Ohio Senate Bill 238 (2014)

A bill passed by the Ohio State Legislature and the subsequent appeals to federal courts resulted in last minute rulings surrounding the state's early voting requirements. Less than 40 days from the 2014 midterm elections and less than a day before early voting would have started, the state still awaited the ruling of the court. The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the state's requested emergency stay to push the start of early voting from September 30, 2014, as was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Peter Economus, to October 7, 2014, the date set by the passage of SB238. The rules regarding early voting in Ohio, which had been unchanged since 2005, were revised in 2014 with the passing of SB238. A lawsuit was quickly filed, challenging the law. The suit was ultimately settled on April 17, 2015. The terms of the settlement included the restoration of one day of voting on Sunday, additional weekday evening voting hours, and the elimination of "Golden Week," a period during which state residents could register and vote on the same day."

About the Bill

On February 21, 2014, Governor John Kasich signed into law a bill that altered the state's early and absentee voting provisions. Senate Bill 238 eliminated "Golden Week," a period during which state residents could register and vote on the same day, and shortened the early voting period by a week. Senate Bill 238 reduced the number of voting days from 35 to 29.

When the bill took effect, Ohio was one of 25 states with a photo ID requirement.

The bipartisan Ohio Association of Election Officials said that allowing individuals to both register and vote on the same day resulted in difficulties in properly validating voters.

On May 1, 2014, the following plaintiffs brought a case challenging the reduction of early voting days against Secretary of State Jon Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio:

• Ohio State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• League of Women Voters of Ohio
• Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
• Omega Baptist Church
• College Hill Community Church Presbyterian, U.S.A.
• A. Philip Randolph Institute
• Darryl Fairchild

District and circuit courts

On September 4, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Peter Economus granted a preliminary injunction. He temporarily blocked the law, ordering the early voting period be extended by a week as well as the adding weekend and weeknight early voting hours. This moved the start of early voting from October 7, 2014, as set by SB238, to September 30, 2014.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted argued that the federal courts should uphold decisions that the democratically elected representatives chose in representation of their constituents and that the election officials had prepared for. The case was sent before a three judge panel, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, to be heard.

On September 24, 2014, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the order from Economus to expand Ohio's voting schedule and allow early voting ballots to be accepted the week of September 29, 2014.

On September 25, 2014, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine appealed to the court and asked for an emergency stay from the United States Supreme Court. The court designated Justice Elena Kagan to hear the request. The state argued that Ohio's updated early voting schedule was still more convenient for voters than requirements in many other states.

On September 29, 2014, Kagan referred the case back to the full court who granted the emergency stay in a 5-4 vote. Early voting began on October 7, 2014.

On April 17, 2015, the parties involved in the suit announced that they had reached a settlement. The terms of the settlement included the restoration of one day of voting on Sunday, additional weekday evening voting hours, and the elimination of "Golden Week," a period during which state residents could register and vote on the same day."

The start of early voting

The legislature passed SB238 on the grounds that the state needed more than a month to prevent fraud committed by early voters. The question before the courts was if the bill eliminating same day registration and several days of early voting violated the Equal Protection Clause and Voting Rights Act. The executive director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, Aaron Ockerman, stated that no matter the ruling, the local election boards would be prepared. "Neither the ruling nor the appeal is going to have any impact on our ability to serve voters. We're ready for whatever the court tells us to do," said Ockerman.

See also

• Early voting
• Voting in Ohio