A federal judge in Ohio is scheduled to hear arguments Friday in a dispute over the state’s voter identification and provisional ballot rules. At issue is an expiring court order from 2010 that governs provisional ballots and forms of voter ID in the perennial presidential battleground. Voter advocates want to see the order extended indefinitely.
They contend the agreement’s broad definitions of acceptable IDs must stay in place to prevent what they call “unequal and restrictive interpretations” among local elections boards. They argue the order eliminates confusion created by the law.
The attorneys for the state say there’s been no evidence to demonstrate that ending the agreement would result in Ohioans being denied the right to cast their vote. They say the court should allow the decree to expire.