A federal judge ruled that the Ohio legislature’s restrictions on early voting violate the U.S. Constitution and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Senate Bill 238 eliminated the “Golden Week” — which allowed citizens to register to vote and cast an absentee ballot at the same time — and changed the early voting period from 35 to 28 days, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
“SB 238 imposes a modest, as well as a disproportionate, burden on African Americans’ right to vote,” Judge Michael H. Watson wrote, according to the Dispatch. “The court finds that SB 238 results in less opportunity for African-Americans to participate in the political process than other voters.”
He continued, “SB 238 interacts with the historical and social conditions facing African-Americans in Ohio to reduce their opportunity to participate in Ohio’s political process relative to other groups of voters.”
Watson’s decision sides with the Ohio Democrats, and the state’s Democratic Party, against the state’s claim that the changes were too small to inhibit voting rights. Watson was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush.
