VOTER SUPPRESSION IN OHIO?

TOUGHER PLACES TO VOTE IN RED

Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to review two voting measures making their way through the state legislature that she claims could “suppress the voting rights of African Americans and other minorities.”

The proposed bills (S. 238 and H.B. 269) would reduce the number of absentee-voting days by six, prevent newly registered voters from voting the day they register, and require voters to present valid identification — a driver’s license, a state or military ID card, or a passport — when casting a ballot.

In her letter, Fudge charges that the legislation violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which “prohibits any voting qualification or practice applied by the state which results in the denial or abridgment of the right to vote based on race.” “Recent estimates indicate that over 900,000 eligible voters in Ohio” lack the necessary ID, including as many as “one in four eligible African Americans,” the letter says. Same-day registration and voting “have recently been used at a higher rate by African Americans and lower-income voters.”

“With no indication that voter fraud is a widespread problem in Ohio, this proposal is a thinly veiled attempt to reduce the number of people able to exercise their right to vote,” she writes. “They are attempts to suppress the voting rights of African Americans and other minorities.”

Supporters of the effort argue that limiting early voting would free-up over-stressed election boards “during their busiest time of year” and note that the legislation “allows for free photo IDs for people who can’t afford to purchase one and who are at or below the federal poverty level.”

“I think we can have a reasonable debate about policy here,” said State Sen. Frank LaRose (R), the sponsor of the early voting change. “To invoke the specter of a racial matter, I think, takes it too far. It is kind of shameful to do that. What we are talking about is a very modest reduction in the number of early voting days that still leaves Ohio as a leader in the nation, by far, for early voting.”

On Saturday, The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s editorial board came out against the limitation, writing that “absent compelling evidence of election fraud…there is no good, pro-voter reason to end the practice.” It also condemned a separate measure that would change absentee ballot rules.

During the 2012 presidential election, Ohio Secretary of State Jon "we have a problem" Husted attempted to limit early voting to weekdays, and he defied a court order requiring early voting hours to be restored — although he eventually backed down.

Why should Ohio be any different than Pennsylvania, or any other state having been taken over by the American Taliban? When at all costs, when you can't win an election, cheat at all costs!

At the end of the day I don't think anyone is worried about people voting multiple times - teabaggers are just worried about Democrats being allowed to vote once.

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West

SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST HUSTED

....Approves Ohio Early Voting On Final Weekend Before

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a last-gasp appeal by Ohio Republicans and approved early voting for Ohio residents on the weekend before Election Day.

Ohio's Secretary of State John Husted had refused to enforce last week's appellate court decision, in which a three-judge panel came down on the side of the Obama campaign and blocked a law that would have limited early voting.

Husted remained adamant that Ohioans should not be allowed to vote on that weekend, which was a prime voting period for minorities in the 2008 election.

The Supreme Court's order was one line long: "The application for stay presented to Justice [Elena] Kagan and by her referred to the Court is denied."

In response to the Republican-backed law to limit early voting, the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party had sued the state, asking a federal court to restore voting during those last three days on the grounds that Ohioans would not have equal access to the polls otherwise.

Ohio Republican leaders said their motivation was to make things easier for election administrators. But the appellate court noted that some Ohio election administrators actually preferred having those extra days of voting -- and that in either case, the "proffered interest in smooth election administration" wasn't sufficient reason.

Husted's refusal to establish a statewide rule definitively restoring voting over the final weekend before Election Day added more confusion to an already chaotic run-up to the elections, stalling efforts by African-American churches to shuttle people to the polls after church on Sunday.

Soon after the Supreme Court's ruling, Husted issued a directive to local election boards, setting uniform hours for the three days before the election: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Monday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The Obama campaign expressed delight with the ruling. "We now turn our full attention to educating Ohio voters on when and how they can vote along with presenting the clear choice they face when selecting their next president," Bob Bauer, general counsel for the campaign, said in a statement.

The early-voting period began two weeks ago in Ohio, but in accordance with the new law, mostly during working hours:

"Justice has prevailed," said Pastor Rousseau O'Neil, of Rockdale Baptist Church in Cincinnati, who has taken part in several Souls to the Polls campaigns. "We saw that early voting made a tremendous difference four years ago and I suspect that it will have a tremendous impact this time around as well."

"At this time in our lives and in this country, we can not afford to go back to a time when so many people were denied the right, in any form or fashion," O'Neil said. "We'll come out in droves."

NFTOS

STAFF

HUSTED, WE HAVE A PROBLEM

Radical Tea Bagger Jon Husted Voter Suppression Leader

Remember if you have an historically accurate knowledge of our founding fathers, rather then the usual tea bagger romantic one, where only white men, who are over 21 and who owned property could vote.

This was the Founding Fathers "principles". But we’ve grown and changed as a country, well most of us that is.

Now enter NFTOS' worst person in the world for the day- Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (R) whom wants to take his State backwards to the 1700's, you know when white pasty racist men trolled the country.

Husted’s office has been flooded with criticism over his directive limiting voting hours in spite of requests from multiple election boards to stay open on weekends. He’s was also in hot water with a federal judge after he resisted a court order to restore voting hours on the last weekend before Election Day — although Husted ultimately backed down  after the judge ordered him to appear in court.

John Husted, not just a cheat, but a gutless cheat. Pity the State of Ohio Readers.

Not only have they suffered self-inflicted wounds from various polls and legislation, the State has now become a poster child for idiots in office, starting with its uber-governor, John Kasich.

Tea Baggers unit, and it would seem they are alive and well within this otherwise beautiful and friendly state.

John Husted screwed over the whole state as a legislator. Not once, but twice. No, make that three times. It must be his boyish charismatic charm.

The first time? Husted was leading the legislature when he torpedoed a steel mill investment that would have brought thousands of jobs to Ohio.

The second? Husted, as a fool-fledged, Catholic member of the Tea Bagger Troup of morons, decided to protect the Church instead of the hundreds of victims of childhood sexual abuse by priests.

The third? In order to protect the white vote, he decided to screw minorities, working women, and liberals, cutting back on access to the voting booths.

This was too much for even our conservative Federal Courts. The District court judge ruled last Friday that Husted's clearly partisan orders were not legal. But hold the phone, Husted is not yet done being an asshat- as of yesterday, Husted appealed a ruling that reinstates the final three early voting days in the battleground state, calling a decision last week by a federal appeals court "an unprecedented intrusion" into how states run elections.


THE REV

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MADDOW

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It's simple readers, the GOP cannot win on the tea party ideology. It is extremely unpopular with the vast majority of people. The only way that this radical ideology shall prevail is if you limit those who are against it from voting. Husted is clearly using delay tactics to impede voters' rights pure and simple!

Husted is a tool of the GOP, but mistakenly believes he is their rising star [like Scott "koch whore" walker] . He does what the operatives tell him to do in exchange for the next political office.

It is now clear readers that Secretary of State Jon Husted will stop at nothing to deny Ohioans full and equal access to the polls.

Secretary of State Jon Husted, today's worst person in the world!

NFTOS

Editor-In-Chief

Roger West