The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a trial court judge’s order blocking Ohio’s restrictions on early voting.
A unanimous three-judge panel affirmed the preliminary injunction granted earlier this month by Judge Peter C. Economus, meaning that the cutbacks cannot go into effect until the case is resolved on the merits by the courts.
The circuit judges agreed that the restrictions run afoul of the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The law, enacted earlier this year, scaled back early voting in the Buckeye State from 35 days to 28 days and scrapped “Golden Week,” when residents could both register and vote in the same week.
From here the state of Ohio can either seek a full court — en banc — ruling at the 6th Circuit or appeal to the Supreme Court.
“With the press of time, it is not clear that Ohio is going to bother to try to change this for this election,” wrote election law professor Rick Hasen of UC-Irvine. “But if and when this case gets to the Supreme Court, I expect 5 Justices could well adopt a much narrower definition of equal protection and the Voting Rights Act than offered here.”
