A recent federal court ruling said Ohio must allow in-person voting on the three days before elections. Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted is doing that. And he’s setting hours for voting for future elections.
By doing this, he says it will make sure all Ohioans have uniform voting opportunities and boards of elections will know the rules early so they can plan.
In future presidential elections, in-person early voting will be allowed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Monday before Election Day. Those days and hours are the same for presidential primaries and elections for governor.
When it comes to special elections, the Saturday hours will be shortened from 8 a.m. to noon. And Husted says any voters in line at the end of these regular business hours must be permitted to vote.
In 2012, Husted and Republicans lost a court challenge brought by Democrats who sued to vote on those days, which resulted in the court ruling that brought about Husted’s decision.