Republicans
in Ohio is on a real rampage, and in fact denying citizens their right to vote
and be heard. This is another ridiculous and extreme act by the Republicans.
Ohio
has introduced a new tactic in their broader attempts to make it even harder
for Democratic voters to get to the polls this year. Early voting stations in
Ohio’s heavily Democratic counties will only be open between 8 am and 5 pm,
while Republican counties have expanded their hours to allow voting on nights
and weekends.
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| Ohio 2010 Political Map |
This
rule is the latest in a broader attack on voting rights in Ohio, which often
comes down to a tiny margin of votes.
Mitt
Romney falsely claims Obama’s lawsuit is meant to take away voting rights from
military families, when in fact he is simply trying to restore voting rights to
all Ohio residents. Early voting was introduced to mitigate Ohio’s notoriously
chaotic elections, in which thousands of votes are tossed due to clerical
errors and bureaucratic confusion.
Starting
October 1st, voters in Democrat-leaning urban centers including Cleveland,
Columbus, Akron and Toledo will now only be allowed to vote between 8 am and 5
pm on weekdays, when the majority of people are at work.
The
Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted stepped in to deny expanded hours in
these counties. But Republican-heavy
counties have actually expanded early voting hours on nights and weekends, when
most people have time to go to the polls.
We
all pay taxes in this country some way or another, so can we all be heard
equally in this country?
According to the
Board of Elections,
82% of early voters in Franklin County voted early on nights or weekends, which
Republicans have curtailed. The number who voted on nights or weekends was
nearly 50% in Cuyahoga County.
This
is only a realistic sign that Republicans are trying to do whatever they can to
disenfranchise voters of their right to vote and be heard. They are trying to win
this election anyway possible, and claim that the people were on their side,
they know how important these swing states are. So they are trying every trick
in their playbook to win this election. This is going to be far worst than the
2000 presidential election.
