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Wednesday, May 22, 2013 | 7:55 a.m.

Posted: 12:42 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, 2012

Judge rules to restore some weekend voting

Staff Report

A judge has granted the Obama campaign’s request to restore the last three early voting days - including the weekend - for all Ohio voters .

This ruling comes just days after Secretary of State Jon Husted ruled that all Ohio counties will have uniform times for in-person early voting this fall, and no county boards of election will offer weekend hours.

“Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury if in-person early voting is not restored the last three days before Election Day, and there is no definitive evidence before the Court that elections boards will be tremendously burdened. Certainly, the public interest is served by restoring in-person early voting to all Ohio voters.” U.S. District Court Judge Peter C. Economus wrote in the decision.

Husted had ordered that all county boards must be open for voting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays for the first three weeks of the period (Oct. 2 through Oct. 19), and must be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays for the last two weeks before the election (Oct. 22 through Nov. 2).

The election is Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Democrats estimate 93,000 Ohioans cast in an in-person ballot on those days in the 2008 presidential election.

We will have more on this developing story throughout the day.


OTHER OHIO ELECTIONS LAWSUITS

• Elections Ohio v. Husted (federal district court): Group alleges Ohio violated citizens’ right to referendum by refusing to place repeal of voting bill on the November ballot.

• State ex rel Voters First v. The Ohio Ballot Board (Ohio Supreme Court): Advocates of Issue 2, which would transfer redistricting power from elected officials to a citizens panel, are challenging the ballot language.

• Judicial Watch and True the Vote v. Husted (federal district court): National Tea Party groups allege the state has not done enough to remove deceased and other ineligible voters from its rolls.

• SEIU v. Husted (federal district court): Judge ruled this week that county boards of elections must count defective ballots if the errors were the fault of poll workers, siding with labor groups and the Ohio Democratic Party over Husted. The state will appeal.

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