Buckeyes Are a Determined Lot!
While our friends and family back home are gearing up for early voting – It starts next week -- the reports from those of us abroad are starting to come in. Most of us got an earlier start when UOCAVA ballots dropped on the 19th.
So far, reports are positive! Boards of Election (BOE) are helpful, at least re the urban counties.
One NE Ohio voter reported on the 28th: “My ballot that I applied for in August still hadn't arrived today. So, I called Cuyahoga County and a very pleasant Woman told me they were hearing that many ballots were landing in spam. I looked and indeed their Email was there, but no attachment with a ballot. She said, she 'd send it again and it would be there by tomorrow. To my delight it came within 15 min. So, if you didn’t get your ballot yet, look in Spam or call the Board of Elections Military and Overseas Voting.”
Another said, “My ballot came through on time and did not land in spam. I had decided not to go the FWAB route that DA is advising. If my ballot mail is slow, it's likely the FWAB would also arrive late. So, I bit the bullet, sent it by the local postal service “special priority mail” (courier). It cost €43 for pick-up at my door. It left here on Tuesday, and I got a track announcement that it had arrived and been approved Friday.”
A voter from Franklin County reported that their ballot was different. Instead of one or two pages of small type, to print out and mark by hand, they got one question at a time, online. The print was large and easy to read. The instructions were very clear. After selecting their choice, they clicked Next and one more choice came up. And when all races and ballot issues were marked, there was a Review step. And then the app assembled everything into two A-4 pages to print out.
Also, Franklin Cnty BOE required no inner envelope. Just the mailing envelope. The ballot pages with the voter ID page laid on top went into the mailing envelope. It seems election officials realized that, on opening, the ballot could be tossed into one stack and the ID page into another, without violating the ‘secret ballot.’ Eliminating the inner envelope should save poll workers time.
We’re not sure the new process is in use all over Ohio or just being tested in a few counties. So, we’d love to hear from more ‘buckeyes’ abroad. Just reply on this email! Did your BOE use the new system? How did it work for you?
And as before, if you have problems or questions, the help desk at VoteFromAbroad stands ready to assist.