On Tuesday, December 19, The League of Women Voters of Ohio and an individual disabled voter filed a federal lawsuit against the state's House Bill 458. The bill, which passed in April 2023, mandated that only election officials, mail carriers, and "statutorily enumerated relatives" can possess or return the absentee vote of a disabled person.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Ohio, and the Covington & Burling law firm are representing the plaintiffs. The lawsuit alleges that the restrictions imposed on who could return the absentee vote of a disabled person violates Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Voting Rights Act.
The lawsuit alleges that Ohio's voter assistance restriction laws violate two federal statutes
House Bill 458, an Ohio revised Election Code provision that only recently passed in April 2023, is under massive scrutiny. According to the law, it is a felony offense if a person in possession of or returning the absentee ballot of a disabled person is not a mailman, election official, or a relative chosen from the list of statutorily enumerated relatives.
The bill prohibits the possession and return of absentee ballots from adult grandchildren, domestic partners, cousins, roommates, neighbors, friends, nursing home staff members, or even professional caregivers of the disabled person. If someone outside the defined boundaries returns an absentee ballot of the disabled person, they can be criminally prosecuted. The lawsuit alleges:
"Ohioans with disabilities cannot always receive the help they need from HB 458’s circumscribed list of specific family members."
The lawsuit says that disabled citizens may not necessarily stay with the direct family as mandated by HB458 and have to undergo "extreme burdens" just to cast a vote. It further alleges that the law criminalizes the work of Voter assistance organizations like the plaintiff, League of Women Voters of Ohio, from helping those who need help casting a vote.
The lawsuit claims that HB458 violates two federal statutes. Firstly, it alleges that the law broke Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 of the United States Constitution, which, as quoted by the lawsuit, states:
"Any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voter’s choice, other than the voter’s employer or agent of that employer or officer or agent of the voter’s union."
The lawsuit alleges that disabled Ohioans were denied the right to vote with the help of the person of their choice, hence violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The lawsuit also alleges a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which, as stated by the lawsuit, mandates:
"[N]o qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity."
The lawsuit alleges the violation of the ADA's Title II by denying disabled citizens of the state the benefits of absentee voting. The lawsuit also points out the alleged vagueness, unclearness, and standardlessness of the criminal penalties resulting from violating Assistance Restrictions.
Miss Jennifer Kucera, an Ohio voter, is named alongside the League of Women Voters of Ohio in the lawsuit. Miss Kucera has muscular dystrophy and lives with the help of professional caregivers. Due to transport difficulties, she could not even take her caregiver's help in casting her absentee ballot and had to rely on her old mother with mobility issues.
"The only way I can vote under existing laws is by having my 75-year-old mom, who has mobility issues of her own, drive all the way to my apartment and assist me," Miss Kucera said.
"Under the current laws, I am not allowed to complete my civic duty of voting if for any reason my mom is unable to help me vote, even though my caregivers would be available to help me. This must change!" she added.
Freda Levenson, legal director at the ACLU of Ohio, called HB458 a "cruel and abhorrent provision" and claimed that the law "disenfranchises many Ohioans with disabilities."
The lawsuit requests that the court completely strike off voter restrictions and ensure that people beyond those mentioned in HB458 can assist the physically disabled in casting absentee ballots.