Senator Kearney Calls on Secretary of State to Reinstate Weekend Early Voting

Columbus – Senate Democratic Leader Eric H. Kearney (D-Cincinnati) issued the following statement today as Secretary of State Jon Husted considers firing two members of the Montgomery County Board of Elections simply because they want to give hard working Ohioans more opportunities to vote:

“Given all that has happened in recent weeks, Ohioans need reassurance that our system of voting is honest and fair.  I again call on Secretary of State Jon Husted to reinstate weekend early voting to restore confidence in our elections process.

“Under the guise of uniformity, Secretary of State Jon Husted has done more to limit voting opportunities than even the GOP controlled General Assembly.  After Republican legislators eliminated in-person absentee voting on the weekend before the election, Husted has gone even further.  First, he blocked weekend early voting in Ohio’s largest urban counties where the highest percentage of African Americans live.  Then, when confronted with the blatant unfairness of his decisions, he eliminated weekend voting for all 88 counties. 

“Let’s be clear, it was Jon Husted who decided that Ohioans would not have weekend voting this year.  No one else, not even Republican legislators, limited early voting to such a degree.

“In addition, comments made by a Republican member of the Franklin County Board of Elections, who is a close advisor to Governor Kasich, have raised further suspicions that there is an orchestrated effort to suppress the African American vote in Ohio.  Secretary Husted should publicly repudiate those comments.”