COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s elections chief says he will follow a federal judge’s order that calls on him to set early voting hours on the three days before elections.
The order came Wednesday in a long-running dispute over the days. President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and Democrats filed a lawsuit in 2012 against Secretary of State Jon Husted over a state law that cuts off in-person early voting for most residents three days prior to Election Day.
“When it comes to voting days and hours, I have urged uniformity, bipartisanship and certainty – so that all Ohioans can know the rules for voting well in advance of the election. Absent legislative action to set hours, I had adopted by directive the only bipartisan schedule that has been offered,” Husted said in a statement released after the ruling in which he said he would abide by the ruling.
In a statement of her own, Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz says the ruling 96,000 Ohioans voted during the final three days of voting prior to the 2012 election and praised the court’s decision.
“This November and beyond, thousands more will be able to join them. This isn’t just a victory for the Democratic Party, it’s a victory for the democratic process,” she said.
Husted’s statement did not reference new hours. His fall election voting schedule only includes Saturday hours before Election Day.
The law makes an exception for military personnel and Ohio voters living overseas. Democrats claimed that was unequal treatment and everyone should have the chance to vote on the three days. The federal judge agreed.
“Under Senate Bill 238, absentee voting will begin the day after the close of voter registration, which is October 7th for the November general election. Under a uniform schedule proposed by the bipartisan Ohio Association of Elections Officials, this will give voters nearly a month of early (absentee) voting, including on two Saturdays,” he wrote earlier this month, in a release explaining the impact of new legislation.
Husted claims the number of days Ohioans can cast early ballot is “well above the national average of 19 days and offers Ohioans significantly more opportunity to vote than many surrounding states which do not offer any forms of early voting.”