A federal court has struck down restrictions in Ohio’s House Bill 458 that made it a crime for all but a handful of family members to assist voters with disabilities in casting absentee ballots.
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio, and law firm Covington & Burling had challenged the restrictions on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ohio and individual voter Jennifer Kucera.
The groups successfully sought summary judgment in this case, League of Women Voters of Ohio v. LaRose.
HB 458, which became effective in April 2023, made it a felony for anyone who is not an election official or mail carrier to possess or return the absentee ballot of a voter with a disability, unless the person assisting that voter falls within a list of statutorily enumerated relatives.
Many voters with disabilities who are unable to travel to their polling place are also unable to access their mailbox or a dropbox. Not all of these voters have an “approved” relative to mail or drop off their ballot for them, let alone one who is willing and able to assist the voter. Yet HB 458 prohibited such voters with disabilities from turning to other trusted people in their lives to assist them, including their professional caregivers, their neighbors, and even their own grandchildren.
The court ruled late yesterday that Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act allows voters with disabilities to “select a person of their choice to assist them with voting,” including the return of the voter’s absentee ballot.