skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Groups Say New Plan for Ohio's Primary Falls Short

play audio
Play

Friday, March 27, 2020   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Civil-rights groups caution that Ohio's new plan to address the state's postponed primary could deprive people of their right to vote.

To reduce the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Mike DeWine closed the polls for the state's March 17 primary. House Bill 197 was passed by the Legislature this week, extending mail voting for the primary to April 28.

Mike Brickner, state director with All Voting is Local Ohio, says it's too tight of a timeline for voters to request an absentee ballot and send it back to boards of elections.

"Systems are not operating in an optimal way," says Brickner. "Printers, and mail houses and the United States Postal Service are all also reeling from COVID-19. Will there be other delays? Boards of Elections are also not operating optimally. Many have closed or are operating on very skeleton staffs."

Brickner and other election watchdog organizations contend the primary date should be set for no earlier than mid-May, with the voter registration deadline extended to 30 days prior as required by law.

Prentiss Haney, executive director of the Ohio Student Association, contends that more time and resources are needed to ensure every voter participate, especially college students forced off campus by new coronavirus concerns.

"It's going to be about printers and postage, but also about knowledge and information about the process," says Haney. "Many of our students are first-time voters, are 18 years old. They're just coming to the electorate, and for the ones who are engaged and want to be a part of this, many of them plan to vote in person."

Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute president Andre Washington agrees that there are many people who prefer casting a ballot at the polls on Election Day.

"My grandmother used to get up, put her Sunday hat on, put her dress on, and get all dolled up, and she would go and she voted in person because that is what she was taught to do," says Washington. "So we don't want to disenfranchise people. We want to protect the integrity of voting."

Legislators rejected a plan proposed by Secretary of State Frank LaRose to set an in-person primary date of June 2, send absentee ballots to all Ohioans who have not yet voted in the primary and return ballot requests with pre-paid postage.

LaRose called the Legislature's plan disappointing, but noted he will do what it takes to ensure all Ohio voters can safely cast a ballot.

This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021