” We think that Governor Kasich is hiding something”, said Redfern.

Redfern says he wants copies of the Governor’s monthly schedule and only once has it been provided.

” We received about three weeks later a list of 127 events that the Governor participated in during the course of June.  And 83 of those events were totally redacted.  So almost ¾ of the governor’s public events he redacted that information.  So we don’t know what he was doing and with whom he was doing it and how much time he was spending on Mitt Romney’s campaign for instance.”

Redfern doesn’t just want schedules.  He also wants travel logs and emails.  Redfern suggests Kasich is spending too much time on political efforts for Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and meeting with lobbyists.  Redfern says if Kasich thinks he can ignore these requests, he had better think again.

“Seven different public records requests have been ignored by the Governor.  He is not above the law.  The Governor might think he’s above the law but he’s not.  He can threaten others with his bus.  I dare him to run over the Ohio Democratic Party and myself,” said Redfern.

Terry Casey, spokesman for the Romney campaign called the suit a political stunt. “If Mr Redfern was more honest and wasn’t so hypocritical, he would have scolded Ted Strickland then,” said Casey.  Casey says Democratic Former Governor Ted Strickland campaigned on behalf of President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when they were running for office back in 2008.  And Casey says Kasich hasn’t been hiding his campaign activities.

“The Ohio media has been very good on the few occasions that Governor Kasich has been out there campaigning, they certainly don’t keep that secret.  It’s been reported fully and accurately.”

As far as the redacted information, Casey says there could be good reason for it.

” The reality is this Governor has been this Governor in particular is actually working hard to get jobs into Ohio and you don’t want to put out in press releases every prospective business or business leader you are talking to because they like to ask questions, consider the options with some degree of confidentiality,”argued Casey.

Rob Nichols, a spokesman for Governor Kasich, put out a written statement saying the office has released the governor’s schedule six times, including a schedule request to the Ohio Democratic party.  Nichols says this is just another example of election year politics.

You can find a link to the suit here.

But Ohio lawmakers, during the past couple of years, have passed new laws eliminating that three day window. There was an attempt to allow Ohio voters to vote in a referendum to repeal that law. But Ohio lawmakers took matters in their own hands and repealed the controversial bill but didn’t repeal other new laws related to voting. Backers of a new lawsuit say the way Ohio laws are written now treats voters unfairly and unequally. Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern says a new lawsuit, filed in federal court, seeks to remedy that.

“All Ohioans, all voters deserve so much more and better. Our country deserves so much more and better and that’s what this case is all about….insuring all voters, every voter, has the same access to the polls,” said Redfern.

The new federal lawsuit, filed by President Obama’s campaign, the Ohio Democratic party and the Democratic National Committee contends the laws that are currently on the books in Ohio treat military voters and their families differently than ordinary Ohioans. Don McTigue, an attorney working on behalf of the Democratic groups, explains treating the two groups differently violates federal election laws.

“The general assembly has established a deadline for one group of voters that allows them to vote three extra voters in person at the board of elections. All other voters, the general assembly has cut off on the Friday before. Whether or not this was done deliberately or whether it was a happenstance result of a tortured legislative history from all of these bills, it does not make a difference from a legal or constitutional standpoint. You have two groups of voters that do not have the same rights to vote and should,” said McTigue.

The new lawsuit seeks to bring back that three day, in person early voting period at the board of elections for every Ohio voter. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted says it’s important to remember that Ohio voters haven’t had those three days recently anyway, “This is the third election that we’ve had under these rules so there’s nothing new happening here in Ohio.”

As far as the inequity between ordinary Ohioans and military families, Husted says federal law is responsible for that.

One of the Republican lawmakers who pushed to wipe out the three day window before election day, Lou Blessing, says no voter is being disenfranchised under the current law.

“As far as preventing people from voting….my comment is you’ve got to be voting…you’ve got 30 days before the election. I’m not quite sure how that prevents anybody from voting,” maintained Blessing.

In 2008, 93,000 votes were cast in the three days before Election Day.