Prince Hall Family & Friends:
The Ohio Primary Election date is March 17, 2020. If you still need to register, the deadline is February 17th. Early voting and
absentee voting begins February 19th. If you have a new address or a name change you need to update your information at your County Board of Elections by that date also so that you do not have to cast a provisional ballot. Any 17 year old who will be 18 by the General Election should also register. They can vote in the Primary on candidates but not on issues.
As a former poll judge, I have observed that voter turnout is extremely low in the Primary Elections and especially in the precincts that are predominately minority. Don’t wait for the General Election in November because by that time your preferred candidate may not be an option. The Primary Election is just that, “Primary”. It is the method to weed out the candidates and determine the eventual people that will appear on the November ballot. Voting in the Primary is your way of expressing your wishes but it is not final. As I understand it
this vote will determine which candidates will get Ohio’s delegate votes at the National Convention. So you see, if you don’t vote, your preferred candidate may be eliminated before the General election and you will have no one but yourself to blame. You do have to declare a party in order to vote for candidates in the Primary and you will get a ballot for that party only. If you do not declare a party, then you can only vote for the issues. You can switch parties if you wish but just know that the ballot will be strictly for one party
or the other. Then in the General Election you do not declare a party so you will get a full ballot and can vote for anyone from any party at that time. I have seen people switch in order to vote for friends or individuals that they like from the opposite party. I have also seen people switch in the Primaries in order to get a person onto the ballot that they thought their party could beat, and then switch back for the General Election. This was again made evident to me as I was watching Meet The Press this morning and one of the guests said he will be voting for Bernie Sanders in the Primary but will vote for Donald Trump in the General Election. He thinks Trump has a better chance of beating Sanders thus he is voting to get Sanders on the ballot as the Democratic nominee to help insure a Trump win. You see there are many games that are played and we cannot stay at home and be complacent.
This is not just a Presidential Primary. There are also many State and Local candidates and issues that are important to our daily lives and the issues are usually final. Please don’t just sit back and let others determine your future and then complain later about the results, be part of the process. Also please help the elderly or incapacitated get to the polls or to get an absentee ballot as needed.
Most of you may be more versed on the Candidates and issues than I am, so I would not dare try to influence how you vote. I just implore you to exercise your right and make your desires known! Our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are depending on us.
Please see the following link for more information:
https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/
Renae Willis
Grand Worthy Matron