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The Battle Over Golden Week Continues

Statehouse News Bureau
Ohio ACLU's Mike Brickner

The court battle continues over the law that eliminated the so called “golden week” where Ohio voters could both register to vote and cast ballots at the same time. There seems to be some disagreement over a previous action on the issue.

Secretary of State Jon Husted says he was shocked when a federal judge ruled recently that the elimination of the golden week was unconstitutional.

“We had an agreement with the NAACP and the ACLU that this was a fair system for minority voters and people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

But Ohio ACLU spokesman Mike Brickner says while his group reached a settlement with Husted last fall over early and weekend voting, it never agreed the elimination of the golden week was fair or constitutional.

“We filed a lawsuit against the elimination of golden week, we testified against the elimination of golden week multiple times in the legislature and now he’s coming out saying we supported the elimination of it. That’s just not true.”

Husted has appealed the ruling to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Contact Jo Ingles at jingles@statehousenews.org.