Free Ohio Now supporters rally for in-person voting Saturday

SHEFFIELD TWP — Demonstrators demanding in-person voting in the November general election rallied between raindrops Saturday in front of the Lorain County Board of Elections offices on North Ridge Road. "One of the uniting principles throughout American history has been the belief in and support of fair and free elections," the group wrote in a statement, which was read out loud Saturday by Kirsten Hill, chairwoman of the Totally Engaged Americans of Lorain County and a member of the Ohio Board of Education. The statement continued: "Even at this time of strong disagreement, as well as concern about medical issues, there is still broad support for voting in person to ensure fair and free elections." Voting, the group said, is a civic duty. "At this time when there is great disagreement on the future course of our country, it is critical everything possible be done to give all people confidence and faith the November 3, 2020, election will be conducted fairly and that the final results can be trusted, even by those who do not win," said Tom Hach, Free Ohio Now Core Team member. "An essential piece in building the faith will be conducting in-person voting. To support (the) unifying goal of a free and fair election, all able-bodied Ohioans should consider it a civic duty to step forward to do their part to help operate the polls on November 3, 2020." The group identified issues with mail-in ballots, which it said are rejected at a higher rate due to voter error or because they are received too late to be counted. Some elections boards also have had "issues" with being able to get ballots to the correct addresses of voters and had trouble processing a high volume of absentee ballots in the April 28 primary election. This spring's primary was delayed nearly six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was conducted almost entirely by mail-in or absentee ballot. The Lorain County Board of Elections rejected 744 out of the 43,272 absentee and provisional ballots cast in the April election, or just over 1.7 percent of all the ballots cast. Among those were 611 absentee ballots and 133 provisional ballots, the board announced on May 11. Free Ohio Now also stated that approximately 35,000 paid poll workers are needed on Nov. 3 in order to hold the election, citing statements by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. "Too much is at stake for our state and country for there not to be an option of in-person voting on November 3, 2020," the group said in a statement. The hourlong rally was part of a number held by Free Ohio Now as part of their series of events titled "Rally Around Ohio." Previous rallies have demanded the reopening of Ohio for business, the impeachment of Gov. Mike DeWine and the removal of Dr. Amy Acton, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health. As of 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the announced rallies were in Lorain, Butler, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Franklin, Geauga, Hamilton, Huron, Lake, Marion, Montgomery, Muskingum, Pickaway, Preble and Trumbull counties. Organizers encouraged participants to use "personal discretion in adhering to recommended COVID-19 safety guidelines" and some, though not all demonstrators, wore masks in keeping with the statewide mask mandate.