US Supreme Court Dismantles Golden Week; Early Voting In Ohio, Hours Before Polls Were To Open...

[Corey_Baker08]

A divided Supreme Court has put off the start of early voting in Ohio, which had been slated to begin Tuesday.

The justices' order by a 5-4 vote Monday granted a request from Ohio officials who wanted to delay a judge's ruling lengthening the swing state's early voting schedule.

Ohioans can vote absentee by mail or in person ahead of Election Day. Early voting will now start on Oct. 7, under a state law that was supported by Republican lawmakers.

Ohio's elections chief quickly reissued voting times following Monday's order from the high court.

The schedule from Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted scraps evening hours and an additional Sunday required by U.S. District Judge Peter Economus' decision. Ohioans will have two Saturdays and the Sunday prior to the Nov. 4 election to cast an early ballot.

Economus' ruling had moved the start of early voting to Tuesday and required Husted to set an expanded schedule. It came in a lawsuit over two election-related measures challenged by civil rights groups and others.

In a brief order, the high court put the judge's ruling on hold, at least until the justices can decide whether to hear the state's appeal. As a practical matter, though, the order ends the legal wrangling over the start of early voting this year.

The court's five conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, voted to grant Ohio's request. The four liberals, Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, would have let early voting begin Tuesday.

Husted praised the Supreme Court's decision.

"Today's ruling validates what I have long said, elections in Ohio should be run by the same rules in every county and Ohioans should have the right to make those rules through their elected representatives," Husted said in a written statement.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed the lawsuit in May on behalf of several black churches and the state's chapters of the NAACP and the League of Women Voters.

An attorney for the plaintiffs said the high court's last-minute ruling could cause confusion among voters.

"While not a final decision on the merits of the case, this is a real loss for Ohio voters, especially those who must use evenings, weekends and same-day voter registration to cast their ballot," Freda Levenson, ACLU of Ohio's legal director, said in a written statement.

The plaintiffs challenged Husted's directive that set uniform early voting times and restricted weekend and evening hours. They also want to overturn a GOP-backed state law eliminating so-called golden week, a time when people could both register to vote and cast ballots. Without those days, early voting would typically start 28 or 29 days before Election Day, instead of the prior 35-day window.

The plaintiffs claim the new rules will make it difficult for residents to vote and disproportionately affect low-income and black voters, who, the groups say, are more likely to use the weekend and evening hours to vote early in elections.

The state contends Ohio offers more opportunities to vote early than most states.

On Sept. 4, Economus sided with the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction and said the measures were unconstitutional and in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The state is appealing to the full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

- See more at: http://www.whio.com/ap/ap/political/high-court-puts-off-start-of-early-voting-in-ohio/nhX3Y/#sthash.kt1zfQlP.dpuf


THIS DECISION ALSO TOOK AWAY WHAT WE IN OHIO CALL THE 'GOLDEN WEEK' IN WHICH INDIVIDUALS CAN REGISTER TO VOTE & VOTE THAT SAME DAY OR WEEK...

WE NEED THESE CORRUPT REPUBLICANS IN OHIO VOTED OUT OF OFFICE IN WHICH CASE THE SOS AND MANY OTHER REPUBLICANS ARE UP FOR ELECTION THIS YEAR. IF JON HUSTED IS SOS IN 2016, I PROMISE YOU WE WILL SEE A REPEAT OF FLORIDA 2000 AS WELL AS BUSH V KERRY 2004, ONLY WORSE...IVE NEVER BEEN MORE ASHAMED OF THE SO CALLED LEADERS OF THIS STATE AND THE SCOTUS...

[blkmusclmachine]

1. 5 Republican thugs in black gowns.

[whistler162]

2. So everyone has to vote either

by absentee or on November 4th!

They removed, by striking down, certain added provisions of the early voting law in Ohio. Which is different from dismantling, striking the bill down totally.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dismantle

": to take (something, such as a machine or structure) apart so that it is in separate pieces

: to destroy (something) in an orderly way : to gradually cause (something) to come to an end"

[lame54]

3. Ohio - where they stole the 2004 election

[Reter]

4. Just how early is early voting acceptable?

Monday was September 29th. That's pretty early, a lot can happen between then and November. Why not October 20th? That sounds about right.

[Corey_Baker08]

5. UPDATE:Delay to Ohio's early voting felt by candidates & minorities across the state...

A delay in Ohio's early voting schedule appears to be felt most by candidates with political futures at stake and their constituents eager to cast their ballots as soon as possible.

Democratic gubernatorial contender Ed FitzGerald and his running mate planned to vote early Tuesday and encourage others to do the same. But his campaign canceled the plans after an order from a divided U.S. Supreme Court put off the start of early voting in the swing state by a week.

In their 5-4 vote, the justices on Monday granted a request from Ohio officials to delay a judge's ruling that had lengthened the state's early voting schedule and had moved early voting to Tuesday for the November election.

Voting will now start Oct. 7. Ohioans can vote absentee by mail or in person ahead of Election Day.

The high court's order came as Gov. John Kasich and other prominent Ohio Republicans sought a campaign boost from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a get-out-the-vote rally in suburban Cleveland. The gathering took place Monday in suburban Independence, the political backyard of FitzGerald, who is the Cuyahoga County executive.

Just how disruptive the schedule delay is remains to be seen.

At least four people arrived Tuesday morning to vote at the Franklin County Board of Elections site in Columbus, while three others called to complain about the court ruling, said board spokesman Ben Piscitelli.

In Hamilton County, home to Cincinnati, an elections official said no one showed up in the morning to cast an early ballot. Several county boards reported the same.

Elections officials in Lucas County, which includes Toledo, put up signs at their voting center notifying voters about the change in hours.

"We stayed late last night, posted the new hours and took down all the old hours," said Gina Kaczala, director of the Lucas County Board of Elections.

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted reissued voting times following the high court's order.

His schedule scraps evening hours and an additional Sunday required by U.S. District Judge Peter Economus' decision. Ohioans will have two Saturdays and the Sunday before the Nov. 4 election to cast an early ballot.

On Tuesday, Husted's office said almost 583,000 Ohioans have requested absentee ballots so far.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio brought the lawsuit in May on behalf of several black churches and the state's chapters of the NAACP and the League of Women Voters.

The groups are challenging a directive from Husted that set uniform early voting times and restricted weekend and evening hours. The plaintiffs also want to overturn a GOP-backed state law eliminating so-called golden week, a time when people could both register to vote and cast ballots. Without those days, early voting would typically start 28 or 29 days before Election Day, instead of the previous 35-day window.

The plaintiffs claim the new rules will make it difficult for residents to vote and disproportionately affect low-income and black voters, who, the groups say, are more likely to use the weekend and evening hours to vote early in elections.

THIS DECISION HAS ALSO PUT AN END TO OHIO'S SO CALLED 'GOLDEN WEEK' IN WHICH OHIO RESIDENTS WOULD HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO REGISTER TO VOTE & THEN VOTE THAT SAME DAY, OR WEEK. WHICH WOULD OBVIOUSLY WOULD HAVE BEEN BENEFICIAL TO THE WORKING CLASS, THE POOR, THE ELDERLY AS WELL AS MANY OTHER WHO WOULD HAVE MORE THAN LIKELY CAST THEIR BALLOTS FOR DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES....

The state contends Ohio offers more opportunities to vote early than most states.