Two Democratic voting officials in Ohio may lose their jobs tomorrow after pushing to extend early voting hours against the wishes of Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted.
Two weeks ago, Husted standardized weekday early voting hours throughout the state, but left the ban on weekend voting intact. Montgomery county election officials Thomas Ritchie Sr. and Dennis Lieberman voted to extend voting hours to the weekend in their county, as was previously allowed since 2008, under a bill written by Husted himself. Husted will decide tomorrow whether or not to fire the two officials.
"It's as I explained to my children, I can get another job but I can't get another conscience," Lieberman said. "The right thing to do here is to have early voting, and it's been the right thing since 2008. I'm not going to change my opinion just because I was told to."
Asked if he was prepared to be fired for standing up for early voting rights, Ritchie agreed: "Doing the right thing is not easy, but in 2008 we had 28,732 people participate in early vote here in Montgomery County, and all we were attempting to do is give the voters the right to vote."
Early voting has been a hot topic in Ohio, as Republicans push to limit voting hours to weekdays. Democrats and voter's rights advocates claiming the move will disenfranchise minority voters, as many African-American churches run voting drives on weekends.
President Barack Obama won Montgomery County by 52 percent in 2008; 52 percent of the early voters Ritchie referred to were African-American and a third of them were cast on weekends.
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This is what i call stealing an election.Everyone should get the same amount of time to vote,same amount of days,straight across the board.No matter where you stay,or the color of your skin.These two democrats are heros if they get fired,for trying to make a flawed voting system fair.This should not be allowed to happen.
I see a federal lawsuit brewing here or actions coming soon from the Department of Justice which I believe are long overdue. These guys are brave men who deserve recognition by the public for being servants of the people. Our whole voting system is better when all people vote in elections who possibly can. Its not so important which side wins because if we have all the people that can vote going to the polls the system is stronger. The more people who vote the better results and better decisions get made for the public good and the general welfare of our nation.
Rex, I totally agree with you. My problem is why did the DOJ take so long to get involved and what are the ethics of the State judge who allowed this transgression to continue? I have always had a very high regard for the State of Ohio, but, I may well need to totally remove its' government and legal system from that, or any, respect.
The Republicans efforts to suppress the vote in Ohio & many other states is not only designed to steal this election, it will destroy our democracy. If they are allowed to do that this country will become a country of lords & serfs. This is not just a fight for the DOJ, this concerns everyone in the world who calls themselves an American. But I have faith in the American people. The outrage may be slow to build, but it will be forthcoming. It's unbelievable that things like this is happening in this country in the 21st century.
And to think, All of the Servicemen and Women who sacrificed THEIR live's for OUR Freedom's and Right's and issue's like this take place. What a Sacrifice, NO a Damn slap in the Face.
When the Republican Secretary of State of Ohio fires these election officials. The Republicans are destroying more jobs. And when they destroy jobs, they're destroying people's lives.