Democrats, including an attorney for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, sued in federal court on Friday to block laws and orders they claim are designed to throw roadblocks between the voting booth and traditional Democratic constituencies. Among the issues challenged is Ohio’s shortened early voting period, which has already been the subject of a recent settlement under a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, League of Women Voters of Ohio, and others that led to the reinstatement of some in-person early voting hours for future elections.
“However, the Settlement Agreement does not restore the discretion previously afforded to each county to set its own [early in-person] voting schedule,” reads the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus. “Instead, it imposes a uniform schedule that, like the EIP Voting Directives that preceded it, has the effect of leaving voters in more-populous counties with fewer EIP voting opportunities than those in less-populated counties.”
The attorneys behind the lawsuit are Don McTigue, Ohio Democrats’ go-to lawyer; Washington attorney Marc Elias, recently hired by the Clinton campaign; and Wisconsin attorney Joshua L. Kaul.
Secretary of State Jon Husted, Ohio’s top elections official and a defendant in the suit, accused the Clinton campaign of trying to “inject chaos” into the state’s election system.
Full Article: Democrats sue State of Ohio, Husted, others over voting issues – Toledo Blade.