Now, Republican John McCain's campaign is complaining that Blackwell's successor, Democrat Jennifer Brunner, has decided that certain absentee-ballot applications should be rejected if a box on the form isn't checked.

McCain's camp is worried that potentially thousands of requests for absentee ballots will be rejected and voters forced to reapply -- if they get notice that their application wasn't accepted, said Jon Seaton, McCain's regional campaign manager.

At issue is a mailing that McCain sent last week to more than 1 million Ohioans urging them to vote early by requesting an absentee ballot. The form included space for voters to provide the required personal information.

But Brunner ordered last week that if voters do not check a box next to a statement that says, "I am a qualified elector and would like to receive an absentee ballot," the application should be rejected and the voter notified that his or her request is deficient.

Brunner, who said county elections officials had asked about the issue, argued that by not checking the box, voters would not meet a legal requirement that every request contain a statement that the person is a qualified elector.

She noted that on the state's application form, there is a statement directly above a signature line that says the applicant attests to being a qualified voter. McCain's form has that statement next to the box to be checked.

"Failure to check the box leaves both the applicant and the board of elections without verification that the applicant is a 'qualified elector,'  " Brunner wrote, recommending that those voters be sent a letter with the state's form.

But Seaton, who did not suggest that partisan motives were at play, argued that the forms mailed by the campaign should be accepted as long as all other required information is provided.

He also said that similar absentee-ballot forms sent out last fall by U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, when he was running in a special election to replace the late Paul Gillmor, were accepted even if the box wasn't checked. "The form includes all the necessary requirements and has been used in past elections, so this election should be no different," Seaton said. "Qualified voters who request absentee ballots should receive them."

Brunner spokesman Jeff Ortega said no questions were raised about Latta's mailing at the time but that state law requires, among other things, both the voter's signature and a statement that the person is a qualified elector.

"This office believes the law is crystal clear on this issue," Ortega said.

mniquette@dispatch.com