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September 29, 2014 7:14 pm - NewsBehavingBadly.com

The Court voted to stop early voting this week.

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The Supreme Court voted 5-4 along ideological lines to put on hold a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Peter Economus earlier in September that required the Ohio secretary of state to restore early voting hours cut by a new state law this year.

The stay will be in effect until state officials file an appeal and the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to hear the case, the court said.

If it does, it would not be before this year’s election. The case would likely be argued and decided in the top court’s coming term, which begins October 6 and ends in June 2015.

Ohio established its early voting period in 2005, following a 2004 general election in which some voters in urban areas were forced to wait up to 12 hours to cast a ballot.

In February, the majority Republican state legislature approved a bill that cut the early voting period to 28 days from 35 and Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted ordered other cuts in voting hours to make in-person voting uniform across the state.[su_csky_ad]

D.B. Hirsch
D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

45 responses to Supreme Court Votes 5-4 For Voter Suppression

  1. edmeyer_able September 29th, 2014 at 7:19 pm

    Just more proof that there is no racism in merica.

  2. Suzanne McFly September 29th, 2014 at 7:22 pm

    Roberts court continues to dismantle the slight gains we have made towards an equal society.

  3. tiredoftea September 29th, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    There are several voter laws being heard, or recently heard, in District Courts. N.C., WI, and this one in OH. will likely be combined and heard by SCOTUS. If they are being consistent (big IF!), they relied on the 2006 Purcell decision which stated, in part: “[c]ourt orders affecting elections, especially conflicting orders, can themselves result in voter confusion and consequent incentive to remain away from the polls. As an election draws closer, that risk will increase.”

    • mrsgunka September 29th, 2014 at 7:37 pm

      Time to impeach 5 Supreme’s!

  4. NW10 September 29th, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    This is why supporting Democrats is important. Keeping the Senate and White House will ensure that we can potentially get rid of some of the right wing jerks on the Court. If you don’t vote, you are a part of the problem.

  5. StoneyCurtisll September 29th, 2014 at 7:37 pm

    Standing in line up 12 hours to cast a vote is unacceptable…
    What I dont understand is why they would hold the election for as long as a week..
    That way there would be no long lines to discourage voters, and everyone would have a chance to vote even if they have to work.
    Right now where I live there is only a 13 hour window,(6am-7pm) to cast a ballot.

  6. KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker September 29th, 2014 at 7:37 pm

    Conservatives hate our democracy. Period!
    They only desire power and the unabated ability to rule over the land.

    • tiredoftea September 29th, 2014 at 7:43 pm

      No, they love democracy, they just want it only for themselves.

      • StoneyCurtisll September 29th, 2014 at 8:18 pm

        As long as there is a white majority..
        When the majority of the population are no longer white, but brown and black.
        This is their greatest fear.
        This is why so many republican controlled states are trying to suppress voters through vote ID laws and limited time to cast a ballot.

        • tiredoftea September 29th, 2014 at 9:38 pm

          It goes way back, it’s in their DNA!

  7. Red Eye Robot September 29th, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    Meanwhile the Ohio Democrat party honors Melowese Richardson Convicted of multiple counts of voter fraud http://tinyurl.com/q6vcswl

    • NW10 September 29th, 2014 at 7:39 pm

      Ooh, Breitbart link, how credible… NOT!

    • arc99 September 29th, 2014 at 7:42 pm

      there is no such thing as the “Democrat Party”

    • arc99 September 29th, 2014 at 7:49 pm

      filling in the blanks left by your lies of omission. by all indicators, the event at which this woman appeared was in no way a sanctioned Democratic party function. so you lie about the name of our party. and you lie about what they are and are not supporting.

      the bottom line is that the event in question was a rally to amend the Ohio state constitution. the amendment would allow online registration; maintain current identification options and expand them to include student identification; maintain the 35-day early voting period and forbid a ballot from being rejected due to poll worker error.

      so either explain exactly what it is in the above proposal you find so objectionable, or consider that since you care so little about voting rights, perhaps we should also restrict the exercise of 2nd amendment rights and designate only one day each month when you can buy a gun.

      http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/03/21/democrats-convicted-poll-worker-hero/6712981/

      Both parties jeer embrace of fraudulent voter

    • Anomaly 100 September 29th, 2014 at 8:04 pm

      Apples, meet oranges. We’re talking about early voting.

    • Chinese Democracy September 29th, 2014 at 8:09 pm

      Meanwhile Breitbart website can only come up with ONE person?

      WOW! No wonder conservatives are pushing to suppress early voting!

    • tracey marie September 29th, 2014 at 9:20 pm

      poor teabagger

    • William September 29th, 2014 at 11:26 pm

      Meanwhile the GOP Wi governor admits to voter fraud.

  8. Wayout September 29th, 2014 at 8:07 pm

    How is this voter suppression? The fact is the law affects EVERYONE in the WHOLE state. Every citizen is being treated equally in this case.

    • Obewon September 29th, 2014 at 8:18 pm

      Your GOP admits reducing voting hours & voter ID are to disenfranchise Dem voters. Here’s who Wayout voted for in PA: Republican Gov Corbett’s Ex-Staffers Traded Hardcore Porn In official Emails http://www.alan.com/2014/09/26/republican-govs-ex-staffers-traded-hardcore-porn-in-emails/ 2) Top Pennsylvania Republican Admits Voter ID Helped Suppress Obama Voters http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/07/17/2313571/top-pennsylvania-republican-admits-voter-id-helped-suppress-obama-voters/

      • NW10 September 29th, 2014 at 8:23 pm

        Ah Corbett. The same piece of shit who ignored the Penn State scandal as Pennsylvania AG so he could get elected Governor. It’s a good thing he’s about to finally be unemployed!

