Sanders camp couldn't be any happier after a ruling from a local judge in Ohio has now given 17-year-old voters the right to have their votes counted in the upcoming primaries. This was, definitely, a welcome development for the presidential nomination bid of the Vermont senator, who has been known to be popular amongst the younger demographics.

Franklin County Judge Richard Frye overruled the earlier decision from Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted to bar 17-year-old Ohio voters from casting their votes in the primaries, even if they'll turn 18 by the time the elections will be held in November.

"It is an outrage that the secretary of state in Ohio is going out of his way to keep young people -- significantly African-American young people, Latino young people -- from participating," Sanders earlier said on Husted's decision.

Sanders Camp Celebrates Victory

The Friday ruling came at an opportune time in favor of Sanders, just before the Tuesday primaries in Ohio. Sanders' camp knows all too well that they got the edge among young voters over Hillary Clinton. This was once again highlighted in Sanders' surprising victory in the Michigan primary.

Apart from winning the independent voters in the state, Sanders also enjoyed the strong support from young voters with his 81 percent victory among the 18- to 29-year-olds.

"This is a huge victory for 17-year-olds across Ohio. Their votes for presidential nominees will now count when they vote on either Tuesday or over the weekend in early voting," said Sanders' campaign lawyer Brad Deutsch.

The Ohio Secretary of State's office stirred up a dispute back in the latter part of 2015 after it came out with election guidelines, which include prohibiting out young voters who have yet to reach 18 years old from joining the primaries in the state.

The new policy has been contested by some locals, as well as Sanders' camp, which also filed a federal petition to challenge the Husted rule. Those who are against the rule that seems to deny the young voters of their Democratic rights argue that it goes against the longstanding practice in the Ohio election law.

Husted Not Convinced; to Appeal Decision

According to Husted, while he agrees that 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the time of the actual election day have been allowed to cast their votes in races, it shouldn't be the case when it comes to presidential primaries. He also called out the last-minute ruling by the Ohio judge.

"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," he argued. "This last-minute legislating from the bench on election law has to stop."

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