NEW YORK – Today, U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus ruled that Ohio voters will be allowed to vote in person the weekend before Election Day.

The following is a statement from ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson:

“This is a huge step toward restoring the voting rights of all of Ohioans, especially black and low-income voters who have a harder time getting to the polls during business hours. But today’s ruling doesn’t go far enough to overturn Secretary of State John Husted’s decision to keep Ohioans from the polls on all weekends during the early voting period that begins October 2nd. As the 2008 election showed, Ohio’s voters take full advantage of expanded access to the polls, and we will continue to fight for that.”

More than 66,000 ColorOfChange members have signed a petition, calling on Husted to stop stifling Ohio voters and to reinstate weekend early voting hours this election season. Husted previously supported limiting early voting in racially diverse urban areas while allowing for extended hours in suburban and rural, Republican-leaning parts of the state. For the full petition, go to: https://colorofchange.org/campaign/tell-jon-husted-restore-ohios-early-voting-hours/original_email/

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With more than 800,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest Black online civil rights organization.