Voter Suppression Tactics Target Black Voters in Ohio's 2004 Election

Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell issued directives limiting provisional ballots and requiring voter registration forms on 80-lb paper stock. In predominantly Black precincts in Columbus and Cleveland, voting machine shortages caused waits of 6–11 hours; an estimated 174,000 voters left without casting ballots. A Government Accountability Office report confirmed that long lines fell disproportionately in high-minority precincts.