A federal judge says state laws that throw out ballots with minor technical flaws are unconstitutional. WKSU’s M.L. Schultze has more on another defeat for Republicans in the latest of many rounds over many years of voting litigation.
Judge Algernon Marbley’s decision sided with homeless advocates and the Ohio Democratic Party, who argued that GOP lawmakers passed what amounted to a literacy test that required voters to complete ballots and other forms with no mistakes.
State Rep. Kathleen Clyde – a potential Democratic candidate for secretary of state – says the state should be in the business of helping and encouraging voters.
“What good is your vote if you cast it and it’s not counted and you don’t even know that it wasn’t counted so you could make that mistake over and over and not realize you’ve been disenfranchised.”
Marbley also threw out the law shortening time when voters can fix technical errors and forbidding pollworkers from helping most voters fill out the forms.
Husted accuses the federal judges of overreach and contradictions, noting that parts of Marbley’s decision run counter to a separate ruling from a federal judge last month that reinstated the week when voters can register and cast ballots at the same time.
“Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals. They all have different opinons and that’s great. That’s what the legislative process is about.”
He says the state will appeal.
