Secretary of State Jon Husted just released a new order putting Ohio's voting rules more closely in line with an earlier judge's ruling:
Secretary of State Jon Husted on Tuesday directed poll workers to count all so-called "right church, wrong pew" ballots. Those are ballots cast by voters who show up at the correct polling place but are erroneously directed to vote in the wrong precinct.
U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley noted in his August order that this issue has become an increasing problem as the number of multi-precinct locations grows, particularly in urban areas. Poll workers gave more than 3,300 wrong precinct provisional ballots to voters last year.
In other election news, a judge has set a date for a hearing for the two fired county election board members:
Unjustly fired Montgomery County Elections Board members Dennis Lieberman and Tom Ritchie Sr. will get their day in court after a federal judge set an evidentiary hearing in their "wrongful termination" lawsuit against Secretary of State Jon Husted.
"We are pleased with the judge's decision today to set a hearing on our request for an injunction. We hope we can return at some point to our jobs serving the great people of Montgomery County," Lieberman said. "Tom and I together have almost 28 years on the board and these next two months are crucial for making sure our voters receive the attention and service they deserve."
