The Democrats wanted to send a clear message that they are serious.

By JAMES W. WADE III
Staff Reporter

Tuesday was the first day of early voting and it was a great turnout, starting with many who participated in the “Sleep Out the Vote” event that took place Monday night in front of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (BOE).

This special event was spearheaded by State Senator Nina Turner, (D)-25th District.

“I have never camped out on a sidewalk before, but I wanted to be here when the doors open at 8 a.m.” said Turner.

“Sleep Out the Vote” is an initiative started by Senate Minority Leader Eric Kearney in 2008 to engage voters and raise awareness of early voting options inOhio.  This year, the Ohio Senate Democrats have expanded the event to combat potential confusion caused by repeated changes in voting rules and to spur citizens to take advantage of early voting options.

“There’s no question there’s an effort going on to suppress voters. What we are doing here is a symbolic gesture. Could we have just voted at 8 a.m. and avoided sleeping outside and perhaps getting rained on? The answer is yes, but we’re seeking attention. We want voters to exercise their right to vote, no matter what the restrictions. For that, it’s worth getting rained on,” Turner said.

The morning was kicked off with various supporters coming down to join Turner and Pastor R. A. Vernon of theWORDChurchto be some of the first to vote. Other supporters/speakers included Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Warrensville Heights Mayor Brad Sellers to name a few.

The steps were full of a lot of elected officials as they were joined by special guest, Craig Robinson, the brother of the first lady Michelle Obama fromChicagowho was in town to greet all of the early voters.

“I am here to support my family but I am really here to help people get out to vote. I want to get all the young people out to vote because the most important thing is to vote,” said Robinson.

The BOE was ready for all the early voters with plenty of security and workers making sure everyone knew where to go and what to do. The Director of Elections Jane Platten was even at the front door assuring all went well. “I want to assure everyone there’s nothing to worry about. Your vote will count,” said Platten.

Knowing this will be a busy time for the B.O.E., they will be prepared.

“We have a function on our website where you can put in your name and date of birth and it’ll tell you if we received your application to vote by mail. It’ll tell you when I mailed you your vote by mail and then when I received your ballot back. So folks can track it along the way to make sure the post office got your ballot back to us,” said Platten.

The Democrats wanted to send a clear message that they are serious.

“I wanted to be here because they took me for granted. I am in the 47 percent that Mitt Romney was talking about, so I want to make sure my vote counted early,” said Joseph Ford.

“Early voting is a luxury where we all can participate and not worry about the weather conditions. If we wait until November is may be a bad snow storm on Election Day and no one will want to come out in the snow,” said early voter Melvin Pitts.

“These are the lengths I will go to!” said Turner, “My family has voted and so will I. This goes to show you how this is so very important. It’s a symbol of early voting and it’s that important that I’m willing to stay out here.”

Cleveland native and Barack Obama Black Voter Outreach Director Stefanie Brown said, “The sleepover shows the importance the president is placing on early voting in Ohio. Beside our door-to-door campaigning, we want voters to know early voting is easy. We want people to feel comfortable voting and early voting helps them avoid potential long lines on Election Day,” said Brown.