Posted on 05/25/2016 5:21:44 PM PDT by Whenifhow
A federal court ruling Tuesday declaring Ohio GOP lawmakers' voting restrictions unconstitutional could easily wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court — and generate a 4-4 split decision, a voting-rights expert says. [ ]
Judge Michael H. Watson of U.S. District Court in Columbus said the Republican-dominated Ohio legislature violated the federal constitution and Voting Rights Act in 2014 when it reduced the state's early voting period from 35 to 28 days. The move also eliminated the so-called Golden Week in which eligible residents could register to vote and cast an absentee ballot at the same time.
[ ]
The legislature's stated justifications for the cutback — reducing fraud, trimming costs, avoiding voter confusion — were weak, said Watson, former chief counsel to Republican Gov. Bob Taft. Watson ordered Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine — the defendants in the case — to stop enforcing the shortened voting period. A DeWine spokesman said the decision — which sided with the state on many issues — will be appealed to the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Husted said in a release that "for nearly 200 years, Ohioans voted for only one day. If it was constitutional for lawmakers to expand the voting period to 35 days, it must also be constitutional for the same legislative body to amend the timeframe to 28 days, a timeframe that remains one of the most generous in the nation."
[ ]
Although the effect was a racial disparity in Ohio's voting system, the groups bringing the lawsuit did not prove that the legislature and Husted acted "in order to disenfranchise minority voters," Watson said. He also rejected several other challenges brought in the suit, pushed by the Ohio Democratic Party and Democratic parties in Cuyahoga and Montgomery counties.
(Excerpt) Read more at dispatch.com ...
In a similar article from the Toledo Blade, these things were also noted. The first is how do they know that blacks took advantage of the "golden week" 3 and a half times more often than whites?? Is this a type question on an exit poll that provides this info?
1) The judge noted that blacks took advantage of golden week 3⅓ times as often as white voters in 2008, and more than five times as often in 2012. “Based on this evidence, it is reasonable to conclude that the reduction in overall time to vote will burden the right to vote of African Americans, who use [early in-person] voting significantly more than other voters,” Judge Watson said in a 120-page opinion.
The background of how Ohio came to observe 35 days of voting.
2) Early voting in Ohio grew out of the 2004 election, when people stood in line for hours to cast ballots, particularly in heavily minority and Democratic urban areas. Thousands gave up and went home without voting. George W. Bush carried the state by 2.1 percentage points. If he had lost it, John Kerry would have become president.
Ohio Ping
An Ohio law that curtails early voting and prevents people from registering to vote and casting ballots on the same day illegally discriminates against black voters, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, ordering a crucial swing state to change its rules before the fall elections.
Impossible.
State laws are greater than any Constitutional rights, and state laws are not trumped by Constitutional rights.
States can restrict any Constitutional right in anyway that they see fit.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3433665/posts
but compelling ohio tax payers to fund planned parenthood doesn’t violate anyone’s rights. nope.
meanwhile, people in Iraq risked being shot at, blown up, etc, to vote.
Some judges should fear for their lives.
EVERY SINGLE FRAUDULENT VOTE NULLIFIES ONE AMERICAN CITIZEN’S VOTE AND PUTS A IRREPARABLE CRACK INTO THE BEDROCK OF THE REPUBLIC.
Geez, they’d think I’m a criminal.
I want to:
1. Abolish early and absentee voting entirely (With one exception below). If you are too sick to get to the polls then too bad, I feel sorry for you.
2. Require polls to be open 24 hours on election day. This give everyone adequate time to vote if they want to.
3. National elections should be a holiday and (or) moved to a Saturday or Sunday. No school, bank or other businesses should be open with a few exceptions and those should would on a reduced schedule or skeleton staff. No one should have an excuse to not vote because they are busy
4. No results can be announced until all votes are counted. This means that it will be harder to create votes by fraud in a close election.
5. All ballots must be returned to the central counting facility withing 45 minutes after the election closes.
6. Require a picture ID (Place a picture on a Social Security card since everyone has to have one anyway)
7. In a recount the total number of ballots must be the same - i.e. you can’t find an uncounted box somewhere and add to the totals.
8. Voting fraud should be a prisonable offense with a mandatory 15 year sentence. This includes retirees that, for example: vote in New York and Florida
9. The only exception to absentee voting should be for overseas military personnel and possibly expat citizens. They should be able to declare that they are not a resident of any state and get to vote only for president since they effectively have no meaningful state representation anyway. Neither of the Senators or any of the congresspersons from New Jersey cared about me when I lived in Hong Kong. I would even be in favor of creating a non contiguous external state comprised of overseas military, expats and US territories that received two Senators and 2 House members but I realize that is not a popular stance and would take a Constitutional amendment.
10. Electoral votes in States should be awarded by congressional district not in a State at large
Just my thoughts
Just my thoughts
What a crock.
They probably had already voted three times and didn’t consider it a big deal.
Judge Michael H. Watson
Appointed by George W Bush
Obama won by fraud vote last election.
I once ran across something by RFK, Jr., who was ranting and raving about the 2004 election in Ohio, claiming that Bush had stolen the election from Kerry because of the long lines in some voting places in Ohio.
That Bush had a 3-million vote plurality in the country (6 times Gore's plurality in 2000) did not enter into it.
I still to this day can’t figure out why they don’t slap photos on a voter card. It would a quick and easy fix.
I can explain it to you with only one word: Democrats.
I like it!
Time to channel Andrew Jackson, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!”
“A federal court ruling Tuesday declaring Ohio GOP lawmakers’ voting restrictions unconstitutional...”
That’s about all this judge can do - make a ruling. The state legislature can decide to back up this judicial ruling with legislation to give it the power of law, or it can tell this judge to go take a long walk off a short pier.
That and the brilliant Iraqi dye-the-finger technique would go a long way toward eliminating fraud.
That is why it will not happen.
Maybe President Trump could add that to his accomplishments list.
IOW - all States must adopt Ohio’s original voting schematic or be deemed un-Constitutional????? Sounds like a “John Roberts Ruling”.....
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