Voter Suppression

Obama Campaign Challenging Jon Husted’s Hubris

According to the Obama campaign, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted doesn't actually have the authority to arbitrarily override the lower court's ruling on early-voting rights, and they have filed a motion asking a federal court to enforce the lower court's ruling

In its filing Wednesday, the Obama campaign pointed out that Ohio had not sought an actual stay of Economus’ decision, and instead “appears to believe it can issue [a stay] on its own authority.” The Obama campaign said Husted’s memo does not “identify the legal basis for this extraordinary action,” and argued that the memo conflicts with a well-established principle that orders based on a court decision are to be respected until an appeals court rules on the matter.

“Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court act as appropriate and necessary to enforce its Order issued August 31, 2012,” lawyer Donald J. McTigue writes in the motion.

Jon Husted did not actually obtain a stay on the lower court's ruling, and Husted does not have the authority to impose his will absent a stay. He'll have to obtain one or abide by the lower court's ruling.

Or he can pull a Rick Scott and decide the following the law is for schmucks. Either way, he's embarrassing Ohio.

I'm sure there was a time when Republicans concerned themselves with the rule of law even when it didn't fit their agenda, but I can't recall when that was.

(h/t Kush Arora Attorney at Law)