Jeffrey Rosen explains the Supreme Court’s ruling on early voting in Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court delayed the start of early voting in Ohio. What does it mean for the 2014 elections and early voting in other states? Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, breaks down the ruling on PRI’s The Takeaway.
“There’s no question that the Justices were sharply divided about whether the lower court was correct, basically, to require this more generous early voting known as the ‘Golden Week,’ where you can register and vote on the same day, rather than to have a more restricted approach,” Rosen said.
“But the constitutional and statutory stakes are huge and really interesting,” he went on. “Remember, this comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court striking down a huge portion of the Voting Rights Act last year.
“In this case, the judge—rather than relying on Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which the Supreme Court had gutted—resurrected Section 2 of the Act, which allows minorities to elect representatives of their choice. He said the fact that Ohio had once given more generous voting rules meant that it couldn’t take them away.”
Listen to the full discussion.
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