Thread by @DavidPepper

THREAD -- more excerpts from the district court decision calling unconstitutional LaRose's ban on off-site drop boxes and ballot delivery.

Summary: it's absolutely brutal:

1/

"On Oct. 2, the Ohio Court of Appeals held that Ohio law does not require that voters who wish to deliver their completed ballots to the board of elections deliver the ballots to the board office itself, and that off-site drop boxes are therefore permissible...."

2/

"...Secretary LaRose has nevertheless chosen to keep in place Directive 2020-16, which he issued August 12....The Court has given the Secretary every opportunity to address the problem identified at the September 23 hearing, and he has been unwilling or unable to do so...."

3/

"...Because the Secretary continues to prohibit certain off-site ballot collection, which is not prohibited under state law, the Court now considers Plaintiffs’ claim that this prohibition is unconstitutional and must be enjoined...."

4/

"....The Secretary does nothing to refute Plaintiffs’ proof—which the Court credits—that the lines in certain counties almost certainly will be long enough that some voters likely will walk away from the chaos and lose their vote...."

5/

"...[LaRose] assumes all Plaintiffs and Ohio voters have access to a car, and it dismisses the risks of a long trip on public transportation during a pandemic...."

6/

"....All three courts to have considered the matter have rejected the Secretary’s interpretation of R.C. 3509.05. It is now settled law that off-site drop boxes are neither prohibited nor compelled in Ohio..."

7/

"...Plaintiffs introduced testimony that approximately 15% of Cincinnati and Cleveland’s voting population (who are primarily poor and person of color), will have to travel more than 90 minutes to and from their single drop box location...."

8/

".... the Court finds that the combination of the Directive limiting counties to a single drop box location and the disproportionate effect it has on people of color living in larger counties and cities imposes a significant burden on Plaintiffs’ fundamental right to vote..."

9/

And hear is where LaRose finds himself hoisted on his own petard: "The Secretary’s justifications for the Directive are further undercut by his own recent public statements that his preference was for multiple drop boxes, assuming they were permitted under the law ..."

10/

"...The Secretary is enjoined from enforcing that portion of Directive 2020-16 that prohibits a county board of elections from installing a secure drop box at a location other than the board of elections office, and the Secretary..."

11/

"...is also enjoined from prohibiting a board from deploying its staff for off-site ballot delivery. Any board that votes to allow off-site drop boxes and/or ballot collection should adhere to the safety and security procedures prescribed by the [] Directive 2020-22..."

12/

"...The Court will not issue a stay. As stated above, we are in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century coupled with reasonable concern over the ability of the U.S.P.S. to handle what will undoubtedly be the largest number of absentee voters in Ohio’s history..."

13/

"...The Secretary has not advanced any legitimate reason to prohibit a county board of elections from utilizing off-site drop boxes and/or off-site delivery of ballots to staff. Voting began October 6, the Cuyahoga County board voted to begin collecting ballots..."

14/

"...at public libraries on October 13, other county boards may now vote to implement plans for off-site collection, and it is time for this litigation to end."

BOOM!