Ohio Democrats State Logo

Ohio Democratic

County Chairs Association

Ohio Democrats Party ODP Logo

Main Navigation

Menu

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • County Chairs
    • County Chairs of the Year – 2020
    • ODCCA Officers
      • Message from President Janet Carson
    • ODCCA Executive Committee, Regional Liaisons & Committees
    • ODCCA Constitution and Bylaws
    • How Ohio’s 88 counties got their names
    • WHY We Are Democrats!
    • Ohio Democratic Party (ODP)
      • History: Ohio Democratic Party
    • Democratic National Committee (DNC)
      • DNC Chair Jaime Harrison
      • DNC Officers
      • The 2020 Democratic Platform
  • Team
    • President Joe Biden & Vice President Kamala Harris
    • Senator Sherrod Brown
    • Congresswoman Joyce Beatty
    • Congresswoman Marcia Fudge
    • Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur
    • Congressman Tim Ryan
    • Ohio Supreme Court Justice Michael P. Donnelly
    • Ohio Supreme Court Justice Melody J. Stewart
    • Ohio Supreme Court Justice Brunner
    • State Senate Minority Leadership – 134th General Assembly
    • State House Minority Leadership – 134th General Assembly
    • Former President Barack Obama
  • Candidates
    • Interested in being a candidate?
      • Main Street Initiative – 2021
      • Candidate Information: Guides, Forms, Links
    • Are You Ready To VOTE?
  • Issues
  • News
  • Events
    • ODCCA
      • ODCCA Meetings & ODP Co-Hosted Events
      • ODCCA & ODP County Chairs Weekly Conference Calls
    • Local County Parties
    • ODP
      • County Chairs Conference Calls
    • DNC
      • 2020 Democratic National Convention – 8.17-20.2020
    • Are you ready to vote in 2021?
  • Contact Us
  • Links
  • Members Only

Husted Ad Takes Credit For Following Federal Law

September 26, 2014

COLUMBUS – Today, Secretary of State Jon Husted aired his first ad of the campaign championing what his office has done to assist military voters.  However, what the ad fails to mention is that virtually everything Husted did was required by federal law after Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Military and Overseas Voting Empowerment (MOVE) Act of 2009, which amended the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.  

The MOVE Act mandated that States provide electronic access to military voters to the election process, mail absentee ballots to military voters 45 days before the election, and develop an electronic tracking system for military and overseas voters to check whether their ballots were received and counted.  In other words, the very things Husted is boasting in his ad are all things mandated by federal law.

In response to Husted’s campaign, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern issued the following statement:

“Given the number of times that federal courts have ruled that Jon Husted has violated the U.S. Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act, it is pathetic that Husted is touting an instance in which he actually followed the law as if it were an achievement, not his duty.   Husted’s ad is tragically ironic given it airs the day after Husted and Mike DeWine filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to block active military voters, members of the Ohio National Guard, and our veterans from enjoying the early voting opportunities they’ve used in past elections.  Ohio deserves a Secretary of State that respects the laws and the voters like State Senator Nina Turner.”

An August poll conducted by Public Policy Polling on behalf of the Ohio Democratic Party showed Jon Husted narrowly ahead of Senator Nina Turner by 46% to 43%.

BACKGROUND

Yesterday, Jon Husted filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to block evening and weekend early voting hours from taking effect next week.  After losing both at the district court level and with an unanimous opinion by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Secretary of State Jon Husted filed an emergency motion with the United States Supreme Court asking the Court from blocking the restoration of weekend and early evening hours the federal courts have found Husted unconstitutionally took away from Ohio voters.  [Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer (9/25/2014), “Ohio asks Supreme Court to intervene in court fight over early voting.”]

Jon Husted supported cutting early voting days by a week.  According to theColumbus Dispatch, Secretary of State Husted recommends that “early voting would instead start 29 days before the election” but it end during the afternoon “the Sunday before the general election.”  Currently, Ohio law permits early voting for thirty-five days before the general election.  [Source: Columbus Dispatch, (10/24/2013), “Husted promotes limits on early voting.”

Federal courts had  already ruled that Husted’s prior attempts to cut general election early voting days were illegal when he tried to carve out an exception for military voters.  In 2012, the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio ruled that Ohio could not cut off in-person early voting the Friday before the general election for all but active duty military voters.  Republicans attempted to reduce the number of days of early voting, but the Ohio General Assembly reversed them after HB 194 was threatened with a referendum campaign.  [Source: Reuters (8/31/12), “Court overturns Ohio early voting restrictions in win for Democrats.”] 

The decision to declare Republicans’ attempt to cut off early voting before Election Day was unconstitutional was upheld by federal appellate courts.  The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision declaring the restriction “unconstitutional.”  “The court acknowledged an argument that ‘low-income and minority voters are disproportionately affected by elimination’ of the three days of polling for many voters and said ‘there is no definitive evidence… that elections boards would be tremendously burdened’ by returning poll access to the standard before recent changes to the state’s laws.”

[Source: CNN (10/5/2012), “Federal court upholds Ohio early voting ruling.”]

According to official records maintained by Jon Husted’s own office, more than 600,000 Ohioans used Early Voting in 2012. [Source: Ohio Secretary of State’s website, 2012 “Absentee Ballot Report.”]

Blog Sidebar

Search the Site

Categories

  • Events
    • DNC
    • Local County Parties
    • ODCCA
    • ODP
  • Issues
    • Federal
    • State
  • News
  • Photo Galleries
  • Uncategorized

Recent Posts

  • Ohio Democratic Party Executive Committee elects chair
  • Georgia turns BLUE!
  • Are you ready to vote in 2021?
  • Want to help flip Georgia BLUE? Here are a few ideas!
  • First Presidential Debate to be held in Cleveland! Tuesday, 9.29.2020

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • March 2013

Trending

absentee ballots Budget Campaign Finance Charter school College Affordability congressional redistricting DNC early voting Economy education Elections Equal Pay Events Fact Check FBI Fraud Governor Governor 2018 heroin Higher Education jobs local government funding Medicaid Expansion Mental Health military ODCCA ODP Ohio AFL-CIO Right To Work SB5 School funding State Auditor State Treasurer taxes unemployment Unions Veterans Voter Protection Voter Registration Voters Rights voter suppression voting rights women's caucus Women's Issues workers

Contribute to ODCCA

Donate Now

Your contributions
DO make a difference!

When you contribute,
you make a difference in Ohio!
Thank You!

Donate Now

Recent News

  • Ohio Democratic Party Executive Committee elects chair
  • Georgia turns BLUE!
  • Want to help flip Georgia BLUE? Here are a few ideas!
  • First Presidential Debate to be held in Cleveland! Tuesday, 9.29.2020
  • BidenHarris2020 – We are 1 Team!
  • Be Safe! Stay Home! Still Vote! Be Prepared for November General Election!
  • Extended Primary Election: Vote By Mail ONLY through April 28, 2020
  •  
  • View all news

Current Issues

  • What issues may be on the ballot? Who determines what issue is on ballot?
  • United States Census 2020
  • Ohio stuck with gerrymandered congressional districts
  •  
  • View all issues

Pages

  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • Team
  • Candidates
  • Issues
  • News
  • Events
  • Contact Us
  • Links
  • Members Only
Donate Now

© 2014 Ohio Democratic County Chairs Association, All Rights Reserved

Paid for and authorized by the Ohio Democratic County Chairs Association, Amy F. Grubbe/Treasurer, 2810 Hull Road #6, Huron 44839.

Not authorized by any Federal, state or county candidate or campaign committee.