Opinion ID: 4027534
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: District Court’s Characterization

Text: The first step in evaluating the plaintiffs’ equal protection challenge requires us to identify the “character and magnitude” of the burden on African-American voters as a result of the challenged law. The district court identified the burden imposed on some African Americans’ right to vote by considering the changes effected by S.B. 238, rather than by examining Ohio’s election regime as a whole. The court found that operation of S.B. 238 resulted in a disparate burden on some African Americans as a function of two changes: “(1) by reducing the overall [early in-person] voting period, and (2) by eliminating the opportunity for [same-day registration].” R. 117, Opinion at 35, Page ID 6157. Regarding the reduction of the early in-person voting period, the district court discerned a burden after accepting three simple premises: (1) that tens of thousands of people voted during Golden Week in both 2008 and 2012 and are likely to do so in the upcoming 2016 election; (2) that S.B. 238’s elimination of Golden Week requires that “[i]ndividuals who would have voted during Golden Week in future elections must now vote on other days during the early voting period, vote absentee by mail, vote on Election Day, or not vote at all;” and (3) because African Americans have shown a preference for voting early in person (and during Golden Week) at a rate higher than other voters, the “elimination of the extra days for EIP voting provided by Golden Week will disproportionately burden African Americans.” Id. at 36, Page ID 6158. The district court further noted that beginning early in-person voting after the registration period eliminated “same-day registration,” meaning that “voters must now register and vote at separate times, which increases the ‘cost of voting,’ especially for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.” Id. at 40, Page ID 6162. That is, the court recognized that “it may be more difficult for voters with time, resource, transportation, and childcare restraints to make two separate trips to register and vote, and Golden Week allowed individuals to do both at once.” Id. The district court concluded that, because “African Americans in particular are more No. 16-3561 Ohio Democratic Party, et al. v. Husted, et al. Page 10 likely to be subject to economic, transportation, time, and childcare constraints,” id. at 40, Page ID 6162, they “disproportionately make up the group that benefits the most from [same-day registration], and the elimination of that opportunity burdens their right to vote.” Id. at 42, Page ID 6164. Taking the reduction in early in-person voting days and the elimination of same-day registration together, the district court characterized the changes effected by S.B. 238 as imposing a “modest” burden on African Americans’ right to vote. Id.