In Ohio, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the Republican Party from challenging the voting rights of 35,000 people ahead of the election. Local election boards were preparing to hold hearings in the next few days to decide on the eligibility of the voters in question. The Democratic Party hailed the decision. The head of its Voter Protection Program said, “The Republican assault on tens of thousands of Ohio voters was an unprecedented effort to intimidate voters, especially minorities, but it has backfired.” But Republican attorneys said the party will now be forced to challenge the voters on Election Day at the polls in order to prevent voting fraud.