Court nixes Ohio ballot applications arriving by fax, email

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Requesting an absentee ballot by fax or email remains off limits in Ohio following a court decision that delivered at least a temporary victory to President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in a critical battleground state.

A three-judge panel of Ohio’s 10th District Court of Appeals ruled late Tuesday that a trial judge’s order requiring Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose to allow the applications by fax or email could burden county election boards and pose a security risk to the fall presidential election.

The court made its decision “because of the unrebutted, compelling evidence of harm to third parties and the great public interest in preserving the security of Ohio’s 2020 general election.”

The decision returns the case, brought by the Ohio Democratic Party and voting rights groups, to Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Stephen McIntosh’s court, where a trial could proceed. An appeal is also possible.

The appellate court said Democrats showed only that Ohio election law allows electronic submissions, not that they must be required.

In a statement, Democratic Chairman David Pepper said that confirmed the party’s contention “all along” that LaRose is free to allow electronic submissions if he wants to.

“For two years now, it’s been Frank LaRose himself, not Ohio law, prohibiting this easy way for voters to ask for absentee ballots,” he said. “Yesterday’s decision shows he’s been wrong the entire time. He can now finally stop pretending the law is an obstacle here and start doing wha... (Read more)

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