August 16, 2012

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted calls for uniform early voting hours

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

The Republican directed Ohio's 88 county boards of election to adhere to these hours of operation during the 35-day early voting period: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the first three weeks, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the final two weeks.

But there will be no weekend voting when early voting begins on Oct. 2, Husted said.

"The bottom line is the antagonists have made an issue about the fact that voters aren't being treated fairly, that they aren't being treated the same," Husted said during a hastily called news conference at his office. "Today we're treating voters everywhere the same."

The secretary's order has hardly squelched the controversy as Democrats immediately issued calls of injustice over the lack of weekend voting hours, a crucial voting period for Democrats during the last presidential election in 2008.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/08/ohio_secretary_of_state_jon_hu_2.html

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The New York Times editorial stung Husted so he responded by eliminating "early voting" on the weekend before the election. Before this decision, Husted had been permitting rural and suburban counties to have longer hours than the voting hours in our urban counties. The 'pukes had been operating on a loophole that the SOS could break the tie when boards of elections split evenly between two Democrats and two Republicans over extended hours.

Suffrage takes another hit. John Brown's body is rolling in his grave.