COVID-19 & Election 2020

Voting in the Age of COVID-19

Make a Plan Today to Vote by Mail or to Vote Early In Person

The election in Ohio starts October 6, 2020. That is when polls open for early voting and ballots are mailed to vote from home.

On November 3, the last day to vote in person, expect fewer voting locations and longer lines due to COVID-19 and voter suppression in minority communities. To avoid drama at the polls, make a plan to vote early either by mail or in person.

You must be registered to vote by mail.

VOTING BY MAIL IS SAFE!!

Ohioans have been voting by mail for decades. In our county, 30% of all voters use mail-in ballots. When the President insists it is rife with fraud, he is lying. What is true, however, is that for over a month, the administration has been disabling the postal service in the midst of a deadly pandemic. The crippling of that institution has already slowed down mail processing and will result in voter suppression if we don't take steps to make sure our votes are counted.

Make a plan NOW to vote early:

1) IN PERSON: The Cuyahoga Board of Elections (BOE) has set in-person voting hours begining October 6, 2020 at 2925 Euclid Ave. (on the RTA HealthLine). Click here for the schedule: https://boe.cuyahogacounty.us/en-us/11032020EarlyInPerson.aspx

2) VOTE BY MAIL (VBM): To start, you must submit a vote-by-mail ballot application (see form on the right). Registered voters will be mailed an application around Labor Day. IF you don't get one that week, click here to have one sent to you: https://boe.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/VoteByMail.aspx

Your ballot will come with two envelopes:

IDENTIFICATION ENVELOPE---Fill out all requested information and sign where indicated. Be sure your signature matches that on your voter registration form. Ballot goes in the ID envelope, then seal it.
MAILING ENVELOPE---Place the completed and sealed Identification envelope in this envelope. The amount of postage needed will be listed on a yellow insert with the ballot package.

3) DO IT NOW!!: Turnout in this election is expected to explode. Get your VBM application filled out and returned right away. Same with your ballot. Fill it out within a day and return it to the BOE by mail or drop it in the 24-hour box in the BOE parking lot behind the building. With the administration's preemptive strike to keep millions of votes from being counted by breaking the post office, mail delivery will be slower or not at all. IF YOU MAIL YOUR BALLOT, DO IT NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 19. After that date, plan to drop it off at the BOE.

4) Email with questions. Put Vote 2020 in subject line and leave your name in the body of the email with your question.

A couple of articles on voting by mail in Ohio:

https://www.commoncause.org/ohio/democracy-wire/vote-by-mail-in-ohio-planning-for-november/

https://www.ideastream.org/news/how-mail-in-voting-works-in-ohio-a-step-by-step-guide