Obama Campaign Filed Suit In Ohio, Against The Three Extra Days Alloted To The Military For Voting

Obama’s campaign and other Democrats argue that the law unfairly ends
in-person early voting for most Ohioans on the Friday evening before the Tuesday
election while allowing military and overseas voters to cast ballots in person
until Monday.

Before the changes to the law, local election boards had the discretion to
set their own hours for such voting on the days before the election. And
in-person voting on the weekend varied among the state’s 88 counties.

The state’s elections chief, Secretary of State Jon Husted, has argued that
all counties should have the same early-voting hours and be open on the same
days. Husted and his fellow Republicans contend it is unfair that a voter in one
county can cast an early ballot on a day when a voter in a neighboring county
cannot.

Obama for America was joined in the lawsuit by the Democratic National
Committee and the Ohio Democratic Party.

Ohio is one of 32 states that allow voters to cast early ballots by mail or
in person without an excuse. About 30 percent of the total vote in swing states
— or roughly 1.7 million ballots — came in ahead of Election Day in the last
presidential election.

Obama won Ohio in 2008, but Republican challenger Mitt Romney is expected to
make a strong play for it in November.