Judge Blocks Unequal Early Voting Rules in Ohio

Can't allow military and overseas voters extra days to vote early and not others

The Obama campaign won another victory in Ohio Friday, when a federal appeals court backed a trial judge's decision to block a measure that restricted early voting in the swing state.

The Republican-backed measure allowed military and overseas voters to cast early in-person ballots until the day before the Nov. 5 elections but ended early voting for other Ohioans on Nov. 2.

The Obama campaign and others who challenged the law argued that it disproportionately affected minority and working class residents. In August, U.S. District Judge Peter Economus blocked the measure, saying that all Ohioans have a constitutionally protected right to participate in the 2012 election on an equal basis. The judge's order restored in-person early voting to all Ohio voters up to the day before the election.