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When we last left the early voting tussle in Ohio, a federal judge ordered the state to open the polls on the weekend before the election. The Secretary of State, Jon Husted, planned to file an appeal. But he went further than that. He said that he would not institute the court order until after the outcome of that appeal, and make no preparations for the early voting sites to open that weekend before the election. Husted’s order prohibited county boards of elections from setting hours for the weekend voting.
Lynn Kinkaid, Director of the Butler County Board of Elections, which originally voted to hold weekend hours before Husted’s directive restricted them, told ThinkProgress the board is powerless to act against the Secretary of State’s directive. “I can’t imagine we would disobey a court order…he must have a good reason for it,” Kinkaid said. “He’s the big boss. I’m not going to second-guess my boss.”
Husted fired two Montgomery County election board members after they defied his directive and voted to hold weekend voting hours. Two other Ohio counties have asked Husted to reevaluate the voting restrictions.
The county election boards might not want to cross Husted, but federal judges don’t like it when you deny their existence. The judge, Peter Economus, set a date for a hearing for next week, and ordered that Husted “personally attend the hearing.” I would expect Economus to subject Husted to quite a bit of yelling next Wednesday.
The appeals process is being expedited, so we should have an answer on this well before the election. But preparations should be in place at this point.
Meanwhile, in other voting rights news, a coalition of civil rights groups plans to send voter registration materials in the mail to over 4 million voters within the next few weeks. The coalition, led by the Voter Participation Center, sent out the applications, along with instructions for how to register and pre-addressed envelopes and even a QR-reader barcode to go to targeted online registration resources, in 28 states. The fact that we don’t have universal voter registration in this country is a moral crime, but this is at least an opportunity to cut into that somewhat.
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Republicans like Husted have been so used to getting away with so much for so long that whatever skills they once had for working within the rule of law have atrophied to uselessness.
Now is when Husted pays the price for acting like a dictator.
One look at the man’s eyes and you see fetal alcohol syndrome. I do hope that the federal judge holds Husted in contempt and puts his ass in jail for a fortnight.
Straight up, this contemptible piece of republican defication should be jailed until after the election for “callous contempt of a judicial order”.
It’s time that the rule of law re-take it’s rightful place in this country starting with this nazi.
That is the face of a frustrated gay man trapped in his own hatred of everything and anything!
OMG, you are right. Same can be said of GWB. Not their fault though.
PW – may I say…Bingo!
Personally, I just wish I could take off and fly to Ohio to attend that hearing. I would so enjoy watching and listening to the predictable yelling. Even better if the SoS gets hauled off to contempt jail.
What do you want to bet that he blows off the hearing and they have to send the marshals after him?
“Universal voter registration”? But that would interfere with the long-standing tradition of States determining who gets to vote and who doesn’t.
God forbid everyone could vote.
Mr. Husted. You’re a lawyer. Please tell me why I shouldn’t hold you in contempt of court?
Pause
Bailiff please lead him away until my decision is put into effect.
Contempt of court, anyone?
He also does not care that he will lose lawsuits for firing people who obeyed the court order, those costs will be borne by taxpayers, one of the weaknesses in dealing with public malfeasance, the offender is defended by public funded attorneys and the settlement comes from the same…
What is it about Ohio? A few years ago, another official with ties to Diebold promised to “deliver Ohio to the president”, and now another?
Voter suppression seems especially evil. It aptly demonstrates that today’s republicans have no ideas that they can run on, only lust for power. I hope Husted gets an appropriate ass-reaming in court.
Husted is a fundamentalist Christian. He’s also stupid.
Sorry, I repeated myself.
Anyone who thinks there is going to be “yelling” in a Federal courtroom, by the judge or anyone else, must think that “Judge Judy” is a documentary.
Judge Economus will be controlled, reasonable, judicious. The great thing about being a Federal judge is that you don’t have to shout to be heard. He can whisper to the marshall “Take that man into custody, and hold him pending further order of the court.”