Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted says eliminating “Golden Week” is necessary to ensure only Ohioans are voting in state elections. While speaking with editors for Gannett Ohio on Friday, the Republican incumbent said eliminating days when people can register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day is critical to deterring people from other states from coming to Ohio and participating in its elections. Previously, Ohio allowed early voting 35 days before an election — giving people a five-day Golden Week in which they could register and cast a ballot on the same day. The Ohio Legislature reduced early voting to 28 days before an election, eliminating this time. However, this past week U.S. District Judge Peter Economus blocked that law and restored the 35-day voting schedule. State officials, including Husted, are appealing that decision.
Husted said although some people think once a chance to vote has been granted it never can be rescinded, but he said he believes if a problem is discovered it should be fixed. “What we discovered was during that golden week, there were people, particularly in presidential elections, coming in from other states, registering to vote, and voting even though they weren’t really Ohioans,” he said. “There’s no reason that those folks should be voting on our local school levies, to determine who our local judges, our local county commissioners might be.”
The campaign for Democratic challenger Nina Turner, a state senator, said claims of out-of-state voters abusing Golden Week are fabricated and that the secretary should comply with the order. “Jon Husted and his GOP allies have not, and cannot, produce a credible reason to make it harder for working Ohioans to vote, so they’ve now resorted to making them up,” Adam Warren, Turner campaign spokesman, said in a statement. “Instead of inventing a justification for staying the course, he should respect the judge’s order and work to help Ohioans make their voices heard.”
Full Article: Husted: Eliminating ‘Golden Week’ would protect elections.