Tagged: Secretary of State Jon Husted

A state hearing officer is recommending two Democrats be removed from the Montgomery County Board of Elections after they had moved to create extra voting hours on the weekends.

Secretary of State Jon Husted initially suspended Thomas Ritchie Sr. and Dennis Lieberman from their positions on the Board of Elections, then temporarily lifted his suspension last week so the board could continue its work.

Husted, a Republican, has ordered election boards in Ohio's 88 counties to have the same early in-person voting hours on weekdays and have no hours on weekends.

The rules surrounding Ohio’s Early voting has been front and center this week, after two Democratic Montgomery County Elections officials were suspended after they violated the directorate by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted that all Ohio’s 88 counties follow the same voting hours, with no mention of weekend hours.

Republicans say the extended hours creates problems for some Board of Elections in the state. Democrats say this will disenfranchise voters and could cause long lines at the polls.

There’s no word yet on what will happen to the two Democratic members of the Montgomery County Board of Elections who faced a hearing at the Ohio Secretary of State’s office this morning. Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles has the latest in the fight to get in person, early voting on the weekends.