Husted addresses voting policies

Regarding the suspension of two board of elections members for not following a lawful directive from Secretary of State’s Office, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has issued the following statement:

“After several local boards of elections began voting differently on what hours Ohioans were going to be allowed to vote, there was widespread belief that we should create uniform hours of voting in Ohio.

"After reviewing the facts, I issued a directive establishing the same days and hours of operation for voting in all 88 counties. I believe that this directive, in addition to providing for statewide uniformity, was fair and allowed for ample access to the polls.

“On Friday, two members of the Montgomery County Board of Elections refused to implement the law in favor establishing their own days and hours of operation. They not only broke Ohio elections law with this action, but they violated the principle of uniformity established to create fairness in the way we vote across Ohio. While they are free to disagree with my decision, they are not free to disobey the law.

“It is and will continue to be easy to vote in Ohio. When the absentee voting period starts on Oct. 2 – 35 days prior to Election Day – there will be more than 750 hours to cast a ballot from home and 230 hours to cast it in person, not to mention all day on Election Day.

“I am committed to making voting uniform, easy, fair and secure. If a voter has any questions about what they need to do to prepare to vote, they can find answers at www.MyOhioVote.com.”