The state got permission again to shorten early voting and eliminate the so-called “Golden Week” that allowed people to register and vote early at the same time.
In a 2-1 ruling, a panel for the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s decision. It said that the lower court overstepped its authority when it ruled the state could not roll back the early voting period one week – from 35 days to 28 days before the election.
You can read the full opinion below. Mobile users click here.
“Federal judicial remedies, of course, are necessary where a state law impermissibly infringes the fundamental right to vote. No such infringement having been shown in this case, judicial restraint is in order,” Judge David McKeague wrote in the majority opinion.
“Proper deference to state legislative authority requires that Ohio’s election process be allowed to proceed unhindered by the federal courts,” McKeague wrote.
District Judge Michael Watson ruled in May that the 2014 law violates both the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted praised the ruling.
Ohio Democratic Party chairman David Pepper said the party, the lead plaintiff in the case, would weigh its options. He indicated, though, that it may appeal.
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