For more than a year, Ohioans have been fighting to protect their access to the ballot box. Today, that fight moves into a new phase.
Along with the DNC and Ohio Democratic Party, this campaign filed a lawsuit to reinstate equal early voting rights for all Ohioans -- rights the Republican-controlled legislature arbitrarily stripped away this past year.
The right to vote is the foundation of American democracy, and that right should be applied equally to all. So OFA is taking legal action to protect it.
But this fight won't be limited to the courts. If we want to protect voting rights now, and in the future, it's on all of us to step up and actively push back.
Every Ohioan who cares about this fight, or has fought like hell to keep voting rights intact over the last year, should know the best way to help right now is to join the organizing that's making sure every eligible voter is ready and able to cast their ballot this fall:
Sign up today to volunteer.
There's a reason Ohio enacted early voting in the first place. In the 2004 election, widespread mismanagement and inefficiency made Election Day a nightmare for Ohio voters, with voters facing seven hour lines and broken machinery. In response, Ohio voters embraced early voting enthusiastically -- in 2008, nearly 30 percent of all votes were cast early, including more than 90,000 votes in the last three days before Election Day.
Then came 2011, and the Republican majority decided to put partisan politics ahead of fundamental voting rights. Though a series of legislative maneuvers and arbitrary rulings, a Republican-led legislature rammed through a package of limits to Ohio's early voting process, including eliminating the critical last three days before Election Day. 
In the process, they deliberately overrode the will of Ohio's voters. In just a few months, more than 300,000 Ohio voters petitioned to suspend the law until a people's referendum could be held. The legislature maneuvered around this clear message by "repealing" the bill awaiting referendum while keeping some of its worst restrictions.
This campaign believes voting should be accessible on a fair basis to all citizens, no matter who you are or what party you vote for. We should be encouraging people to vote, not throwing up new roadblocks or changing the rules midstream. That's why we're taking this legal action today: The stakes for this election are too high to allow anyone's voice to be silenced.
It's on us to stand for the rights of voters. And while we take this to the courts, you can make a difference right now. Fight back by signing up to volunteer and help grow this movement in Ohio today:
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Messina
Jim Messina Campaign Manager Obama for America
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