JURIST - Paper Chase: Ohio voter ID law case settled

[JURIST] Ohio absentee voters must continue to show proof of ID when applying for an absentee ballot, but absentee ballots already obtained without ID will still be counted after a settlement [PDF text] was reached Wednesday between the state and groups opposed to Ohio's voter ID law [Ohio SOS backgrounder]. The settlement, reached in a federal lawsuit [PDF complaint] challenging the Ohio law, also allows voters who go to the polls in person next week to provide Social Security numbers, ID cards from county or local governments and university IDs instead of government-issued identification cards.

A federal appeals court on Sunday stayed [order, PDF; opinion, PDF; JURIST report] a lower court order [JURIST report] that would have temporarily suspended Ohio's voter ID law. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [court website] granted Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro's request for a stay in the case, effectively overruling the district court's temporary restraining order [PDF text]. Wednesday's settlement means the parties will not appear before US District Judge Algenon Marbley to determine whether people voting in Tuesday's election must show ID; last week's decision applied only to absentee ballots. AP has more. The Columbus Dispatch has local coverage.

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