Last December, Ohio lawmakers passed a bill that made substantial changes to the voting process. The bill started with a simple goal, to only allow an August special election if a community experiences a fiscal emergency.
In most other cases, there is no need to have an additional election just a few months before the November general election. Special elections are costly to taxpayers and very few people vote. Some of you may have gone to the polls in August of 2022 and found only one person on the ballot to vote for. The elimination of August elections was embraced by people on both sides of the aisle, including Bowling Green’s Senator Theresa Gavarone.
In an about-face, Senator Gavarone recently sponsored a bill to reinstate August elections to push through her pet issues. In addition to wasting $20 million of taxpayer money, an August election will create many hours of unnecessary work for the dedicated people at our Board of Elections. The admirable citizens who volunteer to work more than 12 hours at the polls in August may not have the energy to do it again a few months later. For some voters such as the elderly, the disabled, and people caught-up in the start of the school year, an extra trip to the polls will be a significant inconvenience.
The Senate has already voted to reinstate August elections, so all we can do is hold Senator Gavarone responsible for choosing to waste our time and our money. The Ohio House of Representatives has not yet voted on the bill, so perhaps we can convince the members to act more responsibly. Please contact Representative Ghanbari, or the person who is your representative, and tell him or her to vote “no” on House Bill 144. The $20 million that will be wasted on a special election can be used more wisely.
Debbie Dalke
Bowling Green
