Postal Service to deliver absentee ballots
By Kathleen Folkerth
DOWNTOWN AKRON — The U.S. Postal Service has agreed to deliver all absentee ballots to the Summit County Board of Elections, even those that are mailed without sufficient postage.
A national directive came down from the Postal Service late Monday afternoon, right around the time Wayne Jones, chairman of the Summit County Board of Elections, was on his way to Summit County Council’s Oct. 30 meeting to ask Council to pass legislation putting up funds to pay for the postage, if necessary.
Summit County Council unanimously approved the authorizing of up to $25,000 to pay the U.S. Postal Service for postage due on any absentee ballots sent to the Summit County Board of Elections.
Jones appeared before Council and apologized for having to bring the issue to them.
“Normally, we would handle this on a board level, but we cannot get a quorum,” said Jones, who added he has called four emergency meetings regarding the issue. “[Russell] Pry and I show up and the others do not.”
Jones and Pry are the Democratic representatives to the board. The board’s other two members are Republicans Alex Arshinkoff and Jack Morrison Jr.
“This is not a Democrat
or Republican issue,” Jones said. “Everyone
deserves to have their vote count.”
Concerns have been raised because
the county’s ballot costs 87 cents to mail back
to the Board of Elections.
“Many people are putting
one stamp or not any stamps, and as a result, the post
office is sending these back to people,” Jones
said.
Included in an absentee voter
packet is a one-page flier that says: “Reminder!
Return postage is necessary... $.87 postage is required.”
Even with that information, Jones
said the expectation of many is that the county is footing
the bill for the ballots, as it is in Cuyahoga County.
Councilman Nick Kostandaras (D-District
1) said many of his constituents have called because
they’ve seen commercials on television that advertise
Cuyahoga County’s policy of paying the postage.
Jones said even with the national
directive from the Postal Service, there are still questions
as to whether the county will have to eventually
pay for all the ballots with insufficient postage.
Jones also took his time at the
podium to note that the printer selected to produce
the county’s ballots was three weeks late in getting
the job completed. That, in turn, led to the absentee
ballots going out much later than they should have,
he said.
“The printer was chosen
by the secretary of state,” Jones said. “That
printer was 21 days late. We still don’t have
all our ballots [for the Nov.7 General Election.]”
Jones said as many as 35,000
voters in Summit County could end up voting absentee
this year. This is the first year that voters can vote
absentee without having to have a reason.
In other election-related business,
Council unanimously adopted a resolution supporting
Issue No. 2, a ballot initiative that proposes to raise
the state’s minimum wage. The resolution was introduced
by Kostandaras and sponsored
by Council of the Whole.
Also during the meeting, Council
reintroduced legislation that transfers 67 acres of
land to the Summit County Agricultural Society. Council
unanimously approved the legislation in September, but
County Executive James McCarthy vetoed it in early October
after Council removed a clause calling for the society
to pay a debt of nearly $1 million.
Rather than attempt to overturn
the veto, Council President Clair Dickinson (D-at large)
said he wanted to reintroduce the legislation “to
get us back to square one.” The reintroduced legislation
restores the clause removed by Council.
Council also heard first reading
of legislation that sets aside $4 million for the Summit
County Children Services Board (CSB) for operating expenses
for fiscal year 2008. There was no discussion on the
resolution, which is sponsored
by Council members Paula Prentice (D-District 8), Michael
Callahan (R-at large), Pete Crossland (D-District 4),
Kostandaras, Cazzell Smith (D-District 5) and Louise
Heydorn (R-District 3).
The legislation would “negate
the need for anticipated layoffs at that agency that
would negatively affect the agency’s operations
and service delivery to the families and children of
Summit County until such time that this Council appropriates
such funds to CSB or takes formal action to release
such funds.”
CSB, in its proposed 2007 budget,
has said that it could lay off as many as 52 employees
in an effort to balance its books. The agency is in
need of an operating levy, but recent leadership changes
led to postponing placing it on the ballot.
Council’s proposal is meant
to create stability in the agency to help the chances
of a levy passing sometime in 2007, according
to the legislation.
Summit County Council is scheduled
to meet for committee meetings Nov. 6 at 4:30 p.m. in
Council Chambers on the seventh floor of the Ohio Building,
175 S. Main St.
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