Cap'n Ed Gets It 100% Right On Ohio Early Voting

In the "credit where credit is die" department, Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air looks into the nonsense repeated on FOX this week that the Obama administration is suing the state of Ohio to "restrict military early voting".  First, the baloney as the Romney camp is seizing on the latest fake outrage:

Mitt Romney on Saturday said the Obama campaign's lawsuit in Ohio to limit military voters to the same early voting dates as non-military voters was an "outrage."

"President Obama's lawsuit claiming it is unconstitutional for Ohio to allow servicemen and women extended early voting privileges during the state's early voting period is an outrage," he said in a statement posted to Facebook Saturday afternoon. "The brave men and women of our military make tremendous sacrifices to protect and defend our freedoms, and we should do everything we can to protect their fundamental right to vote. I stand with the fifteen military groups that are defending the rights of military voters, and if I'm entrusted to be the commander-in-chief, I'll work to protect the voting rights of our military, not undermine them."

The horror, right?  Why does Obama hate voting?  Why does he hate the military?  OUTRAAAAAAAAAAAA -- wait, it's all horse hockey? Cap'n Ed actually looks at what the brief says.

Like I said, the likely remedy proposed would be to remove the Friday deadline for everyone — and that’s exactly what the plaintiffs are proposing.  Gabriel Malor forwarded me a link to the brief, and the relevant language within it:

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs request of this Court the following equitable relief:…
B. A preliminary and permanent order prohibiting the Defendants, their respective agents, servants, employees, attorneys, successors, and all persons acting in concert with each or any of them, from implementing or enforcing lines 863 and 864 of Sec. 3509.03 (I) in HB 224, and/or the SB 295 enactment of Ohio Revised Code § 3509.03 with the HB 224 amendments, thereby restoring in-person early voting on the three days immediately preceding Election Day for all eligible Ohio voters;

So no, they aren’t trying to block military members from getting to the polls, but arguing that since the polls will be open anyway, everyone else should have access to them as well.  A couple of commenters think this will be a “logistical nightmare,” but the logistics aren’t really that scaleable.  Having the polls open for a few would be the same as having them open for many.  There may need to be  few more election judges, but those positions are voluntary anyway.

So in reality, the Obama administration is suing to restore early voting for all Ohio voters, not just military voters.   They want to expand early voting after Ohio Republicans ended early voting for all non-military voters in the state.  FOX News is...surprise!...Lying to you!  They openly believe you're stupid enough to believe them.

That's the truth.  And this is why I openly call FOX News and Mitt Romney outright liars.  They lie, period.