Supreme Court rejects Husted early voting appeal
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Supreme Court rejects Husted early voting appeal
By Alan Johnson , Columbus Dispatch
The U.S. Supreme Court (on 10/16/12) declined to hear Ohio
Secretary of State Jon Husted's appeal of a decision allowing early
voting the weekend and Monday prior to the Nov. 6 election.
Husted almost immediately issued a directive to all 88 county
boards of election, setting voters hours on Saturday, Nov. 3, from
8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 4, from 1 to 5 p.m.; and Monday,
Nov. 5, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Some local boards of elections, including Franklin County's, have
disagreed over the length of potential weekend and Monday voting
hours.
Husted said in a statement, "Despite the court's decision today to
deny our request for a stay, I firmly believe Ohio and its elected
legislature should set the rules with respect to elections in Ohio,
and not the federal court system.
"However, the time has come to set aside the issue for this
election. Today I have set uniform hours statewide, giving all Ohio
voters the same opportunities to vote in the upcoming presidential
election regardless of what county they live in."Husted and
Attorney General Mike DeWine appealed a decision by the 6th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. The original lawsuit
in the case was filed by President Barack Obama's campaign and Ohio
Democrats.
The U.S. District Court and the 6th Circuit judges sided with the
Obama campaign in deciding that Ohioans should be allowed to vote
on Saturday, Sunday and Monday before the election. However, in his
appeal Husted called it an "unprecedented intrusion by the federal
courts into how states run elections" and asked the U.S. Supreme
Court to review the case.
Today's one-sentence ruling from Justice Elena Kagan: "The
application for stay presented to Justice Kagan and by her referred
to the court is denied."
Obama campaign general counsel Bob Bauer released a statement in
response to the decision.
"We are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn
federal court rulings that every Ohioan be allowed to vote during
the weekend and Monday before the election. This action from the
highest court in the land marks the end of the road in our fight to
ensure open voting this year for all Ohioans, including military,
veterans, and overseas voters. We now turn our full attention to
educating Ohio voters on when and how they can vote along with
presenting the clear choice they face when selecting their next
president."
The response from Chris Maloney, Ohio campaign spokesman for Mitt
Romney: "Democrats are running out of excuses as to why their
campaign is slipping away from President Obama in Ohio. Momentum
and enthusiasm has continued to favor Governor Romney during early
voting. Our battletested infrastructure is built for any
circumstance and it will continue to match the Obama campaign on
the ground in Ohio through Election Day."
Ohio Democrats said that about 93,000 people voted on those three
days in 2008, including a disproportionately large number of
blacks.
Aaron Ockerman, executive director of the Ohio Association of
Election Officials, said he doesn't know how individual county
officials will respond to Husted's order. Prior to today's court
ruling, Husted asked county boards to react to the idea that he
would set uniform hours for the weekend before the election if the
court declined to hear his appeal. Ockerman said the county
responses were "all over the board...It was really a
mish-mash."
He said rural counties generally suggested shorter hours, while
urban counties wanted expanded weekend hours.
"I have no knowledge that any individual board would challenge his
authority," Ockerman said, "but at this point, anything could
happen."
In 2008, when there was no uniform rule for weekend voting,
Franklin County set hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the Saturday before the
election, 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday
before Election Day, when long lines stretched out of the county's
voting center at Veteran's Memorial.
Ohio Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern said at a press conference
that for the past year, " Gov. John Kasich, Jon Husted and the
Republican legislature have done everything they can to limit
voting opportunities in Ohio...But Husted cannot ignore the U.S.
Supreme Court." Redfern accused the GOP of "voter suppression
efforts."
He said county boards of election should be open beyond the hours
cited by Husted in today's order.
Redfern used the court ruling to springboard a request for campaign
donations, dashing off an email asking supporters for a $20
campaign contribution.
State Rep. Michael Stinziano, a Columbus Democratic and former
director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, called the
decision "a win for all of the voters of Ohio...Ohioans will
continue to have every opportunity to cast their ballot when it is
convenient for them, including the last few days before Election
Day, when unplanned conflicts can arise and where past elections
have shown a demand."
Stinziano said he has "experienced firsthand the importance of an
efficient early voting period...Today's ruling provides for an even
smoother Election Day and affirms the votes of the many boards of
elections who felt weekend hours were needed for proper election
administration. All Ohioans should truly be pleased."
Also weighing in on the ruling was VoteVets.org, representing
veteran voters. Spokesman Jon Solz called it "a victory for the
over 900,000 veterans in Ohio, and all active duty military members
in Ohio." The group filed a brief in the court case, seeking an
order to keep the polls open on weekends to give veterans, many of
whom are elderly and disabled, adequate opportunity to vote.