Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch/AP
On Monday, a federal court struck down restrictions on an Ohio law that made it a felony for a non-family member to help return a disabled person’s absentee ballot to a mailbox or dropbox. Other parts of the law in question HB 458, like eliminating an early-voting day and more voter ID restrictions, still remain in practice.
Many disabled people vote via absentee ballot. It can be challenging to commute to in-person voting sites, which may not be accessible.
League of Women Voters of Ohio and individual voter Jennifer Kucera, who has spinal muscular atrophy, brought the case forward, and they were represented by the ACLU, ACLU of Ohio, and the law firm Covington & Burling.
Last December, Kucera said that “under the current laws, I am not allowed to complete my civic duty of voting if for any reason my mom is unable to help me vote, even though my caregivers would be available to help me.”
The Northern District Court of Ohio granted a summary judgment late yesterday, citing Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act, which permits disabled voters to have assistance in voting from a preferred person.
“In any event, the clear violation of a federally guaranteed voting right in this case outweighs any harm State Defendants and Intervenors may suffer,” Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan wrote in her decision.
In a press release, ACLU of Ohio legal director Freda Levenson said that “this is a win for democracy” and “is the correct reading of the Voting Rights Act and a validating decision for Ohio voters.”
