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Cleveland
Plain Dealer...
Ohio
Secretary of State Jon Husted eases restriction on absentee voting
Wednesday,
June 13, 2012
By James
Ewinger
COLUMBUS,
Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced Tuesday that he
will mail
absentee-ballot applications to all registered Ohio voters this year,
making
good on a promise he made to Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald.
Husted, a
Republican, barred county boards of elections last August from mailing
unsolicited ballot applications.
FitzGerald,
a Democrat, threatened to ignore Husted’s order and mail applications
using
county money.
They
reached an accord the following September when Husted promised to send
applications to all voters.
FitzGerald
hopes the statewide mailing becomes a regular practice. “It’s a big
step
forward for ballot access.”
Widespread
access to mail-in ballots is important, FitzGerald said, “because we
know it
works to reduce lines and confusions, especially in urban counties.”
A spokesman
for Husted said Tuesday that the applications will go out in two waves:
The
first, just after Labor Day, will go to all voters registered as of
July 30,
2012. The second will go out in early October, allowing people to
register or
update their information.
“The
secretary has said all along that his main concern is assuring
uniformity and
that all voters throughout the state have equal access to the polls,”
said Matt
McClellan, Husted’s press secretary...
Read the
rest of this article at the Cleveland Plain Dealer
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