Today I present a very short diary about voter suppression in Ohio, and some new Republican methodology.
First, we have the Licking County BOE cutting the number of polling places in the county of about 500 square miles from 47 to 25.
While cutting the county’s polling locations in September from 47 to 25 saved about $15,000 in poll-worker pay, some people will have to travel a little farther to cast their vote on Nov. 5.
Source
Further down the article, "a little further" is defined as:
Among the most upset are residents of Buckeye Lake, whose lone village polling place moved from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church to the Union Township complex in Hebron, 7 miles away.
Buckeye Lake Fire Capt. Dave Ruton told the village council that “moving the polling place out of the village is the most-idiotic thing I’ve heard in my life.”
More below the fold.
The next thing comes from the Radical Republican Ohio General Assembly:
Senate Bill 205 would set new standards for mailing absentee-ballot applications. It would permit the secretary of state to mail them to all voters in even-numbered years, when presidential and gubernatorial races are held, but only if the legislature specifically funds the mailings. It prohibits county election boards from doing additional mailings.
Emphasis mine.
Source
This sets up Democratic voter suppression in odd year elections by making it more difficult for Democratic voters to gain access to absentee ballots.
It also makes it a budget item that can be easily defeated in the budget process, or it gives the governor, who has the power of the line-item veto in appropriations bills in Ohio, the power to decide that it isn't in the interest of the state to fund the statewide mailing of absentee ballot applications, particularly in a year when that individual may be running for office.
To make it "fair" the law should ORDER the SecState to mail out absentee ballot applications to every eligible voter in the entire state, with continuing funding, for each and every election in the state. This would take the politicians out of the mix regarding who and when ballot applications can be sent.
It will be an interesting exercise to see which neighborhoods lost their local polling place in Licking County, and who tends to vote in those locations.
That's the Ohio voter suppression newsletter for today.