Ohio
Cleveland Scene: Groups Say New Plan for Ohio’s Primary Falls Short, Voting Should Extend Into May
Mike Brickner, state director with All Voting is Local Ohio, says it's too tight of a timeline for voters to request an absentee ballot and send it back to boards of elections. "Systems are not operating in an optimal way," says Brickner.
Talking Points Memo: Ohio Governor, Secretary Of State Split Over Restrictive Primary Voting Bill
Mike Brickner, Ohio director for All Voting is Local, condemned the legislature’s plan. He predicted that county boards of elections would be flooded with absentee ballot requests, an issue compounded by their operating with a “skeleton staff.” He added that even if LaRose gets the postcards out to voters by the first week of April — a best-case “breakneck speed” scenario — unless the postal service, overwhelmed elections board and voters act quickly and completely accurately, many ballots will likely blow the deadline.
Politico: Ohio to run all-mail primary through April 28
Voting rights groups immediately expressed concern over the new primary, arguing that it disenfranchised voters. “The April 28 deadline is unworkable,” tweeted Mike Brickner, the Ohio state director of the group All Voting is Local. “It will take time to print & send out postcards to 7.2 million Ohioans. Every piece of mail typically takes 3-5 days. Not sending an app directly to voters draws out already tight timeline.”
Shelterforce: Reaching Out to Voters in the Justice System
Mike Brickner, the head of the Ohio arm of All Voting is Local, organizes dozens of initiatives, call-ins, town halls, and voting drives a year, but he recalls being especially moved during a 2018 sign-up visit to the Painesville jail in Lake County, just northeast of Cleveland. That year in Ohio, a proposal to reduce criminal penalties for drug crimes and channel more money into rehabilitation and mental health treatment was on the ballot.
cleveland.com: Here’s what Ohio college students need to know about voting in the March 17 primary
“It’s kind of thrown their lives into disarray, and voting might not be the first thing on a lot of their minds,” said Mike Brickner, the Ohio director of All Voting is Local, an advocacy group. If you’re a college student in Ohio trying to figure out how to cram voting into the next few days, here’s what you need to know.
Ohio Officials Must Protect Voters’ and Poll Workers’ Rights and Health Amid Coronavirus Concerns
A coalition of voter rights organizations urged Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose to take additional steps to protect voters’ and poll workers’ health and rights for the March 17 primary election.