DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge is expected to decide Tuesday whether to reinstate two Democratic elections officials who claim they were wrongfully fired by Ohio's Republican secretary of state.
U.S. District Judge Walter Rice in Dayton is considering claims from ex-Montgomery County elections board members Dennis Lieberman and Thomas Ritchie Sr.
Lieberman and Ritchie say their removal at the hands of Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO'-sted) was arbitrary, unjustified and violated their constitutional rights.
Husted fired the Democrats in August after they voted to allow early voting on weekends.
Husted said the officials violated his order setting uniform early voting hours and broke the law.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court last week rejected Husted's appeal of a lower court's decision reinstating in-person early voting in the three days before Election Day.
