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Coshocton
Tribune…
Husted
suspends 2 local election officials
Aug.
18, 2012
COLUMBUS
-- Secretary of State Jon Husted suspended two election officials on
Friday in
southwest Ohio after they voted to extend early voting hours in the
general
election beyond the uniform, statewide hours he set this week.
The
move by Husted, the state's chief elections official, is the latest in
a series
of flare ups over when Ohioans can cast an early ballot in person in
the
presidential battleground state. The issue has essentially broken down
along
political party lines.
Read
the rest of the article at the Coshocton Tribune
Ohio
Secretary of State Jon Husted
Statement
on Suspension
Regarding
the suspension of two board of elections
members for not following a lawful directive from Secretary of State’s
Office,
all of the following may be attributed to Ohio Secretary of State Jon
Husted:
“After
several local boards of elections began voting differently on what
hours
Ohioans were going to be allowed to vote, there was widespread belief
that we
should create uniform hours of voting in Ohio. After reviewing the
facts, I
issued a directive establishing the same days and hours of operation
for voting
in all 88 counties. I believe that this directive, in addition to
providing for
statewide uniformity, was fair and allowed for ample access to the
polls.
“On
Friday, two members of the Montgomery County Board of Elections refused
to
implement the law in favor establishing their own days and hours of
operation.
They not only broke Ohio elections law with this action, but they
violated the
principle of uniformity established to create fairness in the way we
vote
across Ohio. While they are free to disagree with my decision, they are
not
free to disobey the law.
“It
is and will continue to be easy to vote in Ohio. When the absentee
voting
period starts on October 2 – 35 days prior to Election Day -- there
will be
more than 750 hours to cast a ballot from home and 230 hours to cast it
in
person, not to mention all day on Election Day.
“I
am
committed to making voting uniform, easy, fair and secure. If
a voter has
any questions about what they need to do to prepare to vote, they can
find
answers at www.MyOhioVote.com.”
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