Sample Ballots

The 2006 ballot in Ohio is going to be a very busy one. We have eight statewide races and numerous down ticket races so I'd like to take the opportunity to address a problem we have as far as sample ballots go in Ohio.

It's actually a county party issue, as the down ticket races are going to vary from location to location, but the State Party Chair needs to lean on the county chairs to make sure this gets done. What I'm talking about is Democratic sample ballots at the poll handed out by volunteers.

I discovered the need for this in 2004 when I worked for the Kerry campaign as a part of the Ohio Voter Protection program. Several people asked me if I had sample ballots for them. I of course, did not. One woman in particular wanted to know why the hell I would drag my sorry ass out for a day in the rain with no sample ballots to hand out. I had to concede that she was right.

Now there are a little over 11,000 precincts in Ohio, but in the cities, precincts are often bunched together at one voting location. You could probably cover every precinct in Ohio with about 5,000 people.

Having sample ballots handed out at polling locations is of critical importance in down ticket races, plus it speeds up voting which helps keep the lines moving.

You can mail them people all you want, but it's cheaper to hand them out at the polls, and they are never forgotten.