Cleveland.com: A federal judge on Tuesday threw out provisions in Ohio’s law that had voided absentee and provisional ballots for technical flaws made by otherwise qualified voters.
In a lawsuit filed by the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless and the Ohio Democratic Party, U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley ruled that the laws violated provisions of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that require citizens receive equal protection under the law….
The coalitions for the homeless and the Democratic Party challenged technical requirements for Ohio absentee and provisional ballots, arguing that the rules had been applied differently from county to county. Husted, the state’s chief elections officer, was the defendant.
The requirements were included in two bills approved by Republicans in the General Assembly in 2014 and signed into law by Gov. John Kasich.
- Bill one: Requires voters to provide their address and date of birth when casting an absentee ballot. It also shortened the time that voters casting provisional ballots would have after Election Day to produce valid identification from 10 days to one week.
- Bill two: Requires elections boards to reject absentee and provisional ballots for errors made on identification statements.