Op Ed By Linda D. Lalley, President of the League of Women Voters of Ohio
The nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Ohio (LWV-Ohio) believes—without question or qualification—that all eligible Ohioans must be permitted to vote and that all valid votes must be counted. This is the foundation of our democracy.
All eligible Ohioans must be permitted to vote, and all valid votes must be counted….
A flurry of lawsuits has been filed recently challenging the system used by the Secretary of State and local boards of election to identify fraudulent voter registrations. But it is important to remember that voter registrations that have been incorrectly, even illegitimately, completed are not the same as votes that have been illegally cast. 

The Secretary of State and the bipartisan county Boards of Elections (BOEs) have a process to detect and prevent voter-registration and voter fraud.  Both the Secretary of State and the BOEs have the authority and responsibility to scrutinize new registrations.  In addition, local poll workers have the authority and responsibility to confirm the identity of voters based on their registrations and valid identification (and Mickey Mouse does not have valid ID).  Finally, there are severe penalties for voting illegally or for knowingly helping any person to register in violation of the law, and the Secretary of State is pursuing these cases.

All eligible Ohioans must be permitted to vote, and all valid votes must be counted….
The real threats to our democracy are the more insidious efforts to suppress the vote and intimidate legitimate voters.  Examples include whisper campaigns wrongly alleging that police will arrest voters who don’t bring proper ID, voters who go to the wrong polling site, and voters who have outstanding parking tickets or unpaid child support. Voter suppression may also involve spreading misinformation to anger or confuse voters so that they stay home on Election Day. Examples of these kinds of dirty tricks include pamphlets and emails that give the wrong date for the election; automated calls that tell voters their polling site has been changed; and false, typically malicious, information spread about a candidate. All these, and more, are efforts to disenfranchise legitimate voters.
If you think you may be the victim of such a tactic, call the Secretary of State's hotline at 1-800-345-VOTE (1-800-345-8683) or the national nonpartisan legal assistance hotline at 1-866-OUR VOTE (1-866-687-8683).

All eligible Ohioans must be permitted to vote, and all valid votes must be counted….
Voters have rights, but they also have responsibilities.  As a voter, you have a right to vote by absentee ballot by mail or early in person; to vote a regular ballot if you are properly registered and show proper identification; and to receive a paper ballot upon request.  You also have a right to vote a provisional ballot on Election Day if your name or current address does not appear in the registration book in your precinct or if you do not have acceptable identification with you.
But as a voter, you also have a responsibility to keep your registration information up to date and to verify that all the information is correct; to learn about the issues and candidates; to know where your polling place is; and to take the correct ID to your polling site.  More about these can be found in LWV-Ohio’s Voter’s Bill of Rights and the League’s Voters Guide at www.lwvohio.org and at www.VOTE411.org, or on the Secretary of State web site at www.sos.state.oh.us.

All eligible Ohioans must be permitted to vote, and all valid votes must be counted….
             The League of Women Voters of Ohio urges all eligible Ohioans to exercise their right to vote. This is the foundation of our democracy. We also urge anyone who has problems voting to call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) for free, confidential, nonpartisan legal advice. Democracy is not a spectator sport!