Attorney General’s self-imposed deadline for action by Court of Appeals passed yesterday
LANSING – Yesterday, August 30, marked Attorney General Bill Schuette’s self-imposed deadline for the Court of Appeals to take action on his motion to uphold the Republican law banning straight-ticket voting. Schuette’s deadline passed without any action from the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Four different federal judges have already ruled against Schuette’s effort to eliminate straight-ticket voting.
“With just over two months to go until Election Day, we need our Attorney General and Secretary of State focused 100 percent on making it easier to vote, not harder,” said Ron Bieber, President of the Michigan AFL-CIO. “Now that Schuette’s own self-imposed deadline for action by the Court of Appeals on straight-ticket voting has come and gone, it’s time for him and Ruth Johnson to abandon this partisan power grab, and get on with the business of preparing for the November election. The last thing we need are more barriers to voting.”
In his August 18 filing, Schuette demanded a response from the full U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by August 30, arguing that the partisan portion of the ballot impacted by the lawsuit would start being processed on that date, after certification by canvassers. According to Schuette’s self-imposed deadline, there is now insufficient time to implement the law.
Repealing straight-ticket voting will create longer lines at polling places across the state, making it harder for senior citizens and African Americans to vote.
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