While Democrats continue to accuse Republicans of trying to suppress voter turnout, Husted doesn’t feel that’s the case.

By IKE MGBATOGU
Contributing Writer

COLUMBUS – Ohio Secretary of State Republican Jon Husted is constantly at daggers-drawn with his Democratic foes. Both sides have waged battles on multiple fronts fanned especially by the looming general elections.

For the most part, a lot of the election year acrimonious push and pull stems from Husted being accused of always making decisions skewed in favor of his party. The partisan accusations have created a toxic milieu of distrust in the state polity. It has even reached a cusp where his decisions are scrutinized intensely by skeptical and vigilant Democrats, either looking to see if he is siding with his party or simply not doing enough to encourage voter turnout.

This time, they are accusing him of not doing enough.

Last week, Husted announced plans to allow registered voters to update their ballot information online. The new system would allow voters with photo IDs or State Ids to update their address online. Those who wish to take advantage of this opportunity would have to go to www.MyOhioVote.com to do so.

“We are making it easier for Ohio voters to do their part in making Election Day run smoothly,” Husted said. “This added convenience for voters is also a powerful tool against voter fraud as current and accurate voter rolls leave less room for abuse.”

It certainly appears to be a step in the right direction for those calling for ways to encourage voter turnout in the general election. Husted certainly thinks this would help immensely.

But for Democrats, his action falls way short of what’s needed to really encourage and spur voter turnout in the upcoming election.  In their view, the chief election officer should also allow the system to permit non-registered eligible Ohioans the same opportunity to register online to vote.

“I applaud the Secretary of State’s renewed effort to allow some voters to update their registration information online. However, I think he should work with the legislature and go one step further and make it available to all Ohioans so that anyone can register to vote online, not just those who have already registered,” State Rep. Michael Stinziano said.

The Columbus Democrat doesn’t understand why the same system would not be deployed for new registrants, especially since the same form is used for both registering new voters and updating information for already registered voters.

Stinziano also expressed concern about one other matter, which is how to extend these opportunities to Ohioans who lack access to the internet.

“While this new system will make it easier for some Ohioans, its implementation and application to local boards to update the registration information, is a serious departure from current rules and regulations. The impact of this change is just taking shape but this change may mean many voters without access to the internet or knowledge of this new system will still show up to vote needing to change their address on Election Day,” he said.

He then offered Husted this advice.

“I urge the Secretary of State to continue to seek out innovative solutions in which poll worker error can be easily caught and all properly registered voters’ provisional ballots can be counted instead of thrown out.”

Stinziano, a Democrat from Columbus, has led the fight for voting rights in Ohio seeking ways to increase voter turnout. He was abundantly pleased with a recent lawsuit by the Obama campaign to allow early voting during the last weekend before the Election Day voting, which months ago was cancelled by Husted.

“I applaud the lawsuit that was filed by the Obama campaign to restore voting rights to Ohioans. When I co-sponsored HB 224 with Rep. [Michael] Dovilla to protect voting rights for Ohio’s men and women in uniform, we took that responsibility very seriously. I never thought that this common sense solution to a known voting issue created by outdated Ohio law would then be used to take away voting rights from properly registered Ohio civilians,” said Stinziano.

While Democrats continue to accuse Republicans of trying to suppress voter turnout, Husted doesn’t feel that’s the case.

“This November, all eyes will be on Ohio and we voters have important decisions to make. As chief elections officer, I want to ensure Ohio’s voting process is accessible, accurate, and secure so that we can all have confidence in the results,” Husted said.

Mgbatogu is a freelance writer and editor of Onumba.com based in Columbus. He can be reached by email at Onumbamedia@yahoo.com