US Supreme Court denies Husted's request to close polls early

October 17, 2012 at 12:09a.m.

COLUMBUS

Ohio voters will get a few extra days to cast ballots, after the U.S. Supreme Court denied Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted’s request to close the polls three days early.

In a one-sentence filing Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay in the case, allowing earlier rulings ordering early in-person voting Nov. 3, 4 and 5 — the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before Election Day.

“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,” Bob Bauer, legal counsel for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, which filed the original lawsuit, said.

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde, a Democrat from Kent, added, “With this important decision, we finally have certainty about what the early voting hours are. We must now shift our focus to educating voters about the early voting schedule and what their rights are at the polls.”

Shortly after the decision was announced Tuesday, Husted issued a directive ordering all county elections boards to open for early voting from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 3, 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 4 and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 5.

“This directive expands the uniform days and hours for in-person absentee voting established [in an earlier directive] ...,” Husted wrote. “As such, boards are reminded that any voter in line when the day’s hours for in-person absentee voting ends may remain in line to apply for and receive an absentee ballot in person.”

Husted added in a released 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.”

The Obama campaign sued Husted after changes in state law allowed men and women serving in the military to cast early ballots on the three days before Election Day but barred all other eligible voters from doing the same. The campaign argued all voters should be allowed the same early voting opportunities.

But Husted countered that it was fully proper and constitutional for the state to offer special accommodations to military voters.

A federal judge and appeals court both sided with the Obama campaign, and Husted hoped for a reversal from the U.S. Supreme Court. More than a dozen other states joined Ohio in the suit.