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 A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals upheld a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Peter
Economus earlier this month that reinstated early in-person voting
hours on multiple Sundays and weekday evenings.
The ruling came after an appeal by state attorneys seeking uniform
voting hours for all 88 counties argued that the increased cost and
chance of fraud outweighed the benefit of extended voting periods.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, said he will appeal and ask for
review of the decision from the full appellate court.
"Whether we vote 35 or 28 days, by mail or in person this November,
elected officials and not federal judges should be making Ohio law,"
Husted said in a statement.
 The case, originally brought by the Ohio branch of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and a
number of African-American churches, sought to provide after-work
voting hours and restore the so-called golden week, the period when
residents can register and cast ballots on the same day.
Ohio established the early-voting period in 2005 in response to some
voters in urban areas waiting up to 12 hours to vote in the 2004
general election. The early-voting period was rolled back in
February when a bill passed by a majority-Republican legislature cut
early voting to 28 days from 35.
In a 46-page decision, the judges agreed with civil rights groups
that cutting the early-voting hours would suppress turnout by
minorities and the poor.
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"The fact that a practice or law eliminates voting opportunities
that used to exist under prior law that African Americans
disproportionately used is therefore relevant to an assessment of
whether, under the current system, African Americans have an equal
opportunity to participate in the political process as compared to
other voters," the judges said.
(Reporting by Kim Palmer; Editing by Fiona Ortiz, Eric Beech and
Sandra Maler)
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