Legal challenge to Ohio early voting is settled

COLUMBUS

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted has reached a settlement with the Ohio Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People over a legal challenge to the state’s early voting period.

Under the agreement, the in-person absentee period will begin after the close of voter registration — that means an end to so-called “golden week” — with additional evening and weekend hours in advance other elections.

“Ohioans are the winners here,” Freda Levenson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said in a released statement. “Thousands rely on early voting opportunities to cast a ballot in an election. This settlement restores Sunday and evening hours in all 88 counties, meaning more voters will have a better chance to actually vote.”

Husted added in a statement, “Today we are preserving that uniformity for all Ohio voters while maintaining ample opportunity to cast a ballot and participate in the democratic process. ... This agreement is a victory for Ohio voters. With the issues that accompany the 2016 presidential election drawing nearer it is important that we resolve these lingering questions now.”

The NAACP, several churches with predominantly black congregations and other groups filed suit against Husted a year ago, saying an elimination of the first week of early voting and a lack of Sunday and evening voting would make it harder for minority voters to cast ballots.

Husted and the attorney general’s office countered that Ohio has more early voting opportunities than many other states and that any eligible Ohioan can complete a mail-in ballot at any time of day during the state’s absentee period. They also argued that requiring longer hours and additional days for early in-person voting would create a cost burden for already-strapped county offices.

Federal Judge Peter Economus and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the NAACP in the suit and ordered the secretary of state to start early voting earlier and offer more evening and Sunday opportunities to cast ballots.

Husted appealed and eventually secured a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, setting early voting for last year’s general election on mostly weekdays, during business hours, with two Saturdays and one Sunday.

But deliberations on the underlying legal challenge have continued, as Husted and the parties of the lawsuit negotiated an agreement for coming elections.

Under the latter, which was filed in federal court Friday, early voting during presidential general elections would begin the day after voter registration ends, with 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekday hours during the first two weeks of the period, 8 a.m.to 6 p.m. during the third week of early voting and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the final week.

Additionally, weekend voting would be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the two Saturdays before Election Day, 1 p.m.to 5 p.m. on the final two Sundays, and 8 a.m. to 2p.m. on the final Monday.

Additional evening and weekend hours also would be offered during presidential primaries, gubernatorial general and primary elections and off-year elections.

Husted will outline the details in a coming directive to county election boards. His spokesman, Josh Eck, said the hours would remain in place as long as Husted is in office, barring action by the legislature to codify different early voting hours in state law.

The new hours will not be in place for next month’s primary election.