But the appeals court reversed that decision August 23, ruling that OH “continues to provide generous, reasonable and accessible voting options to all Ohioans”. “As elections draw closer, courts tend to become more wary of issuing decisions that alter the rules”. The judge pointed out that almost a third of the states offer no early voting at all.
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Rick Hasen, an elections expert at the University of California-Irvine, wrote on Tuesday that Ohio’s 29-day early voting period was already “exceedingly generous”.
In the ruling on an appeal filed by the state government the judges said OH is a national leader when it comes to early voting, allowing people to vote early and in person for four weeks.
Judge Jane Stranch, the one dissenting vote on the ruling, wrote that the majority opinion overturned a decision that was based on a 10-day bench trial that included more than 20 witnesses (8 of whom were experts) and produced a 120-page opinion that dismissed numerous claims by voting-rights advocates.But this decision acknowledged that the elimination of both Golden Week and same-day voter registration went too far, even as the lower court disagreed with other challenges to voting restrictions originally brought in the case.
He added, “I hope the Democrats will end their wasteful lawsuits so we can all move forward with this election”.
The majority in the Sixth Circuit decision ruled that given the still-generous early-voting period under the new law, the challenge was invalid. Opponents of the restrictions say the rules disproportionately affect poor or minority voters and are targeting groups that would vote Democratic.
Watson had said evidence presented in the case reflected that black voters use same-day voter registration and early voting options at higher rates than whites.
U.S. District Judge James Peterson in July struck down a host of Wisconsin’s election laws, including limits on early voting.
In a statement, state Democratic Party chairman David Pepper said the decision is a reminder that Ohioans need to exercise their voting rights this fall and “cast our ballot for candidates who will protect and expand the right to vote, not restrict it”.
But the two majority members of the appellate panel said the elimination of Golden Week “results, at most, in a minimal disparate burden on some African Americans’ right to vote”. “Very easy, actually”, wrote Judge David McKeague, who authored the majority opinion. She wrote that the lower court’s “finding that OH law imposes some burden on the right of African Americans to vote in OH indicates that how “easy” it is to vote under Ohio’s new regime bears some small but definable relationship to the color of your skin”. Stranch was appointed by Barack Obama.
In addition to the presidential race, where polls show Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump locked in a close contest in OH, the state also hosts a competitive Senate race.
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In a statement, Husted said there are multiple options for OH voters to cast ballots. He acknowledged that while he “might support Golden Week as good policy, I worry when courts are used in this way to prevent every cutback in voting, especially after voting rights proponents had settled a suit with OH on favorable terms”. The Supreme Court is now considering an emergency application from North Carolina concerning its Republican-led voting rights law.
