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Ohio Elections Chief Seeks Money For Absentee Applications
By: Associated Press
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Ohio’s elections chief is asking state lawmakers to set aside more than $1 million for his office to send unsolicited absentee-ballot applications to voters in the next presidential election.
The funding request comes after the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a law last year tightening control over such mailings in the swing state.
The law bars county elections boards from mailing unsolicited applications. The secretary of state can send them for general elections, only if the Legislature directs the money for it.
Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted has twice mailed the applications statewide using federal dollars from the Help America Vote Act, but the federal funding isn’t available to do so in 2016.
His office says the mailings have helped to ensure a smoother Election Day.