Election Law Expert: Brunner is "Absolutely Right"

Glad to see this presented by the Columbus Dispatch with such clarity -- this full frontal attack by the GOP on the election law they wrote and pushed through the General Assembly is completely groundless, as confirmed by leading election law expert Prof. Daniel Tokaji:

In trying to close a brief window that will allow simultaneous voter registration and absentee voting, Ohio Republicans are engaging in "blatant voter suppression," a leading legal expert on voting said yesterday.

"This is exactly what the law says and what it allows," said Daniel Tokaji, a professor at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. "If the Republicans are trying to close the window, they would be violating the law they wrote."

Tokaji, a frequent critic of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, said she is "absolutely right on this one. ... It could be the best thing she's done in office."

ORP Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine (R) was the principal proponent of the law that created the window for simultaneous registration and submitting of absentee ballots, but that isn't stopping him from leading the spurious charge against it. The law has been in effect since the 2006 primary election, with no compaints from any quarter, but now DeWine shrieks that it's an "illegal loophole" and threatens to file a lawsuit. Utter nonsense.