A federal appeals court has blocked rules requiring precise completion of thousands of absentee ballots in swing state Ohio but has upheld other challenged election law changes as legal and not unduly burdensome.
Republican Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted says he'll appeal a federal judge's Tuesday ruling blocking rules for how thousands of absentee and provisional ballots are counted.
A federal district judge has ruled blind Ohio residents have been denied "meaningful access" to the absentee voting system, but implementing changes would fundamentally alter the entire system.
Several blind voters and an advocacy group for the blind are suing Republican Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted over the accessibility of paper absentee ballots in the swing state.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Cuayhoga County executive Ed FitzGerald is criticizing a pair of new elections rules, saying they infringe on voting rights.
Ohio Democratic Party chair and State Representative Chris Redfern says he expects the organization to file a federal lawsuit over an absentee-ballot measure passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Last year, all Ohio voters got absentee voter applications – whether they requested them or not – as a way to settle a fight over whether counties could send out those forms unsolicited.
