Each county board of elections in Ohio is made up of two Democrats and two Republicans. And just about every Democrat in just about every county wants extended night and weekend voting hours in October.

In heavily Republican areas of the state, GOP board members have agreed. But in Democratic areas like Cuyahoga County, the vote’s been a 2-2 tie. And that sends the decision onto Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican who has – so far – sided with Republicans and limited early voting to regular business hours.

Democrats and civil rights and voting rights groups protested, saying the limited hours would apply to counties in which more than half of Ohio’s African Americans live. And Husted told CNN that he’s now trying to come up with uniform hours statewide.

“This will be a precedent-setting move by myself and the State of Ohio to do this because it’s not been the tradition or it’s not been the standard that has been set previously. But we are trying to make sure that everybody feels like they are being treated fairly.” 

Early voting in Ohio starts Oct. 2, and Husted says he’ll have the new rules well before then.