CASE Ohio: OHIO VOTING INSTRUCTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Questions about voting? Want to avoid voting on a touchscreen machine?

OHIO VOTING INSTRUCTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM CITIZENS ALLIANCE FOR SECURE ELECTIONS (CASE)


CASE recommends that voters vote on paper (Optical Scan Paper Ballots) if possible.



VERIFY REGISTRATION

Whether voters choose to vote early or at the polls, what EVERYONE should do is check their registration in the statewide voter registration database. Access via the Secretary of State's site is here:

http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/voterquery.aspx?page=361

Provisional voting is to be avoided like the plague. Twenty-two percent were rejected in 2004; 19% in 2006. If your voter registration does not appear correctly, contact your county Board of Elections (BOE) well before the October registration deadline. The list of all county BOEs is here:

http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/boeDirectory.aspx

WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS:

Option 1: If you vote in person on election day, check your registration on-line ahead of time and be prepared for a long line. If you cannot stand in line a long time, remember there is a special line in most polling places for disabled. Also, if you are in a DRE (touchscreen) county, you can ask for a paper ballot which should be faster, although you may have to get to the front of the line before you can request it.

Option 2: If you cannot wait to vote, then vote early in person at the Board of Elections office prior to Election Day.

Option 3: If you vote early by mail, be very careful to follow all directions about filling out the cover envelope. Return the ballot early. If you can, return the ballot in person to the county BOE and ask the BOE staff to check that you filled out the envelope properly. If you do not mail your absentee ballot in on-time and cannot return it to the BOE office by 7 pm on Election Day, then you can still vote provisionally at your local precinct on election day.

Option 4: You can also vote provisionally at the BOE offices on Election Day if there are problems with your local precinct.
VOTING ON ELECTION DAY (OR EARLY AT THE BOE) ON A DRE (TOUCHSCREEN) Make sure you know which precinct you are voting in and watch to make sure the poll worker selects the correct ballot as they start they voting session or encode the smartcard. Check to ensure that paper tape is printing clearly and recorded your ballot correctly. If it did not, or if you experience vote switching ("calibration problem") report the problem to the pollworkers and demand that the machine be quarantined (or otherwise attempt to prevent others from voting on this machine). If the machine malfunctions prior to the confirmation screen and prior to pressing a vote button or casting your ballot, request to vote on a new machine or request a paper ballot. At minimum, call the election protection hotline @ 1-866-OUR-VOTE

PAPER BALLOTS AVAILABILITY: Long lines on election day? You can request a paper ballot. If you request one, do not let a confused poll worker give you a PROVISIONAL ballot, as these are to be used ONLY when your name does not appear on the voter rolls.

AVOID TOUCHSCREENS? If you want to avoid DRE (touchscreen) machines because you are concerned about the potential for vote switching software, check to see if your county uses DRE (touchscreen) machines at http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/boeDirectory.aspx

You may request a paper ballot at the precinct, but some counties may allow poll workers to input your paper ballot on a DRE/touchscreen, so in some cases it may be impossible to avoid having your vote recorded on the touchscreen.

OPTISCAN: If your county uses Optical Scan Paper Ballots, some experts recommend that you vote on election day in person. Others recommend that you vote early at the county Board of Elections (or site designated in your county) in person.

Advantages of voting on election day

-If your ID is accepted by the poll-workers, your vote will definitely count.



Disadvantages of voting on election day

-If lines are long or voting machines have problems, voting could take a long time and some people may choose to leave the line without voting.

-Weather could be a problem in November, voters often must wait outdoors.

-If your ID is not accepted, you have to cast a provisional ballot which might be rejected.

-Due to HB3 and a 60-day mailing, you may be required to vote provisionally regardless of having correct address, precinct, proper ID and proper voter registration.

-If your fill out a provisional ballot at the wrong precinct (even at the right polling place), your ballot will definitely be rejected.



Advantages of voting early by mail

-No need to take off from work on election day

-No problem with lines on election day



Disadvantages of voting early by mail

-Your absentee ballot could be rejected if you make a mistake. You might enter the wrong Driver's license number or not seal the ballot inside the ID envelope or mail it in late.

-If you request an absentee ballot, forget to return it, and go to the polls to vote, you will have to vote provisionally.

-In counties that do not provide postage paid return envelopes, you might not put enough postage on the envelope

- Possibly as soon as four years from now, the only voting available will be vote-by-mail if everyone stops voting in person on election day.



Additional advantages of voting early in person at the BOE

-Ballot will not get lost or delayed in the mail

-For some counties (though not Cuyahoga), your ID is checked as on Election Day and you can cast a ballot that will definitely be counted.

-I believe this advantage does not apply to Cuyahoga County. In Cuyahoga if you go to the BOE to vote early, you just fill out your absentee Optical Scan ballot and ID envelope. If it is not filled out correctly, your ballot could be rejected.

VOTING ABSENTEE BY MAIL http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/voterInformation/absentee.aspx

Request an absentee ballot application by phone or via the internet. Go to your county Board of Election website, start here: http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/boeDirectory.aspx

Applications can be requested up to the Saturday prior to the election, but we recommend that applications for absentee be requested by mid October at the latest. There are provisions for emergency absentee ballots in the event of hospitalization, but this recommendation refers to voluntary absentee voting. Last minute emergency absentee ballots must be returned in person.

You must fill out the absentee ballot request carefully and completely. Specific information can be found at the county (or Secretary of State) website. A common error is to put the wrong Drivers license number, since there are two numbers on your license and some county applications do not provide an example. Example: http://case-oh.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2228546:BlogPost:143

After receiving and completing your absentee ballot, note that your ballot may not count if all fields are not provided. The ballot must be sealed inside the ID envelope. Do not remove the stub. Note the deadline for return, place the correct postage on the ballot. If you request an absentee ballot but forget to return it and go the polls on election day, you will be forced to vote provisionally.

Scientific American's article on e-voting:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=electronic-election-day&print=true

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Founded in 2004, Citizens' Alliance for Secure Elections (C.A.S.E.) is a non-partisan organization of citizens from across Ohio who advocate for elections that are secure, reliable, and employ the nation's best practices. We inform the public, the media, political leaders and government officials about problems in Ohio which we believe compromise our voting system, and about the best solutions to these problems.