behind closed doors"212 and found that the district created ruling had "interpreted and applied the
statute overly broadly in with a way demo the version would be violative of the first amendment".
Analysis
Mr. Blackwell's decision to prevent news media and exit polls from interviewing Ohio
citizens after they voted constitutes a clear violation of the First Amendment's guarantee that
state conduct shall not abridge "freedom . . . of the press."213 His decision also likely violated
Ohio's own Constitution that provides: "Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his
sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of the right; and no law shall be
passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech, or of the press."214 His decision does not
appear to have had any negative impact on the vote, but potentially made it more difficult for the
media to uncover voting irregularities, discrepancies, and disenfranchisement.
B.
Election Day
1.
County-Specific Issues
Warren County ­ Counting in Secret Because of a Terrorist Threat?
Facts
On election night, Warren County, a traditional Republican stronghold, locked down its
administration building and barred reporters from observing the counting.215 When that decision
was questioned, County officials claimed they were responding to a terrorist threat that ranked a
"10" on a scale of 1 to 10, and that this information was received from an FBI agent.216 Despite
repeated requests, County officials have declined to name that agent, however, and the FBI has
stated that it had no information about a terror threat in Warren County.217
212
Id. (quoting Detroit Free Press v. Ashcroft, 303 F.3d 681, 683 (6th Cir. 2002)).
213
Id. at 683.
214
OH I O CO N S T . art. 1, § 11.
215
Erica Solvig, Warren County Still Counting, CINCINNA TI EN Q U I R E R, Nov. 3, 2004. See
also Moss v. Bush, No. 04-2088124.
216
Erica Solvig, Warren Co. Defends Lockdown Decision, CINCINNA TI EN Q U I R E R, Nov.
10, 2004. See also Forum on Preserving Democracy ­ What Went Wrong in Ohio (Dec. 8, 2004)
(statement of Rep. John Conyers, Jr.).
217
Id.
49