early voting

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, the state’s chief election officer, put out a rather cheery press release this week to let Ohio voters know how well off they are when it comes to early voting.

“Voting in Ohio is easy,” the headline read, accompanied by a multi-colored graphic showing Ohio and its multiple ways of voting, alongside mean old states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, which Husted said don’t afford voters so many opportunities.

In politics, if you have the numbers, you get to make the rules.

In Ohio, the Republicans have the numbers – they control both the Ohio House and Senate, they have one of their own in the governor’s office, John Kasich, and a Republican as the state’s chief elections officer, Secretary of State John Husted.

What Kasich, Husted and the legislature have done in recent weeks is to wield that power to make some rather big changes in the early voting system Ohio has used since 2006.

Today is the deadline for Ohioans to register to vote in the Nov. 5  general election.

Voter registration forms can be downloaded at MyOhioVote.com, a website operated by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, and are available from local boards of elections and other designated agencies, such as public libraries and offices of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

If voters have moved since the last election, they should act today to update their voting addresses online at MyOhioVote.com.

Early voting for the September 10 Cincinnati mayoral primary begins on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Persons who want to cast early absentee ballots can find applications at the Hamilton County Board of Elections website. They are also available at public libraries in Cincinnati and at the board of elections offices.

In-person early voting at the board offices at 824 Broadway downtown will begin the same day.