COLUMBUS, Ohio – Early voting will start in Ohio next week, following an order from a divided U.S. Supreme Court.
Voters had been slated to cast an early ballots beginning Tuesday for the November election. But in a 5-4 vote, the justices on Monday granted a request from state officials to delay a judge’s ruling that lengthened the swing state’s early voting schedule.
“Today’s ruling validates what I have long said, elections in Ohio should be run by the same rules in every county and Ohioans should have the right to make those rules through their elected representatives,” said Secretary of State Jon Husted who has appealed the judge’s ruling and asked the high court for the delay in balloting.
Early voting will now start Oct. 7. Ohioans also can vote absentee by mail or in person before Election Day.
A U.S. District judge had temporarily blocked a state law trimming early voting and ordered Ohio’s elections chief to set additional times that included evening hours. His ruling had moved the start of voting to Tuesday. It came in a lawsuit brought by civil rights groups and others.
“This is a real loss for Ohio voters, especially those who must use evenings, weekends and same-day voter registration to cast their ballot…To make it even worse, this last-minute decision will cause tremendous confusion among Ohioans about when and how they can vote,” said Freda Levenson Ohio legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups challenging the law and Husted’s directive that shortened Ohio’s early-voting period.
“Republicans like John Kasich, Jon Husted and [Attorney General] Mike DeWine have fought against Golden Week every step of the way.
This fight is an example of the GOP’s hypocrisy on voting rights,” said Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
In Franklin County, voters will have the option of voting early in- person at the Board of Elections, 1700 Morse Road, at the following times:
Weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except for Monday, Oct. 13 when boards of elections will be closed for Columbus Day.
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturdays, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2
8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3
Absentee ballots returned in-person must arrive at the board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day Nov. 4. Those returned by mail must be postmarked by Nov. 3. Voters may not return them to their regular Election Day polling location.