On November 1, 2004, a judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled that partisan voter challengers at Ohio's polling places are unconstitutional. The lawsuit sought to remove challengers, who can question a person's identity, age, residency or citizenship before they receive a ballot, from polling places on the grounds that Republicans discriminated against African Americans by challenging new voter registrations in predominately African American precincts. The court issued an injunction barring challengers at polls in Ohio's Hamilton County, "because of the grave due process and equal protection issues raised by the challenge process as it is to be employed in the November 2, 2004 election."

Learn more about voting rights in the US from the American Civil Liberties Union.