I'd definitely encourage absentee voting - Edit 1
Before modification by Isaac at 16/01/2012 07:15:22 PM
I know there are non-photo options currently accepted. I didn't know we were considered one of the most restrictive in terms of ID requirements though. That's interesting to me because it seems like there are a lot of options encompassing a fairly broad range.
Pretty broad,an example of one that doesn't work is your cell phone bill, as unlike a land line or gas line there's no need for the company to physically connect something to that house.
Right, $8.50 for the state ID. I guess there could be a charge to obtain a copy of any supporting documentation you might need if you don't already have your birth certificate lying around or something like that, but I think I'd be okay with it as long as there were no charge for the ID itself.
I don't even particular object to a small fee so long as it is clearly at-cost, but it is my opinion that barring repeat and excessive requests (asking for your birth certificate twice a year for instance) governments should provide such documentation free of charge and that it is in our interests only to charge for ID cards in cases of repeat losses.
Oooh, that's right, I read about the absentee mailings this year. I forgot about that. My husband and I always remember on election day when we're going to vote before work that we meant to get absentee ballots to avoid having to get up so early Maybe this will be the year we do it. Are OH absentee ballots treated like provisional ballots? Are they only counted in certain cases or anything like that?
Well in Ohio the provisionals are their own special crazy case, most are ultimately tossed because policy is simply to let anyone cast a provisional if they put up enough fuss, rather than to slw down the line or risk a crazy response. I vote absentee, I got used to it in the military and I'm not a judge in my own precinct so I can't vote there. I encourage people to vote that way, because you can have your ballot and really sit down and look at it, google names, talk it over, research, etc. My own county BoE and probably all the others always puts up copies of the ballots on line by precinct in advance, so you can do your research before going to the polls, but I like being able to sit down and look at a levy for instance and calculate the millage cost to me, or check up on really down-ticket races like school board or Township Trustee. Now, you can google your county board of elections and ask them to send you out an absentee request, you mail that back in and they send you out the ballot ASAP or as soon as the window opens, I believe we're safely inside the request window already. Your absentee will be counted like any normal one, maybe more so since you can even call them up to make sure yours was received and verified. I don't think any auto-mailing of requests will be done for primaries, just general.