Cuyahoga County has got it right, the mass mailings are a common practice in large counties because they help reduce lines at the polls and ease other Election Day headaches, election officials say.

By JAMES W. WADE III

Staff Reporter

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald announced that he has reached an agreement with Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and state legislative leaders to have voters in all 88 Ohio counties sent an application to vote by mail in 2012.

The deal was reached last week after a meeting between FitzGerald, Husted, senior staffs of both leaders, and Cuyahoga County Councilman Mike Gallagher, a Strongsville Republican. It ends a standoff between the chief executive of Ohio’s largest county and the state’s chief elections officer.

“We went to bat for our constituents here in Cuyahoga County, and we ended up making voting more convenient for millions of Ohioans,” FitzGerald said. “This is great news for anyone who believes public officials should try to keep voting simple.”

“Through a productive exchange of ideas, we were able to develop a plan and achieve consensus to preserve the uniform standards I have sought statewide. Leaders in the General Assembly, House Speaker William Batchelder and Senate President Tom Niehaus, have graciously agreed to support this plan and will appropriate the necessary resources from existing and available federal Help America Vote Act funds.”

I am glad we have been able to work out our differences but ultimately it will be the voters who benefit from this agreement. This will help reduce the chance of long lines at the polls during the Presidential Election and voters in smaller counties will have the same conveniences as voters in larger counties,” said Husted.

Cuyahoga County has got it right, the mass mailings are a common practice in large counties because they help reduce lines at the polls and ease other Election Day headaches, election officials say.

The two sides have clashed over Husted's order barring county elections boards from mailing out unsolicited applications for absentee ballots. Husted issued a directive to elections boards banning the mailings because, he said, voters are at a disadvantage in counties that can’t afford to send applications to all registered voters.

FitzGerald then announced his office would pay for the mailing rather than the board of elections, which reports to the secretary of state. But now the dispute has been resolved.

In the agreement:

• Husted has agreed to have his office send an application to vote by mail to voters in all 88 Ohio counties in advance of next year’s presidential election.

• In return, FitzGerald will freeze a county plan to send all active voters in Cuyahoga County an application to vote by mail this fall. The mailing will be replaced by an public outreach effort to make sure Cuyahoga County voters understand how to vote early this fall.

The key to this compromise is that in 2011 you will still have to request if you want to vote by mail. The directive stands firm for this year.

“I am glad we have been able to work out our differences but ultimately it will be the voters who benefit from this agreement. This will help reduce the chance of long lines at the polls during the Presidential Election and voters in smaller counties will have the same conveniences as voters in larger counties,” said Husted.