Cuyahoga County Board of Elections issues statement re notices being sent by Ohio Democratic Party [ UPDATED]

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections issued the following statement this morning concerning postcards sent out by the Ohio Democratic Party:

VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT RETURN NOTICES SENT BY THE OHIO DEMOCRATIC MAY NOT BE ACCURATE

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections wants voters to be aware that large white postcards sent by the Ohio Democratic Party that claim the recipient has not returned their ballot, in many cases is false.  

The Board continues to get hundreds of phone calls from voters who are concerned that their ballot has not arrived at the Board.

Voters need to know that if they have received one of these postcards they can call the Board at 216-443-VOTE (8683) to confirm their ballot has arrived at the Board.  Voters may also visit the Board’s website www.443vote.com and use the ballot tracker tool to confirm their ballot has been received.

It would appear that the postcards may be going out before the records get updated. In any event, checking with the Board is the best way to make sure your ballot gets counted.

UPDATE:

A few hours after the above post, we received an email from Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Kirstin Alvanitakis that essentially confirmed our supposition that many absentee ballots were returned after the Party mailed out its postcard reminders. Alvanitakis attributed this to “a delay in mail service”, and said the party’s mailing gives voters information about how to confirm their absentee ballots have been accepted by election officials.

Alvanitakis pointed out that in 2008, before he was elected Governor, John Kasich tried to vote absentee but “his ballot was never received or counted.” She said if he “had received our postcard, it might have reminded him to contact the Delaware County Board of Elections in time to rectify the situation and allow him to cast a provisional ballot.”

Alvanitakis’ email reply ended with the sensible suggestion that “absentee voters should always track their ballots online or reach out to their county board of elections to confirm their ballots were received and accepted."

Clearly, if you vote by mail, you should follow the Board's advice and call 216.443.VOTE [8683] or visit www.443VOTE.com and check the status of your ballot.