Voting rights advocates ask federal judge to toss Ohio voting restrictions they say violate ADA

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Voting rights advocates asked a federal judge on Friday to strike down restrictions contained in Ohio’s sweeping 2023 election law that they say restrict a host of trusted individuals from helping voters with disabilities cast absentee ballots.

The motion for summary judgment came in a lawsuit filed in December under the Americans with Disabilities Act by the League of Women Voters of Ohio and voter Jennifer Kucera, who was born with a form of muscular dystrophy, against Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Ohio, American Civil Liberties Union and law firm of Covington & Burling.

The filing in the U.S. District Court in Cleveland argues that the law prohibits all but a short list of qualifying family members from helping those with disabilities deliver their ballots, excluding potential helpers such as professional caregivers, roommates, in-laws and grandchildren.

“These arbitrary restrictions that burden the right to vote of Ohioans with disabilities are undemocratic, cruel, and in violation of several federal laws including the Voting Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement. “Yet the state insists, and has been fighting hard, to maintain this unlawful burden. We’re hopeful that the federal court will soon rule to remedy this disgrace.”

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