COLUMBUS -- Lawyers for the Bush campaign asked Ohio's high court Monday to throw out a legal challenge to the president's re-election, even as protesters accelerated accusations of widespread mistakes and manipulation.

Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, Jackson called for an investigation into the election that would include deposing Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Ohio's chief elections official. He said "the pattern of anomalies in Ohio -- and Pennsylvania and Florida -- amount to a plan" and that Blackwell should be held responsible.

The Bush-Cheney regional chairwoman, JoAnn Davidson, said two months is long enough for the Republican victors to withstand protesters, whose public claims and multiple legal actions she characterized as frivolous and unsubstantiated.

"I think we've been very quiet, we've been very patient and we've been very tolerant," Davidson said. "We've given the courts an opportunity to review these matters, but there comes a time that we say we need to accept the results and move on."

She noted that a recount was recently completed that confirmed President Bush won Ohio over Sen. John Kerry by 117,000 votes.

The campaign's motion contends that the election challenge missed the filing deadline; improperly named the president, vice president and Bush campaign guru Karl Rove when it should have been filed against Electoral College members, who formally elect the president; and did not present the "clear and convincing evidence" required by Ohio law.

But the announcement did little to deter a coalition of activist groups questioning the election.

Some 500 people rallied in the theater at the Verne Riffe Center across the street from the Statehouse for a cause dubbed "Demand Democracy."

With just days before Congress is set to certify the election, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Democratic Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones continued their efforts to keep Ohio's election in the spotlight. They are seeking support in the U.S. House and Senate to oppose certifying the results on Thursday.

Jackson said in a news conference preceding the rally that the recount was not conducted properly and that anomalies in election results all over the state continue to mount. Coalition participants are picking results apart down to the precinct level in some counties, and they are going door-to-door in disputed areas canvassing voters on how they voted.

Coalition attorney Peter Peckarsky said that significant deviations from expert exit polling by a renowned international pollster provide the clear and convincing evidence required for the Ohio Supreme Court to uphold the election challenge and revisit the vote. He said swings so radically outside the margin of error would be cause for concern in Ukraine or Iraq, but seemingly aren't in America.

"Anywhere else on the face of the planet, the people would know that they were victims of an election fraud," he said.

Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, Jackson called for an investigation into the election that would include deposing Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Ohio's chief elections official. He said "the pattern of anomalies in Ohio -- and Pennsylvania and Florida -- amount to a plan" and that Blackwell should be held responsible.

Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo dismissed the accusations as baseless. He said Ohio's performance on Election Day was a national model.

"Ohio actually leads the pack in election administration and trouble-free voting," he said. "You start to think that the truth is a foreign language to Rev. Jackson."

© Copyright 2005 The Plain Dealer

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