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Hello friends,
This is a challenging moment for our country. Our economy is continuing to struggle, we've lost more than 200,000 lives to the coronavirus pandemic and now our nation's president has been stricken with this deadly virus.
At the Ohio Democratic Party, our thoughts are with the First Family at this time, along with all others who are fighting through this deadly virus.
We are glad to hear that Joe and Jill Biden have tested negative, and we hope everyone with both campaigns stays healthy. We will continue to do everything we can -- wearing masks, practicing social distancing -- to keep our staff, our volunteers and our communities safe and healthy.
It's a challenging moment, but our country has always conducted elections and upheld the results, even in times of great crisis. We held successful elections amid the Civil War, the Great Depression and both World Wars. Now it's our turn to prove that nothing -- not even this pandemic -- will stand in the way of our democratic commitment to voting.
However, even in these times there is good news. Today the appellate court ruled in our drop box lawsuit, and we are pleased that the court agreed with our contention from the outset of this dispute that nothing in Ohio law prevents the addition of dropboxes throughout counties. They explicitly rejected Secretary of State Frank LaRose's argument that somehow Ohio statute prohibited them, which he had used as his excuse for banning all but one per county. This decision makes clear that that was a political decision and not one with any basis in state law.
It is now the moment for LaRose to act on his public and private comments that he 'would love to see more drop boxes.' It's the right thing to do, and there is time to allow counties to add dropboxes in the final weeks of the election, when they will be most helpful, just like they are being installed in states across the country.
It's time to Make It Count, Ohio.
First things first -- check your voter registration now. The deadline to register is Monday, Oct. 5, so please encourage all of your friends and family members to get registered and confirm their registration right away.
Secondly -- early in-person voting opens on Tuesday, Oct. 6, and for those of you who have already requested a vote-by-mail ballot, those will be sent out starting next week. It's important for everyone to vote for the entire ballot, including the judicial candidates, which will not have their party affiliation listed.
That's why it's helpful to have your Democratic "sample ballot" with you when you vote in person or fill out your vote-by-mail ballot. Click here to find a list of your county's Democratic candidates.
In solidarity,
David
David Pepper
Chair
Ohio Democratic Party
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