State Databases Drop Thousands of Voters

Thousands of Americans nationwide are facing reams of red tape after new state registration systems booted them from voter rolls, the Washington Post reports. Yesterday the Supreme Court rejected a challenge of 200,000 Ohio voters whose data conflicted with state records, but states such as Montana, Colorado, and Wisconsin also face conflicts. It's "this season's big issue," one analyst said.

She called it "a new trend, not in the majority of states but in the battleground states." Why the mix-ups? Wisconsin listed 95,000 voters as being 108 years old, after no date of birth could be found in their other records. In Montana, the GOP challenged almost 6,000 names over contradicting address listings. Other states are seeing partisan wrangles over the voting lists—and Ohio Republicans are looking to renew their battle in state court.
(More Election 2008 stories.)