Sign PETITION: Stop Ohio Republicans' voter suppression plan

[Coyotl]

Stop Ohio Republicans' voter suppression plan
To: Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee
Stop Ohio Republicans' voter suppression plan
13,252 of 15,000 signatures

SIGN: http://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/stop-ohio-republicans-voter-suppression-plan-1

If Republicans are allowed to steal the election in the key battleground state of Ohio, there will be drastic consequences for the entire nation in 2016. I urge you to hold Congressional hearings on Secretary of State Jon Husted's plan to suppress the votes of minorities and other Ohio voters by reducing early voting days, and Republicans' brazen efforts to steal future elections in Ohio.

Why is this important?

In presidential elections, we often hear that "as Ohio goes, so goes the nation." Our state is a key battleground and if our state's top election official, Secretary of State John Husted, is allowed to steal future elections by suppressing the vote, there's little to stop his party from stealing the presidency in 2016 as well.

Last year, Ohio Secretary of State John Husted was so committed to preventing fellow Ohioans from voting that he defied a court order requiring him to restore certain early voting days to the calendar. Only after being ordered to appear in court personally did Husted relent. But now, he's back with a new plan to steal the next election.

Husted has proposed that Ohio legislators cut the number of early voting days from 35 down to 29. While this change may seem small, reducing the number of days even by six days means that thousands of Ohio voters who have limited time oror limited access to dependable transportation would be denied the opportunity to vote in person.

The situation in Ohio is crucial given its recent history in Presidential elections. In 2004, hundreds of thousands of predominantly minority and Democratic voters were disenfranchised on Election Day due to massive lines and "widespread electoral dysfunction." As Ari Berman had reported in the Nation, "According to one survey, 174,000 Ohioans, 3 percent of the electorate, left their polling place without voting because of the interminable wait. (Bush won the state by only 118,000 votes)."

In response to the Election Day mess in 2004, Ohio reformed its electoral process by adding early voting before Election Day, leading to a "much smoother experience" in 2008. The opportunity to vote early led to record turnout for African American and low-income voters.

Husted's repeated attempts to reduce the number of early voting days would mean that thousands of Ohio voters with limited time or a lack of transportation would be denied the opportunity to vote in person. It's clear that his latest proposal would give Republicans a clear partisan advantage by restricting the days when many Democratic base voters cast their ballots.

Husted's plan would also suppress voting along racial lines. Many African-American churches organize voter turnout events on the Sunday before Election Day -- a day which Husted's plan removes from early voting dates. Husted and his colleagues are well aware of this fact. A Florida Republican consultant even admitted last year that his state pushed to restrict voting on that day because "that’s a big day when the black churches organize themselves."

We can't let the top election official in Ohio get away with another attempt to prevent voters from exercising their rights, or it will set a dangerous precedent for other states. It is time to fight back again so we can build the pressure we need to stop Husted's latest attempt to steal future elections in Ohio and across the country.

Sign my petition and stop Husted from denying Ohio voters the opportunity to exercise their rights.

REFERENCES:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/10/25/2840111/ohios-elections-official-unveils-plan-cut-early-voting/
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/10/24/Husted-letter-to-legislators.html
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/08/19/711551/gop-election-board-member-admits-he-canceled-weekend-voting-in-ohio-to-suppress-the-black-vote/
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/ohio-secretary-of-state-backs-down-on-early-voting
http://www.thenation.com/blog/169284/ohio-early-voting-cutbacks-disenfranchise-minority-voters

[IrishAyes]

1. Done - thanks.