Bernie Sanders Files Federal Suit Against Republicans to Stop Voter Suppression in Ohio

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/35644-bernie-sanders-files-federal-suit-against-republicans-to-stop-voter-suppression-in-ohio

According to the Sanders campaign:

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, along with six Ohio 17-year-olds seeking to vote in next week’s presidential primary in the Buckeye State. It alleges that Husted’s directive would “arbitrarily discriminate” against young voters, who U.S. census data show are more heavily African American and Latino than older groups of voters.

Ohio is among more than 20 states where 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by the general election in November are allowed to vote in primaries. Last December, however, the secretary of state decided the young voters were ineligible to participate in the presidential primary. The lawsuit contends that action discriminates against minorities. It also says that the secretary of state’s actions violate the Due Process and Equal Protection provisions of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Sanders lawsuit isn’t just about the Democratic primary. What Sec. of State Husted is attempting to do is suppress the vote among younger voters in November. It has been proven by political scientists that voters who vote in the primaries are more likely to vote in the general election. Those who also vote in primaries are easier to get out to vote in November, which is the main reason Republican-controlled states are trying to suppress the vote in primaries.

[mucifer]

1. It would have been nice if Hillary joined him in that.

[eridani]

2. In Victory For Sanders, Judge Rules 17-Year-Olds Can Vote In Ohio Primary

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/sanders-victory-judge-rules-seventeen-year-olds-vote-ohio-primary

A judge on Friday granted a request to let 17-year-olds vote in the swing state's presidential primary just days before the election.

Ohio allows 17-year-olds who will be 18 before the fall election to vote in Tuesday's primary, with some exceptions. Young Ohio voters can decide on congressional, legislative and mayoral contenders, but they can't vote on ballot issues or candidates for a political party's governing body.

Whether the teens can vote in the presidential primary race had been under dispute in the perennial battleground state. The state's Republican elections chief, Secretary of State Jon Husted, had saidOhio's rules and constitution didn't permit it.

On Friday, after the judge's ruling, Husted said, "This last minute legislating from the bench on election law has to stop." He vowed to appeal.