Husted Ordered to Set Early Weekend Voting Hours

U.S. District Court Judge Peter Economus Wednesday ordered Secretary of State Jon Husted to set hours for early voting the final three days before the election for the upcoming November election and all subsequent elections.

The judge had ordered Husted in 2012 to set early voting hours after ruling that 129-HB224 was unconstitutional because it allowed military voters to cast in-person absentee ballots on the final three days before the election but barred all other voters from doing so. After the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling, Husted complied. (See The Hannah Report. 10/16/12.)

Earlier this year, Husted issued a directive setting in-person early voting hours for the primary and general election based on a recommendation by the Ohio Association of Elections Officials (OAEO). That recommendation included no early voting hours on the Sunday or Monday before the election. (SeeThe Hannah Report, 2/25/14). Obama for America, which filed the 2012 lawsuit, filed a new motion with Economus seeking to have the 2012 ruling enforced for this year.

In an eight-page decision, Economus agreed, noting that the General Assembly did not address the “inconsistent in-person early voting deadlines” in legislation passed since his 2012 ruling. He also said that the directive issued by Husted did not address Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voter Act (UOCAVA) voters. He said the fact that OAEO is a non-partisan body and approved of the early voting schedule “is not relevant to the constitutional deficiencies” of the Ohio law “nor to the appropriate remedy in this case.”

The judge ordered Husted to set uniform and suitable in-person early voting hours for all eligible voters “for the three days preceding all future elections,” but stopped short of mandating specific voting hours, noting that “historically voter turnout is lower in a non-presidential election year.”

Husted issued a statement saying he will comply with the order. He also said that the decision has affirmed that all Ohio voters should have the same opportunities to vote.

“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,” Husted said.

Democrats also declared victory.

“All along, we believed the actions of the Republican-controlled Legislature, Secretary of State Husted and Gov. Kasich were unconstitutional; and yet again, a federal judge has agreed. This ruling shows how important these last three days are to ensure equal access to the ballot, and the hours set by Secretary Husted should reflect that,” Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern said in a statement. “The Ohio Democratic Party has never lost one of these cases in our fight to protect voting rights for all Ohioans. It’s time Jon Husted and John Kasich set aside their partisan loyalties and embrace voting rights.”

Story originally published in The Hannah Report on June 11, 2014.