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More Low Income Ohio Residents Expected To Vote This Year
By: Graylyn Roose
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The director of Athens County Job and Family Services said more low income people than ever before are expected to vote in Ohio and other states in this year's general election.
Jack Frech said one reason for this is the motor voter laws. He said the Ohio motor voter law was implemented in 2009.
Frech said the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services began an aggressive campaign to insure that public assistance recipients be given the opportunity to register to vote.
He said in each of the last two years, nearly 200,000 voter registration forms have been filed through local county welfare offices.
"At this point, this would be 3 or 400,000 people over the last two years who felt strongly enough about this to make sure they were registered or updated their address. We're hopeful that that's a sign, that the old days of poor people not voting are behind us," he said.
Frech maintains this will help make the 2012 elections "historic," but Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted is not so sure.
He said he doesn't think the increase in voters will strongly affect the election.
Husted was in Athens Wednesday to speak to local election workers, and he issued a call for more people to help.
He said poll workers are desperately needed.