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Attorney General Eric Holder slammed Ohio officials on Monday for moving forward with new restrictions on early voting, calling the move a "major step backward."

"The early voting times targeted for cancellation, including weeknight and Sunday hours, previously provided critical opportunities for many people to get to the polls," Holder said in a video posted to the Department of Justice website.

He warned that the change would "disproportionately affect people with childcare responsibilities, hourly salaries, and reduced access to transportation - people who may have difficulty getting the polls at any other time, and who are much more likely to be low income or minority individuals."

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Ohio was permitted to implement the restrictions after the Supreme Court last week stayed lower court decisions that threw out the state's plan, which had been passed by the Republican-controlled legislature. The new plan reduced the number of early voting days from 35 to 28, but state officials argued that the move was not overly restrictive. "Ohio offers more early-voting options than 41 other states and the District of Columbia," the state contended in a petition to the high court, according to the Washington Post.

Holder, though, warned that the move could have the effect of disenfranchising thousands of voters. In 2012, he noted, "tens of thousands" of Ohio voters availed themselves of the voting opportunities that state officials have now eliminated.

"It is a major step backward to allow these reductions to early voting to go into effect," Holder said. "Those state officials who seek to impose these restrictions must justify clearly, factually, and empirically why they are necessary."

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Eric Holder slams early voting restrictions in Ohio

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder assailed Ohios early voting law as a major step backward, saying it will significantly reduce opportunities in a voting system that has been used heavily in the past by African-Americans.

In his first public comment since the U.S. Supreme Court last week struck down a federal judges order that Ohio provide 35 days of early voting instead of 28, Holder complained Monday that the early voting times targeted for cancellation including weeknight and Sunday hours previously provided critical opportunities for many people to get to the polls.

Holder, who announced last week he would leave the Justice Department as soon as the Senate confirms his successor, said that in 2012 tens of thousands of Ohio voters cast their ballots during the voting days that Ohio has now eliminated.

Holder delivered his criticism of the Ohio law in a video message released by the Justice Department. He said the public should be demanding the state officials who seek to impose these restrictions to justifyclearly, factually, and empiricallywhy they are necessary.

Ohio Republicans have been infuriated by Democratic criticism of their early voting law. They pointed out that 41 states across the country provide fewer early voting days than Ohio.

Early voting in Ohio begins today.

U.S. District Judge Peter Economus last month had ordered the state to allow 35 days of early voting, which would have created 259 hours of early voting compared to 197 allowed under the directive issued by Secretary of State Jon Husted.

The state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and last week the five conservative justices blocked Economus ruling for 90 days, pushing it well past next months election.

EARLY VOTING IN OHIO STARTS TODAY

* Weeks One and Two of Voting (beginning Oct. 7)

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Holder blasts Ohios voting law

By Ashley Killough and Evan Perez, CNN

updated 1:15 PM EDT, Mon October 6, 2014

Early voting is "about preserving access and openness for every eligible voter," AG Eric Holder says in a video message.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- A week after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an Ohio law that restricts early voting, Attorney General Eric Holder argued the decision will disproportionately affect African-Americans, many of whom "heavily" use early voting.

"It is a major step backward to allow these reductions to early voting to go into effect," Holder said in a video message posted Monday.

"Early voting is about much more than making it more convenient for people to exercise their civic responsibilities. It's about preserving access and openness for every eligible voter, not just those who can afford to miss work or who can afford to pay for childcare," he continued in the video, which was posted on the Justice Department's website.

The law cut down the state's 35-day early voting window by seven days.

Proponents say that reducing in-person early voting would help create uniformity across the state's counties, and voters would still be able to vote by mail during that seven-day window.

But critics argue the Republican-backed law will make it more difficult for minorities to vote.

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Holder on Supreme Court's early voting decision: A 'step backward'

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