Senate Democrats File Brief with U.S. Supreme Court

Columbus—Today, Senate Minority Leader Eric H. Kearney (D-Cincinnati) and the entire Senate Democratic Caucus continued the fight for Ohioans’ right to vote by filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.  The brief asks the Court to deny Secretary of State Jon Husted’s appeal and preserve in-person early voting for the last three days before the November 6^th election.

“It is imperative that the court promptly deny applicants’ requested stay and allow early in-person voting to proceed as it has for the last six years in Ohio,” Senator Kearney and the Caucus said in the brief.  “Early voting has already begun and a last minute decision curtailing previously granted voting opportunities would undermine the public interest in voting rights for all citizens.”

The brief was filed in response to Secretary Husted’s appeal of a decision by the U.S. 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that found Ohio Republicans had violated the Constitution by denying Ohioans an equal opportunity to vote in-person at their board of elections on the three days prior to the election.

“As members of the General Assembly, amici (we) understand the need to regulate election procedures, but we refuse to accept policies that discriminate and burden the right to vote,” the brief further states.

An Amicus Curiae or “friend of the Court” brief gives an individual or group who is not a party to a case the opportunity to make their views known to the Court and raise arguments and perspectives not otherwise considered.  A copy of the brief is available below. 

Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus Amicus Brief (PDF)