Federal judge tosses Ohio voting restrictions on voters with disabilities

CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal judge has struck down part of Ohio’s sweeping 2023 election law, which voting rights groups said restricted people from helping voters with disabilities cast absentee ballots.

Voting advocates argued that the Republican-backed law went too far by prohibiting anyone but a few qualifying family members from helping people with disabilities deliver their ballots, excluding potential helpers such as professional caregivers, roommates, in-laws and grandchildren.

They said the decision issued Monday by a U.S. District Court judge in Cleveland was a victory for democracy and voters.

“We are thrilled that the court ordered the state to stop denying Ohioans with disabilities the opportunity to cast their ballots via assistance from a trusted person of their choice. This is the correct reading of the Voting Rights Act and a validating decision for Ohio voters,” said Freda Levenson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

The League of Women Voters of Ohio and voter Jennifer Kucera, who was born with a form of muscular dystrophy, filed a lawsuit in December under the Americans with Disabilities Act against the state’s Republican secretary of state, Frank LaRose.

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