[ad_1]
Some Ohio residents who have been purged from the state's voters list must be allowed to vote on an interim basis in next week's elections, a federal appeals court said Wednesday.
The 2-on-1 decision of the Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal is the subject of one of the many voting rights cases that were contested in the country before polling day.
Ohio's decision was the last chapter in a lengthy affair over the process of withdrawing people who had not voted in the last election and not responding to states' views of their eligibility.
A divided US Supreme Court upheld the Ohio purge process in a June ruling that divided the court on ideological grounds.
But even after the decision, pressure groups insisted on a pending issue, arguing that the notifications sent by Ohio to residents did not adequately explain to previously registered voters that they would striped from the role if they did not answer or leave. not vote.
The majority of the Sixth Circuit agreed that past opinions were probably deficient. As a solution, the state electoral councils should count the provisional votes of the electors who were served between 2011 and 2015, as long as they continue to live in the same counties where they were previously registered, to vote in the right place. vote and have refuge ". t become ineligible because of a criminal conviction or mental incapacity.
Ohio changed its views in 2016. Provisional ballots are set aside until the authorities determine whether voting is legal, usually as soon as possible after an election.
Similar interim rules were in place for the 2016 elections and more than 7,500 residents used them to vote, said Demos and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, two groups who have pursued the law. 39. State in court.
"The court 's ruling will allow more Ohio voters to be heard in elections next Tuesday," said Demos' senior lawyer, Stuart Naifeh. "Every vote counts, including those voters who may not have been involved in the political process in recent years. This is especially true in Ohio, where many elections in recent years have been won or lost by a single vote. "
Republican Jon Husted, Ohio State Secretary, said he did not agree with the decision, but termed it "temporary" and narrow. He stated that he would not launch an "additional appeal" as this would constitute an unnecessary source of litigation with a five-day election away. "
"Ohio is and will remain a leader in the election administration because of our commitment to facilitate voting and misleading it."
The Ohio case is not the only electoral law dispute that could affect next week's races.
The Supreme Court recently authorized North Dakota to enforce its voter identification law, which critics say would illegally harm US voters, who are less likely to live at standardized addresses or to the necessary identity documents. But the challenges to the law continue.
In Georgia, a federal judge ruled last week that the state could not reject ballot papers or ballots because of alleged mismatched signatures between the ballot and the registration card. of the elector. Instead, voters must have a chance to resolve the discrepancy. Georgian Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican candidate for governor, is appealing the decision.
Among other cases, a Kansas federal judge scheduled a hearing on Thursday to review a county clerk's decision to move Dodge City's only polling station to a location outside the city limits, where Critics say it is less accessible to some voters.
Write to Brent Kendall at [email protected]
Source link
