Election officials in Cuyahoga County formally asked for an investigation yesterday of potential voter-registration fraud, as Republicans continue to argue that efforts are under way to "steal" the presidential election in Ohio.

Democrats, meanwhile, are accusing Republicans of trying to suppress voting or intimidate Democratic voters -- including a now-withdrawn effort by the Greene County sheriff to investigate certain new voters in that county.

The elections board in Cuyahoga County, the state's most populous, held a hearing on allegations that duplicate or bogus registration cards were submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.

The board asked the county prosecutor to investigate multiple registrations by four people who signed forms for ACORN -- including a man who said he signed 73 forms in return for cigarettes or cash, according to the Associated Press.

Cuyahoga Elections Director Jane Platten said it's not clear how many instances of registration fraud there might be, but she noted there are no allegations of voters trying to actually cast a ballot using a bogus registration. Experts say that rarely happens.

Republicans at both the state and national levels have sought to tie ACORN to Democrat Barack Obama and suggest there is widespread fraud that could affect the election in battleground Ohio.

The Center for Constitution Law at the conservative Buckeye Institute in Columbus said it plans to file a lawsuit against ACORN today in GOP-dominated Warren County on behalf of two voters concerned that their votes could be diluted by fraud.

The lawsuit seeks to have ACORN dissolved using the state's Corrupt Activity Act, typically used to fight organized crime.

Mike Crites, the GOP candidate for attorney general, said he will call today for an investigation into alleged illegal election activity. And both the Ohio Republican Party and Sen. John McCain's campaign issued fundraising appeals.

"We can't allow leftist groups like ACORN to steal this election," said an e-mail asking for contributions signed by Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate.

The state director for ACORN couldn't be reached but told the AP that ACORN has cooperated with Cuyahoga County officials and would fire anyone soliciting duplicate registrations.

Ohio Democrats also said yesterday that they are seeking records of contacts between Greene County Republican officials and representatives of the Ohio GOP, the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee.

Last week, Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer asked the local elections board for records of all 302 people who registered and voted between Sept. 30 and Oct. 6 on grounds of suspected fraud.

Fischer canceled his request Friday after Democrats said he was acting without evidence in at attempt to intimidate Obama supporters and black students at Central State University and Wilberforce University in the county.

Greene County officials had suggested that Fischer could renew his request if a federal appeals court overturned an order that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner provide names of newly registered voters whose personal information did not match state motor-vehicle or federal Social Security records.

A three-judge panel placed that order on hold late Friday, but the sheriff's office said yesterday it no longer plans to pursue the matter because it is confident the system will work properly.

Since January, the Franklin County Board of Elections has removed the names of 20 voters after challenges to dubious registrations were filed or uncovered.

Dispatch reporters Alan Johnson and Barbara Carmen contributed to this story.

mniquette@dispatch.com