The Ohio primary just raised a new red flag for the 2020 election

[turbinetree]

Published 2 hours ago on April 29, 2020
By Steven Rosenfeld, Independent Media Institute

Ohio’s Democratic presidential primary winner was never in doubt, but its voting process was.

The April 28 primary, the second statewide vote-by-mail contest since the pandemic interrupted the 2020 election, highlighted new complexities facing voters if the nation shifts to mostly absentee voting this fall.

In addition to postal delivery delays possibly disqualifying hundreds of thousands of ballots—as was seen in Wisconsin’s April 7 primary—Ohio’s saw legally registered voters who waited until the eleventh hour to vote wrestle with the vote-by-mail process and get prevented from casting a ballot that would be counted.

“I went on Twitter and discovered that I could vote [using] a provisional ballot and demand it from them [county election officials],” said Sarah Schoeppner, a grocery worker who recounted her and her father’s experience during a briefing by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which runs the nation’s largest election protection hotline. “They said that they would give it to us, but that it would probably not be counted because we didn’t get the absentee ballot application in on time.”

“We believe that Sarah’s experience is one encountered by thousands of people across Ohio who are very confused about the deadlines that apply for absentee balloting,” said Kristen Clarke, Lawyers’ Committee president and executive director. “We are also very concerned about officials who may have discouraged people like Sarah from casting a provisional ballot in person today.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/the-ohio-primary-just-raised-a-new-red-flag-for-the-2020-election/

[elleng]

1. It will be a REAL mess,

Last edited Wed Apr 29, 2020, 11:07 PM - Edit history (1)

likely (imo) worse than ANY we've seen.

[Demsrule86]

3. I live in Ohio and that is just not true. Provisional ballots are only counted if there is a tie...

obviously not happening in this case. I got my ballot and dropped it off a couple of weeks ago. I got it after the fist primary was cancelled. If you did not get your ballot you could vote provisionally...it was fine and much safer than voting in person. I was upset when the first one was cancelled but now I am glad. People would have died.

[Ms. Toad]

2. The Secretary of state and the Governor wanted a longer period post-election

to request absentee ballots. The Republican controlled legislature rejected that option.

They did everything they could to encourage vote-by-mail. They proactively mailed information to every voter about how to request a ballot, provided a stamped envelope to return it in, very clear directions, and the abililty to track your ballot to ensure your request had been received and - later - that your ballot had been returned and been cleared. But the turn-around time was pretty short - given everything else that was on people's minds.

I don't think it's the process that is an issue - but shifting to it at the last minute (with an inadequate time for turn-around) is.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

4. Delaying The Election At The Last Minute Caused Most Of The Confusion

I got up the morning of the primary prepared to go down to the polling place and cast my vote. Then I found out that it had been delayed. I was never told until when. In fact, only because I saw a tweet on Twitter telling me that the deadline to request an absentee ballot was a week away did I even manage to get my request in on time. And I had no idea when the absentee ballot I received was due, so I mailed mine on Monday (just under the wire).

I believe that had the election happened the day it was supposed to, very few of these problems would have become problems. However, Ohio did a poor job of telling people when the new dates and deadlines were, so a lot of people probably just missed them. I'm pretty vigilant about this stuff and even I nearly missed BOTH deadlines. Imagine someone who doesn't watch the news or go on the internet. They would have NEVER known.