COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked an Ohio law that scales back early voting, ordering the state's elections chief to set additional voting times just ahead of the fall election.
The ruling from US District Judge Peter Economus comes in a lawsuit filed by civil rights groups, several predominantly black churches, and others challenging two early voting measures.
One is a directive from Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, that established uniform early voting times and restricted weekend and evening hours. Another is a GOP-backed law that eliminates golden week, when people could both register to vote and cast ballots.
The plaintiffs asserted the new rules would make it difficult for residents to vote and disproportionately affect low-income and black voters, who, the groups say, are more likely to use the weekend and evening hours to vote early in elections.