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Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted was disappointed with a Friday ruling in Franklin County Common Pleas Court that allows 17-year-olds to have their votes counted in Ohio's March 15 presidential primary. He said in a statement that he plans to appeal.

(Sabrina Eaton, cleveland.com)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio judge on Friday granted a request to let 17-year-olds vote in the swing state's presidential primary on Tuesday.

Ohio allows 17-year-olds who will be 18 before the fall election to vote in Tuesday's primary, with some exceptions. Young Ohio voters can decide on congressional, legislative and mayoral contenders, but they can't vote on ballot issues or candidates for a political party's governing body.

Whether the teens can vote in the presidential primary race had been under dispute in the perennial battleground.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, said about 7 p.m. Friday that he has reversed his plans to appeal the ruling.

"Upon learning that the 10th District Court of Appeals do not plan to hear an appeal on the lower court's decision until the day before the election, even if we were to prevail, there is no effective way to responsibly make the changes necessary to implement an orderly election," Husted said in an updated statement.

Even though Husted still says that "this last-minute legislating from the bench on election law has to stop," he will direct all county boards of election to comply with the court order, according to the statement.

"Our system cannot give one county court the power to change 30 years of election law for the entire state of Ohio, 23 days into early voting and only four days before an election," Husted said in a news release. "We will appeal this decision because if there is a close election on Tuesday we need clarity from the Supreme Court to make sure that ineligible voters don't determine the outcome of an election."

Nine 17-year-old registered voters in central Ohio had sued Husted in state court over his interpretation that 17-year-olds can vote "solely on the nomination of candidates" -- and not in the presidential primary "because delegates are elected and not nominated."

But the delegates aren't assuming any office, said the teen's attorney, Rachel Bloomekatz. They serve as the voters' surrogates at a party's nominating convention. Plus, the names of delegates corresponding to each presidential candidate do not appear on the primary ballot.

Presidential candidates earn their party's nomination by collecting a majority of the delegates awarded in primaries and caucuses.

Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Frye on Friday issued an emergency order blocking Husted's instructions that forbid 17-year-olds from voting in the presidential primary.

Early voting has been underway in for weeks in Ohio.

Chad Readler, an attorney for Husted, told Frye at a Thursday hearing that changing the rules would create "mass confusion" at the boards, though Bloomekatz argued the instructions could be simple: Count the votes.

The Ohio Democratic Party has urged Husted not to appeal the decision.

"Young Ohioans deserve to have a say in whom they want to lead our country," Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said in a statement Friday. "The Ohio Democratic Party will continue to support greater voter participation -- regardless of party. We've never solved a problem with less democracy."

Separately, Democrat Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign has filed a federal lawsuit over the limitations. A federal judge earlier Friday temporarily halted the lawsuit, saying the court would abstain from a decision in the case until the state court ruled on the similar lawsuit.

Although the Sanders' campaign's lawsuit was not directly resolved Friday, the campaign's Ohio director Jeff Rusnak was pleased with Frye's ruling.

"This is a victory for young voters and a great day for democracy in Ohio," Rusnak said in a statement.

At least 20 other states allow 17-year-olds to vote in presidential primaries or caucuses, though rules sometimes vary based on political party, according to FairVote, an organization that tracks electoral issues.

cleveland.com reporter Jane Morice contributed to this post.