Ohio’s elections chief requests remedy in voter purge case

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s elections chief says voters improperly removed from the state’s registration list could cast provisional ballots in the presidential election, if a court allows it.

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted made the suggestion in a court filing Thursday. He’s asked a judge to provide a remedy in a case that challenged Ohio’s process for maintaining its voter rolls.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati had found that Ohio’s procedure violates federal law. It returned the case to a lower court to decide a solution for the affected voters.

Husted says, in the interest of resolving the case, the court could allow voters removed in 2015 to cast a provisional ballot in elections through January 2019. He proposed a directive to elections officials outlining safeguards.

Cleveland ordered to pay $13.2M in wrongful conviction suit

CLEVELAND (AP) — A judge has ruled Cleveland must pay a $13.2 million judgment against a former police officer who a jury said helped frame a man who spent 11 years behind bars for a murder he said he didn’t commit.

A jury in 2013 found detectives Denise Kovach and Michael Cipo liable for the wrongful murder conviction of former Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority security officer David Ayers.

Cipo has since died. Ayers is seeking to collect a judgment against Kovach.

Cleveland.com reports the judge on Wednesday said municipalities in most cases must cover damages incurred by workers on the job. Plaintiffs can ask municipalities to pay the judgment.

The judge also ordered the city to pay statutory interest that has accrued.

A city spokesman says Cleveland is considering its options.