2008 Woodie Awards
Rocking the Vote: Ohio counties change restrictions on voting to avoid lines on Nov. 4
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: State
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Since the long voting lines of 2004, Ohio has removed restrictions on absentee voting. The state's largest county, Cuyahoga, has changed its voting system multiple times. Voters across the state now must show identification.
The state on Nov. 4 will help pick a president in another hard-fought race, four years after voters gave President Bush a second term.
In 2004, some voters waited hours to cast their ballots. Others - the true number is still a matter of dispute - simply gave up and went home before voting. Not all precincts had enough voting machines. The state's chief elections officer, Republican Ken Blackwell, was criticized for policies and his role in the Bush-Cheney campaign.
One of two voting machines in use in Gambier, home of Kenyon College, broke down, and students waited in line for hours.
A lot of work has been done to try to avoid long voting lines, including the expansion of absentee balloting, said Peg Rosenfield, elections specialist with the League of Women Voters of Ohio. But new questions have been raised for the 2008 election, including whether the high rate of foreclosures will keep people from voting because of changed registration information.
"There are lots of concerns really circulating out there," Rosenfield said. "At this point nobody knows which ones are going to be serious and which ones are really just people worrying."
At least a quarter of Ohio voters are expected to vote early, either by mail or in person. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, has predicted a record turnout of 80 percent, which would amount to roughly 6.5 million voters.
In 2005 the state began letting any eligible voter cast an absentee ballot, and elections officials have pushed the change as a way to release the pressure that comes with Election Day.
Roughly 20 of Ohio's 88 counties automatically sent absentee ballot applications to all registered voters. Voters elsewhere must request an application from their elections board.
The state on Nov. 4 will help pick a president in another hard-fought race, four years after voters gave President Bush a second term.
In 2004, some voters waited hours to cast their ballots. Others - the true number is still a matter of dispute - simply gave up and went home before voting. Not all precincts had enough voting machines. The state's chief elections officer, Republican Ken Blackwell, was criticized for policies and his role in the Bush-Cheney campaign.
One of two voting machines in use in Gambier, home of Kenyon College, broke down, and students waited in line for hours.
A lot of work has been done to try to avoid long voting lines, including the expansion of absentee balloting, said Peg Rosenfield, elections specialist with the League of Women Voters of Ohio. But new questions have been raised for the 2008 election, including whether the high rate of foreclosures will keep people from voting because of changed registration information.
"There are lots of concerns really circulating out there," Rosenfield said. "At this point nobody knows which ones are going to be serious and which ones are really just people worrying."
At least a quarter of Ohio voters are expected to vote early, either by mail or in person. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, has predicted a record turnout of 80 percent, which would amount to roughly 6.5 million voters.
In 2005 the state began letting any eligible voter cast an absentee ballot, and elections officials have pushed the change as a way to release the pressure that comes with Election Day.
Roughly 20 of Ohio's 88 counties automatically sent absentee ballot applications to all registered voters. Voters elsewhere must request an application from their elections board.
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