Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced he will take a court decision permitting early voting on the three days before the Nov. 6 election to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“[Husted] will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to make the final determination on whether the General Assembly of the State of Ohio or the federal courts should set Ohio election laws,” according to a news release from the secretary’s office.

In Obama v. Husted, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently reinstated early voting for everyone, not just military personnel, on the three days before the election and said local boards cannot be stopped from staying open during those last three days. Early voting has been a central theme in the Obama for America campaign.

President Barack Obama’s general counsel Bob Bauer issued a statement via Obama for America:

“There is no justification for the state’s arbitrary actions this year in trying to deny the vast majority of its voters access to open polling places for the last three days before the election. This has been the unanimous conclusion of the courts that have considered this case.

“The Secretary of State has now chosen to extend the litigation and to ask the United States Supreme Court to intervene just four weeks before the election. We have no reason to believe that he will meet with any more success now than before.”

Husted, a Republican, said in a statement of his own: “This ruling not only doesn’t make legal sense, it doesn’t make practical sense. The court is saying that all voters must be treated the same way under Ohio law, but also grants Ohio’s 88 elections boards the authority to establish 88 different sets of rules. That means that one county may close down voting for the final weekend while a neighboring county may remain open.

“In Ohio, ALL voters already have at least 230 hours available to vote in person prior to Election Day, ALL registered voters received an application to vote by mail and ALL voters still have the ability to vote during the 13-hour window on Election Day itself.”

In case the appeal is unsuccessful, Husted said he would talk to all 88 county boards before setting uniform hours. Early voting began Oct. 2. The last day to register to vote is today, Oct. 9.

Tags: 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Barack Obama, Bob Bauer, Jon Husted

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 at 5:48 pm and is filed under Election 2012.
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