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David Skolnick

Low expectations for primary

What happens when you have an election using a voting method many people have never used before in the midst of a pandemic? We’re going to find out Tuesday, though complete results for the primary won’t be certified for about another month. It certainly looks like voters will stay away during this primary because COVID-19 has them worried about other things. Also, without contested presidential races for either the Democrats or the Republicans, the process for getting a ballot doesn’t seem worth it to many people. Those who normally go to polling locations to cast ballots ...

Don’t wait to request a ballot

If you want to vote in this primary and haven’t yet requested a ballot, you’d better get moving. While the primary has been postponed to April 28, voters must get their ballots postmarked by April 27 and have them arrive at county boards of elections by May 8 to be counted. After Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health, canceled the March 17 in-person primary — at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine — out of public health concerns because of the COVID-19 pandemic, voters started requesting ballots from boards of elections. DeWine and Secretary of State Frank ...

Pandemic creates primary dilemma

Candidates on the primary ballot are facing an unprecedented dilemma. Those in competitive primaries — particularly in races in which there’s no general election opponent— likely spent an overwhelming majority of their money in the days leading up to March 17. That was the original date for the in-person primary that would have seen a large majority of voters cast ballots. The state canceled the March 17 primary late the night before when Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health, issued an emergency health order about eight hours before the polls were to open at ...

Prepare for an unusual primary

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ohio and several other states are experiencing the most unusual primary election in our lifetime. With a few exceptions, everyone in Ohio is going to vote by mail or drop off their ballots at county boards of elections. This has already been a confusing election with the state canceling the March 17 in-person primary late the night before after failing to get a judge to do so. Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health, issued an order at the request of Gov. Mike DeWine because of the pandemic. DeWine and Secretary of State Frank ...

Manning’s determination worked

My routine each morning is to check my phone for any news overnight. Saturday morning, to my shock, my Twitter feed contained a post from Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder about the sudden death of state Rep. Don Manning the previous night. Within about two minutes, Editor Brenda Linert texted me asking if I saw that news about Manning. I sent her Householder’s statement and got to work on an article about Manning. While it was difficult to write because of how sad Manning’s passing is, it was also somewhat easy as I’ve known him for several years. I first met Manning when ...

Ohio bungled in its election delay

Not having a primary election Tuesday was the right decision. But there are plenty of concerns about how it was handled. State executive-branch officials — particularly Gov. Mike DeWine and Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health — have received a lot of credit for how they’ve addressed the COVID-19 outbreak and efforts to contain it. But that cannot be said for the election delay. DeWine has said he decided early Monday to cancel Tuesday’s primary after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended no gatherings of more than 50 people to stop ...