The Supremes Reject the Ohio ReTHUGs - early voting stays

[malaise]

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a last-gasp appeal by Ohio Republicans and approved early voting for Ohio residents during the weekend before Election Day.

Ohio's Secretary of State John Husted had refused to enforce last week's appellate court decision, in which a three-judge panel came down on the side of the Obama campaign and blocked a law that would have limited early voting.

Husted remained adamant that Ohioans should not be allowed to vote on that weekend, which was a prime voting period for minorities in the 2008 election.

The Supreme Court's order was one line long: "The application for stay presented to Justice [Elena] Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied.

[graham4anything]

1. told you so. Brilliant move by Elena moving it to full court vote.

this way it wont deligitimize Obama after he wins reelection

Now its onto Ohio and let's win there.

[malaise]

3. Yep - great news

Fuck the cheating ReTHUGs

[former9thward]

7. It was not brilliant, it was required.

Each Justice is responsible for different areas of the country for appeals that require urgent action. The only time they act alone is when the court is not in session (summer months) or when the matter is considered trivial.

[graham4anything]

12. if that were true 100% of cases would go to the court. Very few do.

[former9thward]

13. That is not how it works.

When the court is in session the nine justices review appeals to the court. It takes 4 votes for a case to make it to the court. Most cases do not receive 4 votes (such as the Ohio case in the OP). In reality the clerks working for the Justices screen cases and have a great deal of power to influence what cases go to the court. They provide a very short summary of the case and point out if there are federal issues that the court has not decided yet.

[malaise]

2. Link

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/16/14484855-supreme-court-rejects-ohio-gops-early-voting-restrictions
<snip>
After losing in the lower courts, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced last week that he would take his early-voting restrictions to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping for a more favorable outcome.

In a victory for voting-rights advocates and Democrats, Husted lost at the high court, too.

The U.S. Supreme Court sealed a legal victory for President Barack Obama's campaign in the pivotal state of Ohio, leaving intact a ruling that restored early voting rights for the weekend before the Nov. 6 election.

Ohio Republicans had sought to cancel early voting that weekend for everyone except members of the military. A U.S. appeals court blocked the plan last week, saying it probably violated the constitutional rights of non-military voters. In a one-sentence order, the Supreme Court today rejected a challenge to that ruling, filed by Ohio's Republican secretary of state and attorney general.

[DippyDem]

4. The Supremes Reject the Ohio ReTHUGs

I like this headline much better than the others I saw earlier on.

[malaise]

6. Thanks

[joeybee12]

5. Jebus, a sigh of relief...

This is very good news.

[spanone]

8. that is G R E A T - N E W S !!!!!

k&r.....

[IMG][/IMG]

[Blue Idaho]

9. About Damn Time

The Supreme Court stood up for the civil rights of ordinary Americans. Now its time to break the republicans backs with voter suppression law suits in criminal and civil court.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. I'm lovin' it!

Yay for justice!

[malaise]

11. Indeed my dear CaliforniaPeggy

Yay for justice!

[Ter]

14. Early voting is fine if you're going to be away or are sick/elderly

But I never can support super-early voting. What happens if something major breaks out a week before the election? Nothing, because you're stuck and it's too late.