    • StoneyCurtisll September 29th, 2014 at 8:33 pm

      Last time I voted (2008), I hit the poll at 6:30am expecting to beat the crowd…
      The line was half way around the block just to get inside the church where the voting booths where..
      Once inside there where 6 different lines divided into alphabetical order..
      Buy the time I cast my ballot it took 2 hours..
      Thats 2 hours of lost wages, cost me just over 60 dollars to vote that day in lost wages..
      People that cant afford to lose 2 hours of wages just to cast a vote would decide to go to work..
      Many others would have seen the line and said fugg this..

      If you do not understand how limiting the time to cast a vote is voter suppression..
      I cant help you out..(you have deeper underlying issues I am not qualified to address)

      • fahvel September 30th, 2014 at 3:57 am

        your comment supports the repugs – money seems more important to you than being able to cast a vote for something in a place where you live – you’ve been suckered.

        • Carla Akins September 30th, 2014 at 4:07 am

          I think perhaps you misunderstood what he was say to ing.He was just noting that with a limited time frame to cast your vote, some voters would be deterred by a long line and just not patient enough to wait – noting that lost wages would be a major reason for a potential voter to give up and subsequently not cast their vote. Some cannot afford to give up any of their wages.

        • StoneyCurtisll September 30th, 2014 at 7:56 pm

          maybe you missed the part where I said I voted.

    • arc99 September 29th, 2014 at 8:51 pm

      as I mentioned before, when you agree to a policy where 2nd amendment rights to purchase a firearm can be exercised only one day each month, we will have something to discuss. such a law would also affect EVERYONE in the WHOLE state. every citizen would be treated equally.

      otherwise, the Ohio law is in fact voter suppression. minimizing turnout among groups most likely to vote Democratic is voter suppression. fascinating how you right wingers whine about your rights but don’t give a sh*t about anyone else’s.

      • mea_mark September 29th, 2014 at 9:08 pm

        While were at it let’s make it so they can only pick-up the gun at one location with only one person to process things for a whole state. Let’s see how they like the long lines then.

    • tracey marie September 29th, 2014 at 9:18 pm

      lol, because we all know that the working poor, middle class and the poor have flexible schedules and can take off of work anytime. Who needs to feed the kids

    • William September 29th, 2014 at 11:19 pm

      Why is the right afraid of increased opportunity to vote?

  9. Obewon September 29th, 2014 at 8:12 pm

    Today’s undemocratic repubs know their candidates and positions are so unpopular, the GOP loses when a majority of legally registered voters cast their ballots. The Supreme Court also voted 5-4 along ideological lines to put on hold vote counting in Florida anointing GWB & Cheney -the most corrupt admin in modern history.

  10. Bob Cronos September 29th, 2014 at 8:52 pm

    28 days to vote? A whole month? How in the heck is that voter suppression?

    • arc99 September 29th, 2014 at 8:55 pm

      same way that if there were only 28 days each year to purchase a firearm, it would not be infringement on 2nd amendment rights. clear now?

    • tracey marie September 29th, 2014 at 9:17 pm

      rotflmao, use ypur brain not your mouth

    • StoneyCurtisll September 29th, 2014 at 9:17 pm

      Derp.

  11. Foundryman September 29th, 2014 at 9:49 pm

    Republicans are mad that people will wait in line for 12 hours to vote against them so they set out to make sure any remedy to cut that wait time is repealed, it was one of the very first pieces of legislation they enacted. All hail the constitution righties, except for people who vote against you…

  12. William September 29th, 2014 at 11:31 pm

    Republicans, proving once again that the system already works.

  13. juicyfruityyy September 30th, 2014 at 1:21 am

    Really, need to protest, against this unjust, SCOTUS.

  14. Red Eye Robot September 30th, 2014 at 1:25 am

    HARTFORD >> State Rep. Christina “Tita” Ayala, D-Bridgeport, was arrested Friday on 19 voting fraud charges. Christina Ayala was charged with eight counts of fraudulent voting, 10 counts of primary or enrollment violations and one count of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

    • FanOfTravel September 30th, 2014 at 10:13 am

      Red eye robot…so amusing that if you google this bogus fairy tale,the only sites commenting are far,far right-wing nut jobs….not even the world nut daily or the dailymail mentioned it

      • raincheck September 30th, 2014 at 10:15 am

        Now we know where this thing gets it’s information…

  15. Skydog2 September 30th, 2014 at 3:45 am

    “Ohio had no early voting of any kind until 2006. The system was simple: Vote on Election Day or vote absentee if you had a valid excuse out of a list about ten possible reasons for doing so. No one complained until a George Soros-backed group attempted to impose an early-voting and redisctricting regime on the state through the initiative process. The “Reform Ohio Now” initiatives went down by 2-1 margins.”

  16. Skydog2 September 30th, 2014 at 3:46 am

    “During the 41 years after the Voting Rights Act’s passage, no court ruled that Ohio’s election system violated. Now, according to activist judge and Clinton appointee Economus, having 28 days of early voting instead of 35 does. Don’t try to make any sense of that, because it makes none.”

    • arc99 September 30th, 2014 at 11:19 am

      No worries. I gave up years ago trying to make sense of the fact that right wingers only complain about “activist judges” when they lose in court.

  17. fahvel September 30th, 2014 at 3:52 am

    how the hell is the right to vote a supreme court issue???? We vote here on the weekend and then, if necessary, the next weekend – sort of allowing and encouraging the citizens to vote – democracy is a faux word in the usa.