Stickers are seen at a polling location during the Pennsylvania primary in Philadelphia on April 26, 2016. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island hold their primary elections today. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI |
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The state of Ohio responded to a request by the Ohio Democratic Party to reinstate the so-called "golden week," saying early voting in the state is already longer than in most others.
Democrats filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court moved to uphold a 2013 ban passed by Republicans in the state Legislature that did away with "golden week" when it shortened the amount of time for early voting. In Ohio politics, "golden week" refers to the overlapping five days when voters can show up in person, register and cast an early voting ballot all in one trip.
Historically, Democrats put on a significant voter registration and early voting push among minority communities during the five-day span, but a 2013 law shortened the state's early voting period, while failing to extend the deadline for voters to register, effectively eliminating golden week.
The Ohio Democratic Party argued the 2013 law discriminates against minority voters who overwhelmingly participated in golden week registration and voting drives. A federal district court agreed and overturned the law. The state appealed and a three-judge panel on the Sixth Circuit sided with the state. Democrats then filed the emergency appeal with the Supreme Court, which lawyers for the state responded to in writing on Thursday.
The state said in a brief Ohio already has some of the most liberal early voting rules in the nation and the elimination of golden week only affected a small number of voters. The state pointed out the vast majority of Ohioans vote by mail or in person on Election Day. Only a small fraction use "absentee in-person voting" -- the state's term to describe golden week ballots.
The state argued the 2014 midterm elections showed that eliminating golden week had no effect on voter registration overall.
"During the 2014 election with the early-voting law's changes, African Americans and whites registered and voted at the statistically same rates," the state said in its filing.
The justices divide up the task of reviewing emergency appeals by geographic region and Justice Elena Kagan is responsible for reviewing appeals from the Sixth Circuit. She may either grant or turn down a hearing request on her own or refer it to the full court for a vote. There is no specific timetable for a decision, but given golden week would occur in mid-October, one is expected soon.
