NAACP responds to early voting dispute

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Dayton NAACP leaders are calling Ohio Secretary of State John Husted a bully.

Dayton's NAACP President Derrick Foward wants Husted to reinstate the two democrats on the Montgomery County Board of Elections and rethink his directive before it's too late.

That's why a letter has been sent to the state's top election official. Foward says this is not a partisan or racial issue, it's about accessibility. He says there were weekend early voting hours in 2008 and there wasn't a problem, so he asks Husted why there's an issue now?

Foward says Husted's suspension of democrats Dennis Lieberman and Tom Ritchie is based on partisan politics. He calls Husted's actions Un-American.

"The NAACP has fought this fight for 103 years, to ensure that there would not be any voter suppression. That there would not be a situation for people who died and bled that their living and their dying would not be in vain," explains Foward.

Lieberman and Ritchie have a hearing at Husted's office Monday morning at 9 AM to plead their case as to why they shouldn't be removed from the Montgomery County Board of Elections.