Ohio Secretary of State - 2008 Registration and Voting Controversy

2008 Registration and Voting Controversy

Ohio election law created a five-day window (from September 30, 2008, through October 6, 2008) during which a voter may both register to vote and simultaneously cast an absentee ballot. On August 13, 2008, the Secretary of State issued Directive 2008-63, which directed county boards of elections to develop procedures for same-day registration and the issuance of absentee ballots at the time of registration. Several lawsuits were filed in conjunction with this Directive. The first suit was an original mandamus action against the Secretary filed on September 12, 2008, in the Ohio Supreme Court that challenged Directive 2008-63. See State ex rel. Colvin v. Brunner, No. 2008-1813. This was followed by an action brought by a different group of plaintiffs in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. See Project Vote v. Madison County Bd. of Elections, No. 1:08-cv-2266. That suit sought named the Madison County Board of Elections as a defendant because it had indicated that it would not enforce Directive 2008-63 to allow same-day registration and absentee balloting. The third case was filed in the Southern District of Ohio on September 26, 2008, by the Ohio Republican Party and Larry Wolpert against the Secretary of State. No. 08-00913. In a decision dated on September 30, 2008, in Appeal Nos. 08-4242, 08-4243, and 08-4251, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision effectively rejecting the challenges to Directive 2008-63 and denying injunctive relief. The Court of Appeals reportedly issued an en banc Order in Case No. 08-4322, Ohio Republican Party v. Jennifer Brunner, on October 14, 2008, but the decision cannot be accessed from the court's website until October 15, 2008.