COLUMBUS, Ohio (CN) - Despite a previous court order, a voter referendum and legislative repeal, Ohio again has restricted early voting, and it's aimed at reducing minority turnout, the NAACP says in a federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit targets state Senate Bill 238, a 2014 law that eliminated the first week of the five-week early voting period in Ohio, an important swing state during national elections. This was the only week that allowed same-day registration and voting.
The lawsuit also seeks to strike down Secretary of State John Husted's 2014 directive to eliminate Sundays and evening hours from the early voting period, in addition to the Monday before Election Day. That directive is called Directive 2014-16.
"These reductions in early voting and registration opportunities will significantly impact thousands of voters, especially African-American voters," the complaint states.
This is not Ohio's first go-round with laws criticized for suppressing turnout from minorities and the poor. In 2011, the General Assembly passed a law eliminating the last three days of early voting before Election Day. Voters responded by organizing a ballot referendum to strike the law down. The Legislature then repealed it.
In 2012, Husted issued a directive cutting the same three days of early voting for nonmilitary voters. After a federal lawsuit, Husted was forced to restore the extra days.
Joined as plaintiffs by three churches, the League of Women Voters, the A. Philip Randolph Institute and a community organizer, the new 35-page lawsuit claims the state's latest law is specifically aimed at suppressing turnout from poor and black voters, and would in fact disproportionately affect them.
"A motivating purpose behind SB 238 and Director 2014-16 was to suppress the turnout and electoral participation of African-American voters, who disproportionately vote early and use same-day registration," the complaint states. "SB 238 and Directive 2014-16 will be successful in effectuating that purpose."
Named as defendants are Husted and Attorney General Mike Dewine.
Ohio established early voting in response to the congestion and "severe waits" voters faced during the 2004 presidential election, which effectively denied many citizens the right to cast their ballots, the NAACP says in the complaint.
"Many voters were forced to wait in line for two to 12 hours, and in at least one polling location, voting did not finish until 4 a.m. the day after Election Day. Thousands of voters left their polling places without voting because of school or work obligations, family responsibilities, or because a physical disability prevented them from standing in line. A survey found that approximately 130,000 would-be Ohio voters left before casting a ballot in the 2004 general election due to excessively long wait times on Election Day," the complaint states.
Ohio established no-fault absentee voting in 2005, eliminating the need for absentee voters to have an excuse for not voting on Election Day.
"Ohioans heavily utilize early voting opportunities, and African Americans in particular rely heavily on early in-person voting, the use of which has skyrocketed since the introduction of no-fault absentee voting in 2005 and shows no sign of abating," the complaint states.
In the 2008 and 2012 general elections, Ohioans cast 512,000 and 580,000 early in-person absentee ballots, respectively. In 2012, more than 157,000 voters - many of whom were low-income or African-American - cast ballots on days that have now been cut, according to the complaint.