· October 5, 2012

Ruling affirms last weekend voting in Obama v Husted case

The Sixth Circuit Court of appeals today affirmed the decision of a lower court to block a new law that prohibited voting on the final three days before the election. Agreeing with the lower court that the law blocking non-military voters from voting on those days is unconstitutional, the ruling gives local Boards of Elections discretion to set hours for November 3-5. Below is the key portion of the decision: Read the full decision here. The real question now becomes whether GOP board members will oppose any efforts to set hours on those final three days. In the case of a 2-2 tie (County boards of elections are made up of 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans), Husted is the tie-breaking vote. Earlier this fall he sided with Republicans every time they tried to open up on evenings and weekends, eventually eliminating all evening and weekend hours when he was called out in the national media for unfairness. Will Husted again act to aid and abet partisan board members who do not wish to open on the weekends, despite the court’s ruling?