Ohio Limits Early Voting Hours In Democratic Counties, Expands In Republican Counties

[Saviolo]

Source: ThinkProgress

Ohio has introduced a new tactic in their broader attempts to make it even harder for Democratic voters to get to the polls this year. Early voting stations in Ohio’s heavily Democratic counties will only be open between 8 am and 5 pm, while Republican counties have expanded their hours to allow voting on nights and weekends.

This rule is the latest in a broader attack on voting rights in Ohio, which often comes down to a tiny margin of votes. Ohio Republicans are currently ensconced in a legal battle with the Obama campaign over another new rule that would limit early voting in the three day period before the election exclusively to military families. Mitt Romney falsely claims Obama’s lawsuit is meant to take away voting rights from military families, when in fact he is simply trying to restore voting rights to all Ohio residents. Early voting was introduced to mitigate Ohio’s notoriously chaotic elections, in which thousands of votes are tossed due to clerical errors and bureaucratic confusion.

Starting October 1st, voters in Democrat-leaning urban centers including Cleveland, Columbus, Akron and Toledo will now only be allowed to vote between 8 am and 5 pm on weekdays, when the majority of people are at work. The board of elections in these counties, which are split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, was gridlocked over a Democratic effort to expand hours. The Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted stepped in to deny expanded hours in these counties. But Republican-heavy counties have actually expanded early voting hours on nights and weekends, when most people have time to go to the polls.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/10/670441/ohio-limits-early-voting-hours-in-democratic-counties-expands-in-republican-counties/?mobile=nc

[sakabatou]

1. Grr...

[RBInMaine]

35. Don't just growl. Tell them to GET THIS SHIT IN TO COURT RIGHT FUCKING NOW !

[forthemiddle]

38. This happens both ways

In Wisconsin, during the recall elections, this was the complaint of the State GOP. They found out that nothing could be done about it. I assume Ohio has an election law somewhat like Wisconsin in which the local officials decide the hours.

In Wisconsin, although we may refer to it as early voting, it really isn't early voting. It is just an expansion of the absentee ballot provision in which a citizen can go to there County clerks office and pick up an absentee ballot, fill it out, and turn it in. So in our states case the local officials just kept expanded their office hours. In Wisconsin, Madison and Milwaukee (both the Democratic strongholds of the state) expanded their hours as much as possible, later hours, weekends, and in the case of at least Madison opened on Memorial Day, for this purpose. This was not the case in smaller, rural districts (Republican strongholds) and there was a huge outcry from them.

So this works both ways. In other words, don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

[ladjf]

2. Why isn't the Justice Dept. jumping on to this? nt

[progressivebydesign]

12. they may be. n/t

[blkmusclmachine]

13. Bipartisanship?

[awoke_in_2003]

14. Too many...

pot smokers to go after.

[appleannie1]

3. That is blatant bullshit

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Isn't that illegal????

[trayfoot]

20. If it isn't, it should be!!!

"Equal protection of the laws" - guess the 5th and 14th Amendments do not apply to rethugs!

[Iliyah]

5. Thats against all logic of being human.

I have come to the conclusion that goppers are pod people who were brought to earth from planet Kolob.

This will never fly. Even sensible goppers know that this is just wrong.

[Justice wanted]

6. You know Besides fact this is BLATANT advantage to one party over another BUT if

This had been Done in any country OUR media and Leaders of both Parties would be screaming that the UN needs to get involved to make sure there was a fair election in that country.

It is Freakin sick how the Repubicans have been pushing out country backwards and just treat it's citizens like crap.

[Curmudgeoness]

22. Bingo.

It is amazing that our country----that beacon of democracy, is allowing this without the media jumping all over it, and the UN getting involved. In fact, maybe that UN involvement is a good idea.

[Bill USA]

7. Republicanism is clearly and simply a movement to kill off democracy in America. It is therefore a

conspiracy to overthrow our democratic government. Something has to be done. Something has to be done.

[progressivebydesign]

8. There is time for a lawsuit. Can we get those areas to absentee vote???

There has to be equal access, right??? This is the problem with the voting by County, etc. The rich counties have gobs of money and machines, and the poor areas have lines out the door with broken machines, not enough booths, and many people unable to vote because the stand in line for hours.

[99th_Monkey]

9. Calling Mr. Holder!!

Please wake the fuck up and prosecute this shit ASAP,
or resign and get out of the way so someone with the
balls to prosecute these crimes will do so immediately.

[synapticwave]

10. In my best Republican voice...

But won't this help Democrats since polls are only open when people are at work and since most Dems don't work this is an obvious democratic ploy to win the election.

