Federal Judge Strikes Down Voter Registration Restrictions in HB3

This afternoon in Cleveland, U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen O'Malley issued a preliminary injunction against certain provisions of the new so-called "election reform" law (House Bill 3) that would have severely restricted voter registration drives. The judge's order, just in time for Labor Day weekend when large scale voter registration activities traditionally take place, strikes down provisions that would have required persons collecting voter registration forms for pay to take an online course, to disclose the organization for which they are working, and to personally turn in the forms they collect within a specified time limit or face felony criminal charges.

A lawyer for Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R-Cincinnati) said that the order would not be appealed, despite the fact that a spokesman for Blackwell had previously called the lawsuit "frivolous."