NAACP Responds to U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision to Overturn the Preliminary Injunction Against Ohio

Baltimore, MD — The NAACP released the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the preliminary injunction against Ohio. The injunction prohibited Ohio from eliminating one week of early voting, same day voter registration, and from decreasing early weekday voting hours.   This ruling allows the state of Ohio to limit opportunities to vote before Election Day.

From Marshall Taylor, Interim General Counsel, NAACP:

“The NAACP is extremely disappointed in yesterday’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the injunction by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. By reversing the District Court’s Order, the Supreme Court has placed its stamp of approval on the disenfranchisement of thousands of potential Ohio voters, including a disproportionate number of minority, elderly, student, and working-class voters.  The NAACP and our partners will continue to fight against voter suppression efforts, whether they originate at the state house or in the courthouse.  While troubling, this ruling will only intensify our efforts with the Ohio State Conference in preparation for the beginning of early voting on October 7th as well as in the ongoing fight against voter suppression in Ohio.”

From Sybil Edwards-McNabb, NAACP Ohio State Conference President:

‘We are very disappointed in the Supreme Court decision but we realize that it is not based on merit.  Post this decision, we’ll be continuing to educate the community and our NAACP supporters on the importance of the voting process.  We want voters at the polls—and once there, we encourage them to make intelligent and informed decisions.  We encourage all Ohioans to join us for Super Saturday, November 1st and “Souls to the Polls” on Sunday, November 2nd.  The NAACP Ohio State Conference will spend our remaining time and effort on turning out the vote.