Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ohio Early Voting in Time for Midterm Election
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CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld a federal court decision that restored early voting opportunities in Ohio in time for the midterm election. The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging a state law and directives that have dramatically slashed early voting in Ohio. On September 4, a federal court granted the ACLU's motion for a preliminary injunction to halt the early voting cutbacks prior to full trial and in time for the midterm election; the state appealed, resulting in today's decision.
"Once again a court has stepped up to safeguard the vote for thousands of Ohioans who want to participate in the midterm election free of obstruction," said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project. "This decision protects the people's voice at the polls and the integrity of our elections."
The ruling upheld today restored the first week of early voting, known as "Golden Week," in which voters are able to register and cast a ballot on the same day, as well as evening early voting and multiple Sundays.
The ACLU and the ACLU of Ohio filed the legal challenge to the restrictive voter law and directives in May on behalf of the Ohio Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, and several African-American churches. The complaint, NAACP v. Husted, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.
