Ohioans will be able to vote in person on two Saturdays and no Sundays ahead of this year’s general election, under a statewide early-voting schedule released Tuesday by Secretary of State Jon Husted.
Husted said the statewide early-voting hours – a first for an Ohio gubernatorial election – will guarantee every voter in the state the same access to the polls.
But many Democrats denounced the schedule, questioning its legality and saying the lack of weekend hours will make it harder for blue-collar workers and minorities to vote, especially in urban areas.
During Ohio’s four-week early-voting period, polls across the state will be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on weekdays, according to Husted’s directive. Voters will also be able to cast an absentee ballot in person during the last two Saturdays before the election between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
During the 2010 gubernatorial election, when counties set their own early-voting hours, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections was open the two Saturdays and Sundays before Election Day, as well as the Monday before the election.
Holding Sunday hours allowed many black churches to organize “Souls to the Polls” events, in which worshippers went as a group to vote after religious services.
Polls this year will be open an hour longer on Saturdays than they were in Cuyahoga County four years ago.
The schedule is the latest development in a years-long political tug-of-war over early absentee voting policy in Ohio.
Republicans have been pushing for stricter and more uniform election rules, leading Democrats to claim that the GOP is trying to suppress voter turnout in left-leaning urban neighborhoods and college towns.
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