Ohio Voters Gain Greater Access to Ballot in ACLU Settlement
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio voters will gain greater access to the ballot in a settlement announced today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The agreement with Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted stems from a federal lawsuit filed last year by the ACLU challenging Ohio's attempt to slash early voting opportunities.
Under the agreement, Ohioans will be allowed to vote on multiple Sundays leading up to a presidential election, and their access to additional evening voting hours will be restored for all elections. The agreement takes effect after the May 2015 primary and continues through 2018.
Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said:
"Thousands of Ohioans rely on early voting opportunities as their only chance to cast a ballot in an election. This is a victory for all those who know that a healthy democracy depends on the participation of its people."
Specifically, new early voting opportunities include:
- For the upcoming presidential general election, an additional Sunday of voting will be included.
- For the presidential primary election and general elections, there will be a week of expanded weekday evening hours from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- For regular municipal elections, primary elections and special elections, hours have been similarly expanded from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday hours have been expanded from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The ACLU filed the legal challenge on behalf of the Ohio Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, and other African-American churches.
The complaint, NAACP v. Husted, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.
The settlement is at: https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/naacp-v-husted-settlement-agreement-...
More information is at: https://www.aclu.org/cases/voting-rights/naacp-v-husted
