in the Democrats favor.