SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
'Let Ohioans Vote': Judge Rules Against GOP Attack on Early Voting
Sep 01, 2012
A federal judge on Friday sided with hopeful voters in Ohio by saying that the state's argument against early in-person voting in the state was insufficient.
"On balance, the right of Ohio voters to vote in person during the last three days prior to Election Day -- a right previously conferred to all voters by the state -- outweighs the state's interest in setting the 6 p.m. Friday deadline," US District Judge Peter Economus wrote in his decision. "The burden on Ohio voters' right to participate in the national and statewide election is great, as evidenced by the statistical analysis offered by plaintiffs and not disputed by defendants."
Ohio--a perennial battleground state in national elections--passed a law in 2005 allowing in-person voting during the weekend ahead of election day. The Republican-controlled state government this year, however, attempted to cut off early balloting (carving out an exception for members of the military) claiming that such a move would prevent fraud and provide election workers more time to prepare.
Economus granted a preliminary injunction against the state, stating that lawyers for Ohio's Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted did not "articulate a precise compelling interest" for the rule changes.
"In-person early voting is restored on the three days immediately preceding Election Day for all eligible Ohio voters," Economus' ruling stated. "This court anticipates that defendant Secretary of State will direct all Ohio elections boards to maintain a specific, consistent schedule on those three days."
"There is no definitive evidence before the court that elections boards will be tremendously burdened," he wrote. "Certainly, the public interest is served by restoring in-person early voting to all voters."
According to the Washington Post: "Democrats said 93,000 people voted on the weekend before the 2008 election, and several studies have shown that the elderly, the poor and minorities are more likely to take advantage of voting opportunities offered outside normal business hours."
Voting rights advocates celebrated the decision and called for even more poll access reforms to expand voting turnout.
"The Court's decision is another step forward in guaranteeing Ohioans have fair and free access to early voting," said Mike Brickner, director of communications and public policy. "Secretary Husted should now ensure that Boards of Elections are open weekends throughout the early voting period in order to provide the greatest level of flexibility and accessibility to all voters."
"Election officials are charged with serving voters, and I can think of no greater service than expanding early voting opportunities for every Ohioan," said Brickner. "Providing expanded hours will give voters more options to decide when they wish to cast their ballot, help those voters with pressing schedules or other special needs, and will ease the influx of voters on Election Day."
"While politicians have disagreed about many things with early voting, one issue everyone should recognize is that it is extremely popular with voters," Brickner added. "In the six years since no-fault absentee voting was enacted in Ohio, early voting has become more popular and is quickly becoming the future of elections. The sooner politicians embrace the future, the sooner the people will reap the rewards."
# # #
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A federal judge on Friday sided with hopeful voters in Ohio by saying that the state's argument against early in-person voting in the state was insufficient.
"On balance, the right of Ohio voters to vote in person during the last three days prior to Election Day -- a right previously conferred to all voters by the state -- outweighs the state's interest in setting the 6 p.m. Friday deadline," US District Judge Peter Economus wrote in his decision. "The burden on Ohio voters' right to participate in the national and statewide election is great, as evidenced by the statistical analysis offered by plaintiffs and not disputed by defendants."
Ohio--a perennial battleground state in national elections--passed a law in 2005 allowing in-person voting during the weekend ahead of election day. The Republican-controlled state government this year, however, attempted to cut off early balloting (carving out an exception for members of the military) claiming that such a move would prevent fraud and provide election workers more time to prepare.
Economus granted a preliminary injunction against the state, stating that lawyers for Ohio's Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted did not "articulate a precise compelling interest" for the rule changes.
"In-person early voting is restored on the three days immediately preceding Election Day for all eligible Ohio voters," Economus' ruling stated. "This court anticipates that defendant Secretary of State will direct all Ohio elections boards to maintain a specific, consistent schedule on those three days."
"There is no definitive evidence before the court that elections boards will be tremendously burdened," he wrote. "Certainly, the public interest is served by restoring in-person early voting to all voters."
According to the Washington Post: "Democrats said 93,000 people voted on the weekend before the 2008 election, and several studies have shown that the elderly, the poor and minorities are more likely to take advantage of voting opportunities offered outside normal business hours."
Voting rights advocates celebrated the decision and called for even more poll access reforms to expand voting turnout.
"The Court's decision is another step forward in guaranteeing Ohioans have fair and free access to early voting," said Mike Brickner, director of communications and public policy. "Secretary Husted should now ensure that Boards of Elections are open weekends throughout the early voting period in order to provide the greatest level of flexibility and accessibility to all voters."
"Election officials are charged with serving voters, and I can think of no greater service than expanding early voting opportunities for every Ohioan," said Brickner. "Providing expanded hours will give voters more options to decide when they wish to cast their ballot, help those voters with pressing schedules or other special needs, and will ease the influx of voters on Election Day."
"While politicians have disagreed about many things with early voting, one issue everyone should recognize is that it is extremely popular with voters," Brickner added. "In the six years since no-fault absentee voting was enacted in Ohio, early voting has become more popular and is quickly becoming the future of elections. The sooner politicians embrace the future, the sooner the people will reap the rewards."
# # #
A federal judge on Friday sided with hopeful voters in Ohio by saying that the state's argument against early in-person voting in the state was insufficient.
"On balance, the right of Ohio voters to vote in person during the last three days prior to Election Day -- a right previously conferred to all voters by the state -- outweighs the state's interest in setting the 6 p.m. Friday deadline," US District Judge Peter Economus wrote in his decision. "The burden on Ohio voters' right to participate in the national and statewide election is great, as evidenced by the statistical analysis offered by plaintiffs and not disputed by defendants."
Ohio--a perennial battleground state in national elections--passed a law in 2005 allowing in-person voting during the weekend ahead of election day. The Republican-controlled state government this year, however, attempted to cut off early balloting (carving out an exception for members of the military) claiming that such a move would prevent fraud and provide election workers more time to prepare.
Economus granted a preliminary injunction against the state, stating that lawyers for Ohio's Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted did not "articulate a precise compelling interest" for the rule changes.
"In-person early voting is restored on the three days immediately preceding Election Day for all eligible Ohio voters," Economus' ruling stated. "This court anticipates that defendant Secretary of State will direct all Ohio elections boards to maintain a specific, consistent schedule on those three days."
"There is no definitive evidence before the court that elections boards will be tremendously burdened," he wrote. "Certainly, the public interest is served by restoring in-person early voting to all voters."
According to the Washington Post: "Democrats said 93,000 people voted on the weekend before the 2008 election, and several studies have shown that the elderly, the poor and minorities are more likely to take advantage of voting opportunities offered outside normal business hours."
Voting rights advocates celebrated the decision and called for even more poll access reforms to expand voting turnout.
"The Court's decision is another step forward in guaranteeing Ohioans have fair and free access to early voting," said Mike Brickner, director of communications and public policy. "Secretary Husted should now ensure that Boards of Elections are open weekends throughout the early voting period in order to provide the greatest level of flexibility and accessibility to all voters."
"Election officials are charged with serving voters, and I can think of no greater service than expanding early voting opportunities for every Ohioan," said Brickner. "Providing expanded hours will give voters more options to decide when they wish to cast their ballot, help those voters with pressing schedules or other special needs, and will ease the influx of voters on Election Day."
"While politicians have disagreed about many things with early voting, one issue everyone should recognize is that it is extremely popular with voters," Brickner added. "In the six years since no-fault absentee voting was enacted in Ohio, early voting has become more popular and is quickly becoming the future of elections. The sooner politicians embrace the future, the sooner the people will reap the rewards."
# # #
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.