Voting rights groups sue over Ohio primary election’s ‘new’ April 28 date, seeking in-person voting

Ohio "I heart voting" stickers

I voted stickers are seen at a polling place, Sunday, March 15, 2020, in Steubenville, Ohio. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)AP

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A coalition of voting-rights groups has sued over Ohio’s new law that extends voting for its primary election through April 28, arguing the vote-by-mail process lawmakers created will disenfranchise thousands of voters.

The League of Women Voters of Ohio, the Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute and several state voters, in a federal lawsuit filed Monday, argue the state’s timeline is too fast to conduct a proper election. They are asking a judge to:

* Order county boards of elections to directly mail primary ballots, with postage pre-paid envelopes, to all registered voters who have not already cast a ballot in this election. The state’s plan is to send postcards to all registered voters informing them how to apply for an absentee ballot application — while making clear previously cast early votes will still be counted — and then providing a postage-paid ballot to voters who apply for one.

* Offer in-person voting for Ohioans who don’t receive a ballot on time. The state’s plan only offers in-person voting for the disabled and homeless.

* Pick a new date that will give election officials more time to organize the election and inform voters how it will work.

* Re-open voter registration until 30 days before the end of voting. Ohio officials contend the ongoing election isn’t “new” — just an extension of the one that was supposed to end on March 17. So, they said the 30-day cutoff for that election, which passed on Feb. 18, still applies.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division by the ACLU of Ohio, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Demos. (Scroll down to read it.)

"Under the General Assembly’s undemocratic election scheme, thousands, if not millions, of Ohioans will not get to vote through no fault of their own,” Jen Miller, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio said in a statement. “Ohio’s inefficient absentee voting system wasn’t designed for this massive scale, especially under such an impossible timeframe. We call on the justice system to ensure that Ohio’s primary is constitutional and accessible.”

“Many historically disenfranchised communities are not accustomed to voting by mail and may have difficulty navigating the process in this extremely short timeline. The right to vote is sacred and should be treated as such," Andre Washington, State President of the Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute, said in a statement.

In filing the lawsuit, the groups are following through on their previous threats to do so. But the voting-rights activists, as well as state officials, have encouraged voters who haven’t done so already to move forward with seeking to vote by mail. If a court does end up intervening, it will only serve to open up the process, they’ve said.

Overlooking a proposal from Secretary of State Frank LaRose that would have preserved the option of an in-person vote on June 2, and sent absentee-ballot applications to all registered voters who hadn’t previously voted early. Ohio lawmakers set an all-mail voting process through April 28 instead.

Lawmakers said wrapping it up sooner would allow for the state’s presidential delegates to be seated in time for the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

They also sided with local government and education groups, which are looking for resolution on local levies and other ballot issues.

DeWine signed the law that included the April 28 date, but previously threw his support behind LaRose’s June 2 election plan. The elections plain was part of a larger coronavirus response bill that also waived state standardized-testing requirements, among other changes.

Lawmakers also opted against a component of the LaRose plan that would have provided absentee ballot applications and a postage-paid envelope to all Ohioans who hadn’t already voted, similar to what the new lawsuit seeks.

The state’s election was thrown into disarray after DeWine and other state officials moved to close it on March 16, the day before the election was to have taken place, citing dangers of spreading coronavirus and the likely dampening effect the pandemic would have on voters and poll workers.

Officials have acknowledged delaying the election sowed confusion — some state lawmakers contended doing so was illegal — but have argued it was necessary to save lives and preserve a legitimate election.

Read recent Ohio elections news:

Here’s how to vote in Ohio’s vote-by-mail wrap-up to its 2020 primary election: Q&A

Ohio lawmakers sets all-mail primary election through April 28; legal challenge still possible

Ohio legislature passes coronavirus relief bill extending primary voting until April 28, waiving school testing requirements

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose proposes pre-paid, statewide mail vote for delayed primary

Although mail-in voting continues, Ohio’s postponed primary remains clouded by legal, political disputes

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