Labor Union Blog

The U.S. Supreme Court today vacated a temporary restraining order sought by Ohio Republicans that would have required Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to update the state’s voter registration database before Election Day. The decision means thousands of voters who might support worker-friendly candidates will be allowed to vote without being challenged on Election Day. Had the politically motivated lawsuit, which included the restraining order, been allowed to proceed, some 200,000 eligible Ohio voters could have been forced to use provisional ballots.

The Ohio Republican Party filed suit against Brunner, claiming she should be required under federal law to match new voter registrations against certain state databases. After a federal circuit court ruled in the Republicans’ favor, Brunner appealed to the high court, saying simple errors such as data entry mistakes and unnecessary software codes could lead to erroneous mismatches and deny eligible voters the right to vote.