The leader of Democrats in the Ohio House is blasting a Republican controlled panel of lawmakers for its decision to deny a request by the Republican Secretary of State to pay for postage on mail-in ballots. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles reports.
House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes says she’s not surprised the Ohio Controlling Board voted not to allow Secretary of State Frank LaRose to shift money in his office around to allow mail-in ballots to be prepaid.
“It has been the prerogative of the Republican caucus to create barriers and make it challenging for everyday people to vote. Things like not allowing for prepaid postage is akin to a poll tax.”
LaRose said he wanted to provide postage, in part, so voters would not delay in mailing ballots. But the panel of lawmakers that nixed the idea, pointing out mail-in ballots are not the only option. They said voters could choose to vote, in-person, at local board of elections for four weeks prior to Election Day or at their precincts on November 3.
