Breaking News: Supreme Court Rebuffs Husted
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted of a ruling that denied county elections boards the opportunity to close down early voting the final three days before the election.
The decision not to hear the case is considered a victory for Barack Obama's campaign, which brought the lawsuit against Husted. The case, Obama for America v. Husted, was heard in August by U.S. Judge Peter C. Economus. The judge, who formerly sat on the federal bench in Youngstown, Ohio, wrote in his ruling that "…restoring in-person early voting to all Ohio voters through the Monday before Election Day … places all Ohio voters on equal standing.”
According to Lyle Deniston's Scotus Blog, the high court "acted in a one-sentence order that contained no explanation."
Writes Deniston, "The action left intact a lower court order that required voting officials in the crucial electoral state to open the polls on that final weekend to all voters, if they open them to any voters. Ohio officials wanted to allow voting then only by members of the military and their families, on the theory that they might be called away suddenly on military duty. While it is up to each county’s election officials to decide whether to be open for voting on those days, many if not most -- and, crucially, major cities -- are expected to do so rather than shut out military voters altogether. Under the lower court order, all voters must be treated the same for early voting.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.