The Truth Staff
ASSETS Toledo hosted the Lucas County Board of Elections Director LaVera Scott on Monday, February 23, for a discussion about voting issues and regulations as the upcoming, very important May 5 primary approaches.
Scott, who has also been elected president of the Ohio Elected Officials Association by her peers, began her talk with the ASSETS audience by explaining what her goal with the Board of Elections is. “The goal,” said Scott, “is to make elections boring again and without the toxic energy … you want a Board of Elections where people feel comfortable.”
In order to help people – voters and potential voters – feel comfortable, Scott and her staff regularly reach out to the community in an effort to inform them of “what they need to know.”
Scott and her staff are also looking toward to the future in these community engagement sessions. “It’s not just about reaching adults, it’s about reaching children,” she said. And it’s not just about the mechanics of pushing buttons that form the basis for that information, said Scott. She is also concerned with letting people know why they would want to vote.
“What’s important to you today?” she and her staff might ask. Is it global warming, the cost of food, affordable housing? Those are the issues that their votes can impact.
At the moment, the staff’s focus is on the May 5 primary, and the April 6 registration deadline that precedes it. Many candidates from the various political parties will be on the ballot, but voters can only vote for the candidates in the party they choose.
“If you do not choose a party, you will only get issues on your ballot,” said Scott. Choosing a party, she noted, allows a voter to have a say in choosing elected officials “who make some decisions about what is happening in the world.”
In these divisive times, Ohioans have opportunities and may face challenges that not all Americans might. Ohio has one of the longest early voting cycles in the country, said Scott. However, challenges are ever present.
“You may get a message in the mail saying there is a mismatch on your information,” said Scott. “Now you have to confirm [your information] ahead of time or vote provisionally.”
These ongoing changes, such as voter ID requirements and when mail-in ballots must reach the Board of Elections, have prompted Scott to intensify the training her staff must undergo to keep up with the frequent changes.
“The changes are more cumbersome an some [voters] will feel that they are being disenfranchised,” she said. In addition – and Scott would certainly not say this – while the trend for a red state’s decision makers might indeed be to make the voting process more cumbersome, the intent of training process for the poll workers is to not make the process that much more cumbersome.
“I don’t want [voters] challenged for the wrong reason,” said Scott. “We are not ICE, poll workers cannot challenge on that basis. Our job is to provide access to the ballot not take it away.”
Voters have until 30 days before the election to register or change address, she also noted.
So, to be on the safe side, voters should check their status on the Lucas County Board of Elections’ website ahead of time to make sure they are registered, that the address is correct and to be reminded of their polling place.