[trayfoot]

21. I will have to say....

Only people who are cons would understand this logic! LOL!

[progressivebydesign]

11. What can we do to help them? Can we get them registered to vote absentee?

I don't know about Ohio, but on the West Coast you don't need to have any compelling reason to request an absentee ballot.

Anyone planning protests at the State elections offices???

OR.. any way that they can just vote in the other precincts with a provisional ballot? (of course the areas being disenfranchised are most likely not to have transportation to the other areas, anyway.)

Bet that Romney WILL choose Portman,btw. They are obsessed with Ohio.

[tanyev]

15. Wow. At least the old assign-fewer-voting-machines-to-Dem-precincts gambit had a whiff of subtlety.

[kestrel91316]

16. Shouldn't the Equal Protection thing apply here???????

[McCamy Taylor]

17. Since these are minority heavy districts, how is this legal? Where is the DOJ?

[CanonRay]

18. C'mon Holder, where's the f'ing injunction stopping this.

What blatant bullshit.

[liberal N proud]

19. They don't even try to hide their contempt for the voter anymore

The just flat out are trying to block anyone who isn't a know republican voter from voting.

I wonder how all those rich white republicans living in their mc-mansions across the street are going to feel about that living in this Democratic county?

[lastlib]

23. Sounds like an equal-protection lawsuit brewing here.

FUCK these sons of b*tches!! Can we take away their right to vote on grounds of being FUCKING STUPID??

[Smilo]

24. Have sent this to Holder asking him to stop Ohio's blatant discrimination

By Mail
Correspondence to the Department, including the Attorney General, may be sent to:

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
By Phone
Department of Justice Main Switchboard - 202-514-2000

Office of the Attorney General Public Comment Line - 202-353-1555

By E-Mail
E-mails to the Department of Justice, including the Attorney General, may be sent to [email protected]. E-mails will be forwarded to the responsible Department of Justice component for appropriate handling.

[fascisthunter]

25. well, republican party is the US Fascist Party

they are drunk with greed and power, so their veil has fallen off finally, yet many will still deny what they are.

[Dustlawyer]

26. I never want a Repug to bitch about someone being UN-American again! Not over a flag pin, not

b/c someone didn't mouth the words to the National Anthem after winning a medal, not because the uniforms they wear at the Olympics are not patriotic enough, not even for a valid reason. This strikes at the very heart of America! Tampering with our National elections to gain an advantage in an election is nothing short of an attack on our Democracy! Every Republican who truly loves this country and what it stands for needs to join us to fight this low, underhanded, and patently unfair BS! Damn, If Bill O'Reilly doesn't come out against this (he is the 1st o attack a perceived lack of patriotism) he is a worse fraud than I thought!

[Patiod]

32. Debating with one right now

She thinks the Dems want to allow "the dead, felons, and illegals" to vote, so she's all for purging roles and tightening ID requirements. She also thinks those in the military deserve more time to vote than the rest of us.

It's really, really tough to argue with people who have been saturating their simple, bianary "eveyrthing is black and white" brains with Fox "News".

I've sent her statistics about who voter purges really purge (mostly blacks/Democrats) and challenged her contention that . ANYONE (military or otherwise) should get special consideration when it comes to voting.

I don't even bother to challenge her statement that illegals vote (really? they don't even talk to the census takers! What person who is here illegally wants to attract the attention of the government in any way, by trying to do something like voting?) I don't bother to challenge her on why felons who have served their sentences and finished parole shouldn't be allowed to vote, which I see as a conservative attempt to minimize the power of the black vote.

They've internalized the Paul Weyrich mantra that > voting = < Republican power.

[Cass]

27. This is outrageous. How can this even be legal to deny one and allow the other??

[Blue Owl]

28. GOP cheating has become as American as apple pie

Sickening.

[Odin2005]

29. The fix is in.

[OverBurn]

31. How can they do this? Just doesn't seem like it should be possible.

[riqster]

33. This is what one-party rule looks like

The voters of Ohio were dumb enough to vote in a platoon of Repubs, and are now reaping what they sowed. Sucks.

[Posteritatis]

34. That's more, ah, straightforward than I expected even from the GOP. Wow. (nt)

[RBInMaine]

36. DEMS, STOP WHINING AND CHALLENGE THIS IN COURT RIGHT FUCKING NOW! DO SOMETHING !

[davidpdx]

37. This is massive BS

Someone please send this to Rachel Maddow!!!

[Mz Pip]

39. She had a segment on it

with former Governor Strickland. I really wasn't impressed with Strickland's remarks. I got the impression that he didn't seem to think anything could be done about it. Why the hell not??

This should be of national concern. The DNC should be all over this.