Nadler To Seek Subpoena Of Former Ohio GOP Official Blackwell On Voter Suppression

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. will seek authorization on Tuesday to subpoena J. Kenneth Blackwell, the former Ohio Secretary of State, for testimony and documents on voter suppression problems in the Buckeye State.

Nadler, who is holding a hearing on the issue of voter suppression Tuesday morning, will put before his panel a resolution authorizing him to subpoena Blackwell. Nadler said he has asked Blackwell to voluntarily appear before his panel, but Blackwell has refused.

Nadler and Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) wrote to Blackwell, who is now at the Family Research Council, last month to ask for his testimony about problems at the polls in Ohio during the 2004 presidential election, but they were rebuffed, according to Democratic insiders.

"There were a number of election irregularities in Ohio during the 2004 Presidential Election, " Nadler and Conyers said in a Jan. 29 letter to Blackwell. "Cumulatively, these irregularities, affected hundreds of thousand of voters. As we look forward to the 2008 Presidential Election, the Committee seeks to explore policies that should be implemented to avoid future voting problems and ensure that every American can exercise their right to vote."