Justices turn away appeal over Ohio ballot law

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal of an Ohio law that changed the standards for absentee and provisional ballots in ways that critics said posed an illegal burden on minority voters.

The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that had blocked rules requiring precise completion of the ballots, but upheld other changes that reduced the time voters could cure errors and prohibited poll worker assistance.

Advocates for the homeless and the Ohio Democratic Party sued Ohio’s elections chief over the changes.

Ohio officials argued that the changes passed by Ohio’s Republican-led legislature in 2014 were reasonable, nondiscriminatory and impose minimal burden on voters.