March primary ideal for absentee voting

March primary ideal for absentee voting

If the crowds that have attended Hillary Clinton’s and Barack Obama’s campaign events in Ohio are any indication, polling places on March 4 will be jammed.

Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York state, and Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, are locked in an intense battle for the Democratic nomination for president, and Ohio has become a must-win state. That’s why the contenders have begun spending a great deal of time courting Democratic voters, especially in regions dominated by the party.

There already are indications of just how heavy the voting will be in March. According to the Ohio secretary of state’s office, the request for absentee ballots could reach record levels — which suggests that voters aren’t leaving anything to chance.

State elections officials believe that 20 percent of the 7.86 million registered voters in Ohio will vote absentee.

Absentee requests

The Associated Press reported last week — the story was published Saturday in The Vindicator — that more than 100,000 absentee requests have already been made in Franklin County. The county has 780,000 registered voters and expects a turnout of about 40 percent.

Are the voters who are taking advantage of Ohio’s new “no fault” absentee voting just overly cautious about what will occur on March 4? Not if the past is prelude.

Although Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has made elections her No. 1 priority since she took office in January 2007, and has made it clear that the problems and controversies which tainted the 2004 presidential election will not be repeated, she hasn’t had enough time to make the changes necessary.

Indeed, she has announced that in the November general election, all counties in Ohio will be using the optical scanning system which utilizes paper ballot. That means the 53 counties which now use the touch-screen voting system will have to make changes.

But for the March primary, Brunner is finding resistance from boards of elections to her order that any voter who wants a paper ballot on election day should be given one. Union County has filed a lawsuit to block her order.

Whatever the outcome of the suit, any voter in Ohio today can apply for an absentee ballot — without having to provide a reason for not being able to go to the polls, as was once the case.

Any eligible voter can vote absentee. A paper ballot can be requested through the mail. Once the ballot has been cast, it can be mailed back to the county board of elections.

An absentee ballot can also be cast in person at the elections board office. In those counties that have touch-screens, the voter has the option of using it or a paper ballot.

Deadlines

A request for an absentee must reach the board of elections by noon on Saturday before the Tuesday primary. However, state officials recommend doing so as soon as possible.

The voted ballot must be received by the elections board by the end of voting on election day in order to be counted. Voting absentee in person must take place the day before the election.

There are people who feel the need to actually go to a polling place to vote, and for those the system has not changed.

But given that Ohio’s election process is in transition, there is no guarantee that things will run smoothy on March 4.

Absentee voting is an alternative that should be considered — as state officials are urging.