Election 2012

Labor Day marks the traditional beginning of campaign season. But the campaigns have been running strong for weeks in Ohio – and have been fueled by ads that critics are calling factually faulty at best, and outright lies at worst. Statehouse correspondent Karen Kasler reports on what some see as “bad ads”.

A federal judge said new laws, passed by Ohio’s Republican legislature, that wiped out early in person voting at boards of elections the weekend before Election Day are unconstitutional.  It’s good news for Democrats and the Obama campaign who’ve been fighting to restore the weekend of early in person weekend voting.  They point out 93,000 Ohioans voted on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before the Presidential election in 2008.

A federal judge in Ohio is giving all voters in the swing state the option of casting their ballot in person during the three days before Election Day.

Judge Peter Economus on Friday issued a preliminary injunction granting the request from President Barack Obama's campaign that targets a state law that cuts off early voting for most residents on the Friday evening before a Tuesday election.

The law exempts military personnel and Ohioans living overseas.

Emily McCord speaks to NPR's Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving. He's been covering the convention in Tampa, Florida and says Ohio is getting attention like no other state from the GOP. Elving tells McCord that Ohio's improving economy has implications for the upcoming election and that he's seen consistent enthusiasm from the delegates.

A redistricting amendment on Ohio's fall ballot has the backing of some of Ohio's top lawyers and legal scholars.

Voters First, the committee backing the November issue, released an open letter Thursday signed by a dozen Ohio lawyers, including a former state bar association president.

Signers stand behind the amendment's legal framework, which the Ohio Bar Association has opposed.