Ohio sees increase in voter registration at public assistance offices

Ohio is seeing a surge in the number of voters registering by way of public assistance programs. 

  The increase may be related to the 2010 gubernatorial election and/or the fall midterm congressional elections. The increase may also be tied to a recent legal settlement that Ohio follow federal law that requires voter registration forms to be provided to applicants for welfare programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.

A report this week in The Plain Dealer (www.cleveland.com) says "More than 11,000 people in Cuyahoga County have registered to vote this year through public-assistance programs as part of a renewed effort to involve poor people in elections throughout Ohio. Statewide, more than 100,000 applicants for public assistance have signed up to vote through the first six months of this year – a significant surge compared with past years. In Cuyahoga, the number of low-income individuals who filled out registration forms already is higher than the last two years combined."

Nicole Kovite, director of the Public Agency Voter Registration Project at Project Vote, told The Plain Dealer, "By ignoring sections of the voter registration law, Ohio was denying voting rights to thousands of residents. It serves a very important purpose in equalizing our democracy." 

The more than 100,000 people who signed up to vote in Ohio through June are nearly double the annual average in 2007 and 2008, according to the Election Assistance Commission's most recent survey of states' voter registration statistics, the newspaper reported.

Kovite said Ohio did not have a structure in place to make sure its public assistance offices were following the law.

According to the report, "Benjamin Johnson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, admitted the agency didn't have a proper set of rules to make sure county offices followed the federal law. Under the new rules, all people who sign up for public assistance will be asked if they want to register to vote or if they want to update their voter registration information."

Ohio is seeing a surge in the number of voters registering by way of public assistance programs. 

  The increase may be related to the 2010 gubernatorial election and/or the fall midterm congressional elections. The increase may also be tied to a recent legal settlement that Ohio follow federal law that requires voter registration forms to be provided to applicants for welfare programs such as Medicaid and food stamps.

A report this week in The Plain Dealer (www.cleveland.com) says "More than 11,000 people in Cuyahoga County have registered to vote this year through public-assistance programs as part of a renewed effort to involve poor people in elections throughout Ohio. Statewide, more than 100,000 applicants for public assistance have signed up to vote through the first six months of this year – a significant surge compared with past years. In Cuyahoga, the number of low-income individuals who filled out registration forms already is higher than the last two years combined."

Nicole Kovite, director of the Public Agency Voter Registration Project at Project Vote, told The Plain Dealer, "By ignoring sections of the voter registration law, Ohio was denying voting rights to thousands of residents. It serves a very important purpose in equalizing our democracy." 

The more than 100,000 people who signed up to vote in Ohio through June are nearly double the annual average in 2007 and 2008, according to the Election Assistance Commission's most recent survey of states' voter registration statistics, the newspaper reported.

Kovite said Ohio did not have a structure in place to make sure its public assistance offices were following the law.

According to the report, "Benjamin Johnson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, admitted the agency didn't have a proper set of rules to make sure county offices followed the federal law. Under the new rules, all people who sign up for public assistance will be asked if they want to register to vote or if they want to update their voter registration information."