COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Voting-rights advocates plan to try to text the 180,000 Ohioans whose polling places for the March 17 election have been moved due to concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus.
Election planning was thrown into chaos on Monday when state officials ordered that polling places in Ohio nursing homes would be moved to protect the senior citizens who live there from catching COVID-19. The change, announced a little over a week before Tuesday’s primary election, affects about 160 polling places across Ohio, including 38 locations where 47,841 voters in Cuyahoga County are assigned.
County boards of elections have worked to find new locations for most precincts affected by the change. The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office has published a list of them here, although as of 3 p.m. Thursday, the new locations for three polling places in Cuyahoga County still hadn’t been shared with the state.
Mike Brickner, the Ohio director for All Voting is Local, says his group wants the voters to know where their new polling places will be. They plan to send the texts on Monday, directing recipients to check out the Secretary of State’s website, which has a designated coronavirus section — www.ohiosos.gov/coronafacts — that includes up-to-date information about polling locations.
The activists plan to get the voters’ phone numbers through voter-list files compiled by private companies for use by campaigns and other groups. All Voting is Local is still working to identify how many of the 180,000 voters they’ll be able to get numbers for, but in the past, they’ve had about a 75% success rate, he said.
"We’re working fast and furiously,” he said.
As part of their coronavirus guidance, state officials also have recommended that voters try to vote by mail or vote early during non-peak hours if they can in order to avoid crowds. They’ve also said they’re training staff to make sure voting machines are kept clean.
State officials are still trying to recruit poll workers to cover for those who may call off over health concerns. For more information about how to sign up, visit www.OhioSoS.gov/DefendDemocracy.
Read other recent Ohio political news:
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