COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Voting rights advocates asked a federal judge Friday to lift restrictions in Ohio’s sweeping 2023 election law that they say prevents many trusted individuals from helping voters with disabilities when casting ballots.
The motion for summary judgment came in a lawsuit filed in December under the Americans with Disabilities Act by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and voter Jennifer Kucera, who was born with a form of muscular dystrophy, against the Republican secretary of state. Ohio State Department, Frank LaRose. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Ohio, the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Covington & Burling.
The filing in U.S. District Court in Cleveland says the law bans all but a short list of eligible family members from helping people with disabilities cast their ballots, excluding potential helpers such as professional caregivers, household members, in-laws and grandchildren .
“These arbitrary restrictions that hinder the voting rights of Ohioans with disabilities are undemocratic, cruel, and violate several federal laws, including the Voting Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Freda Levenson, legal director of the ACLU of Ohio . said in a statement: “Yet the state insists, and has fought hard, to maintain this unlawful burden. We are hopeful that the federal court will quickly issue a ruling to remedy this disgrace.”
The law, which went into effect in April 2023, makes it a criminal offense for anyone who is not an election official or postal worker to possess or return the ballot of a voter with a disability, unless the person assisting him or her is within a prescribed period falls. list of close relatives.
Republicans who advanced the bill argued that its provisions were intended to protect election integrity and restore voter confidence at a time of deep doubt.
Voting rights advocates say many voters with disabilities cannot travel to their polling place and many do not have access to their mailbox or ballot box.
Kucera said Ohio’s absentee or mail-in voting program is not designed for people with mobility issues like hers.
“This lawsuit fights back against a society that for most of its history has sought to crush the voices, thoughts and spirits of its disabled residents,” she said in a statement. “All I ever wanted was to have the same opportunities as people without disabilities.” Nearly 28% of adults in Ohio have a disability.
Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, called the restrictions unreasonable. Her organization argues that Ohio has provided no evidence that allowing voters with disabilities to choose someone off the state’s rolls to help them vote would fundamentally change Ohio’s absentee voting program.
“Making it a crime to help your grandparent or household member exercise their right to vote is fundamentally wrong,” she said in a statement.
