COLUMBUS, Ohio – Even as he tells local election boards to prepare for early voting in two weeks, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted is asking a federal judge to strike down a lower court ruling that ordered him to establish the schedule.
Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office filed a brief on Husted’s behalf late Monday with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati appealing the ruling by Judge Peter Economus blocking a law that trims early voting and ordered Husted to set an expanded voting schedule with voting to begin Sept. 30 instead of Oct. 7. Economus also barred Jon Husted from preventing local elections boards from adopting additional early voting hours beyond his order.
“I must appeal his decision because in allowing counties to set their own schedules, [the judge] has once again opened the door to having a patchwork of rules across the state, which is in direct conflict with his previous rulings that insisted upon treating all voters equally,” Husted said in a statement before filing the brief.
Husted’s appeal casts more doubt on an election timeline that continues to be subject to change, even as the Nov. 4 election draws nearer.
“So there’s a real question of how much time folks are going to have to prepare for this. As of right now, early voting may begin on Tuesday, September 30th – or it may begin on Tuesday, October 7th,” says Carrie Davis with the League of Women Voters.
The same court declined on Friday a request to suspend Economus’s order. Attorneys for the state had asked the 6th Circuit Court to delay the order during the appeal.
In denying the request, the appeals court said Friday the state failed to demonstrate that circumstances warrant a stay.