Posted on 07/15/2014 7:37:15 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder plans to support an effort to overturn a Republican-passed election law that eliminates days from Ohio's early-voting period and ends same-day registration.
In an interview with ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Holder said he expects to making filings in cases challenging Ohio and Wisconsin election laws. Holder told Thomas that he would “use every power that I have, every ability that I have, as attorney general, to defend that right to vote.”
Pointing out that it was 50 years ago that three young civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi, Holder told Thomas that as attorney general, he would “not stand for, I will not allow, people to take away that which people gave their lives to give and and that is the ability for the American people to vote, it’s the most basic of all our rights, it’s the most treasured of all our rights.”
With the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Ohio conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the League of Women Voters and others filed a U.S. District Court lawsuit on May 1 challenging the voting changes.
A U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman said the agency could not expand on Holder's remarks. As attorney general, he can file an amicus -- or friend of the court -- brief supporting the NAACP's lawsuit or file a "statement of interest" expressing his position on the law.
The NAACP lawsuit charges that the new restrictions would “directly deny the franchise or otherwise make it significantly more difficult for tens of thousands of Ohioans to vote,’’ asserting that the changes “will be felt most keenly among lower-income voters who are predominately African-American.”
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ed Fitzgerald hailed Holder’s remarks, saying that under Republican Gov. John Kasich, “access to the polls has significantly decreased for hardworking Ohioans across the state. Voting is a fundamental right and, as governor, I'll do everything in my power to protect it.”
The Ohio law originally reduced early voting by six days. A federal judge ruled in May that early voting could take place on the final three days before an election.
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to expand early voting by restoring “golden week” ballots and allowing in-person ballots to be cast on more Sundays and during evening hours.
The NAACP lawsuit was filed with the same federal judge who required Secretary of State Jon Husted to implement early voting on the three days before Election Day.
But the lawsuit filed with U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus says that does not go far enough to ensure access to the ballot. Economus will conduct a hearing on Aug. 11 on the NAACP’s request for a preliminary injunction to invalidate the voting changes.
After Economus’ latest ruling, Husted set in-person voting on the final three days before the election, including 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Husted had previously called for early voting this year on the final two Saturdays before Election Day but not the final Sunday and Monday.
Husted’s directive “restored just 10 hours of early voting, including four hours on one Sunday,” said the lawsuit filed by the NAACP.
In-person early voting now starts the day after voter registration ends — 28 or 29 days before the election, as opposed to the 35 days that were previously in place.
Republicans have argued that current law still gives Ohioans more opportunity to vote than voters in most other states. They also note that Ohioans don’t even have to cast an in-person ballot because every voter will be sent an application for a mail ballot. "This is ridculous," said Matt McClellan, Husted's spokesman. "It's time for the Democrats to stop scaring people into thinking it is hard to vote and join us in explaining just how easy it is to cast a ballot in Ohio."
Ohio Republican Party spokesman Chris Schrimpf said in a statement,“While Ohio Republicans have been longtime and consistent champions of accessible and fair elections, Democrats have been quick to look for partisan advantages at the expense of Ohio voters.
“Republican leadership has made Ohio one of the easiest and most fair states to vote in. Meanwhile, Ed FitzGerald only seeks to voting opportunities that he believes will benefit him and his election. The last thing FitzGerald cares about is fair and impartial elections,” he said.
Not “unexpected”. Holder spends a lot of his time AND TAXPAYER DOLLARS keeping voter fraud alive, IMHO!
Doesn’t it ever occur to the masses that their AG is using their resources to challenge their laws?
What do you mean Holder wants fair elections? The constitution names one day for voting, one!
NO EARLY VOTING
DISENFRANCHISE THE PARASITE CLASS BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY
If the parasites only voted ONCE it would be sufficient
Good Lord - with that kind of irrelevant hyperbole - this man will find himself elected to the Senate some day.
This interviewer was probably too mesmerized by this BS to point out nobody is taking away anyone's right to vote on Election Day or, three days before.
You'd think the head of the US Department of Jesters would know that....
I can't believe that the buffoon Holder actually said that, after he dissed Sarah Palin this last week.
VOTING IS NOT AN UNALIENABLE RIGHT. NOR IS IT A NATURAL RIGHT.
I think that it would be enumerated in the Declaration or in the Bill of Rights if was all that "Lamp" Holder said it is.
Holder needs to just shut up, before he embarrasses himself further with his ignorance.
I still cant figure out this early voting and voting for days and weeks on end. When I was a little one back in the Nixon>Ford days I can recall the one day at school when the gym class wss cancelled because it was full of the voting machines. Everybody got their arse out on election day from way early in the morning til decently past dinner time, not this big long process.
I was feeling real good about 0bozo getting beat by Romney, the Friday before the election, Romney & Kid Rock draw like 50,000 to a suburb called West Chester, meanwhile the next day 0bozo and Stevie Wonder cant even fill the UC Shoemaker Center where the basketball team plays.
I am feeling real good about 0bozo getting beat by Romney, the Sunday before the election I go to the Bengals game and and to a pub afterwards and enjoy a great win and celebration, leaving the pub about 8pm. My date and I are walking back to the parking garage and around the corner I see a HUGE line, i mean there must have been 200 people in the line and I think what the hades is going on and turns out it was the board of elections office and people were voting and from the appearance of the people in line, they WERE’NT VOTING ROMNEY. It was at that moment I said Romney is going to lose and it wont even be a race, the fix is in.
Who were these people that they were voting at 8pm on a sunday night in Cincinnati where the streets roll up at sunset?
A complete embarrassment as the head of the DOJ and as man, and should not ever be able to practice law anywhere in the USA.
Do you see dead people?
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