Ohio secretary of state decision to bar unsolicited absentee ballots could impact turnout for SB5 vote

It is unknown how a deal struck to streamline voting during the 2012 presidential election, while barring some voting-access outreach by counties in 2011, will affect turnout in Ohio as voters will go to the polls next week to decide, among other ballot items, Issue 2, the veto referendum on the state’s anti-collective-bargaining law Senate Bill 5.

Last year, many Ohio counties mailed out unsolicited absentee-ballot applications to registered voters, attempting to increase early voting and therefore cut down on long lines at the polls on Election Day. But new Ohio Secretary of State John Husted issued a directive (PDF) in August prohibiting all county boards of elections from mailing unsolicited applications this year.

Last November, of the nearly 4 million votes cast in the election, over 1 million were mailed absentee ballots.

Husted said that, in the interest of uniformity of treatment, it would be unfair to allow counties with sufficient funds to give their residents greater access to the polls than counties that csn’t afford the cost of sending out the applications.

“To give voters in one county greater access than voters in another county is, on its face, unfair and undermines confidence in our elections system,” he wrote in a release accompanying the directive.

“Uniformity in the way in which Ohio’s elections are administered is of the utmost importance, which is why Ohio must have a standardized approach to administering elections that ensures equal access for all voters.”

The decision, however, caused some county administrators to call foul.  Cuyahoga County Executive Edward FitzGerald posted a scathing response on Facebook, taking shots at Husted, Gov. John Kasich and Ohio’s history of inconsistent election policies:

“A few quick facts: First, the money for mailing these ballots has been in the budget since 2010, and no additional funds will be spent,” he wrote of his county.  “Second, this program was instituted in larger counties across Ohio after the fiasco at the polls in 2004, which resulted in totally unacceptable delays and long lines at the polls, wherein some people lost their right to vote.”

FitzGerald observed nearly half of voters in Cuyahoga County voted by mail in 2010, and pointed out that the League of Women Voters consider the mailings a “recognized best practice.”

“The state’s attempt in this matter, if it continues, will once again make Ohio known for attempts at voter suppression,” he said.

After meeting with FitzGerald, Husted issued another release detailing his plan: His directive for 2011 would remain in effect, but efforts for the 2012 election would get funds from the Help America Vote Act, designed to allow states to use federal money to ensure fair access to the polls.

The agreement’s provisions:

* Husted has agreed to have his office send an application to vote by mail to voters in all 88 Ohio counties in advance of next year’s presidential election.
* In return, FitzGerald will freeze a county plan to send all active voters in Cuyahoga County an application to vote by mail this fall. The mailing will be replaced by an public outreach effort to make sure Cuyahoga County voters understand how to vote early this fall.

FitzGerald commended the plan, calling it “one of the largest steps forward in access to the ballot in years,” according to a release, but a FitzGerald spokesman, John Kohlstrand, said it was important to understand that it was “a compromise; it was give-and-take.”

“We wanted to send ballots to everyone in the county,” he said.  “And we used a lot of resources to that effect.”

Kohlstrand added that the agreement was reached in lieu of a lengthy court case, which could have caused voters even more confusion.

Husted’s spokesperson, Matthew McClellan, said the secretary wasn’t worried about the possibility of a sharply decreased turnout or voter confusion in 2011.

“Early voting numbers are higher [than last year’s] in Franklin County,” he said of the county where the state’s capital, Columbus, is located.  “Look at what’s on the ballot: State Issue 2.

“You have a high concentration of government workers in Franklin County, so it really just depends,” he said, referring to unionized public workers energized by the movement to repeal SB5.