Ohio voters will be able to vote during the final three days before the Nov. 6 election, since the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s appeal.

The highest court in the land filed a one-sentence order denying Husted’s request to intervene. Soon after, Husted issued a directive establishing uniform in-person voting hours for all 88 Ohio counties for the three days before Nov. 6.

“Despite the Court’s decision today to deny our request for a stay, I firmly believe Ohio and its elected legislature should set the rules with respect to elections in Ohio, and not the federal court system,” Husted said in a statement. “However, the time has come to set aside the issue for this election.”

President Obama’s campaign sued Husted in July over a 2011 state law prohibiting early voting during the weekend before Election Day except for overseas military personnel. The U.S. District Court and the Sixth Court of Appeals sided with the Obama campaign on the grounds all Ohio voters are to be treated equally.

Ohio lawmakers established early voting after the 2004 presidential election, which was fraught with hours-long lines that likely caused some voters to go home without casting a ballot. Last year, lawmakers cut the three days before Election Day for all Ohioans except those serving in the military. The change caused weekend-voting disputes in several counties, and Husted established a statewide in-person early voting schedule that did not include any weekends.

Several studies have shown Ohioans who voted in the three days prior to the 2008 presidential election tended to vote Democrat.

Reaction from local Boards of Election varied, often depending on the size of the county.

The Butler County Board of Elections had voted Friday to establish in-person, early voting hours for the weekend prior to the election, but will now modify those hours to fall in line with Husted’s directive. The hours Husted set Tuesday were about 6.5 hours less than what the county elections board approved last week.

The hours set by Husted are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 3; 1 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 4; and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 5

“I think it is fair,” said Butler County Board of Elections Director Lynn Edward Kinkaid.

Bruce Carter and Frank Cloud, the Democratic members of the elections board, voted to approved the hours, but Republican board members Tom Ellis and Judy Shelton who were present at the beginning of the meeting, left before the vote was taken.

Shelton said she favored extending hours on Friday, Nov. 2, but not Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The Republicans also expressed their concerns about the stress placed on staff if there were a large turnout as in 2008.

Carter said after hearing of Husted’s directive and the Supreme Court’s decision, he still believes the circuit court gives boards of elections the right to set their own hours.

“But as a board member it is time to put this to rest,” Carter said. “I believe he should have negotiated rather than litigated the issue.”

Ellis said Husted’s directive is a good balance and what he thought would happen.

“We didn’t think we should be setting hours (at Friday’s meeting),” Ellis said. “That was our point that he just wanted a recommendation. I thought the board was acting prematurely, which is confusion to everyone.”

Husted’s uniform hours are a “perfect balance of not overtaxing board of elections staff, but giving voters ample weekend hours to vote,” Ellis said.

Brian Sleeth, deputy director of the Warren County Board of Elections said his office posted the new hours on signs throughout the building as soon as they received Husted’s directive.

“The directive won’t affect our operations or staffing at all,” Sleeth said.

Staff Writer Justin McClelland contributed to this report.