Vote by mail would give Ohioans what they want

The thinking seemed: No Franklin County judge would reject the request from Mike DeWine to postpone the March 17 primary election. The governor made his persuasive case the day before the polls were scheduled to open — late, yes, but the coronavirus emergency has moved with chilling speed. Lives would come before ballots. Then, Judge Richard Frye delivered the unexpected. His ruling was so surprising that Frank LaRose, the secretary of state, launched a misguided email message announcing the court had arrived at the conclusion practically everyone expected. The secretary soon scrambled to correct the error. The judge denied the governor's request, citing his unhappiness with the timing, arguing the authority to change an election date belongs to the legislature. The judge got something else right. He noted the absence of any reasonable assurance that conditions would improve sufficiently by June 2, the new primary date for Ohioans to go to the polls. Ultimately, Dr. Amy Acton, the state health director, ordered the polls closed last week. Now state lawmakers have the job of bringing the primary election to a timely conclusion. LaRose landed on June 2 as the day that would give the state as much time as possible to cope with the public health crisis before colliding with deadlines such as Democrats needing delegates in place for their national convention in July. Ohio has had May and June primaries in the past. What distinguishes this situation is the uncertainty of the pandemic — social, or physical, distancing, and now staying home, necessary to protect the public health system's capacity to respond. No wonder many voices have called for allowing more time for no-excuse absentee balloting in the unfinished primary. Many Ohioans already have voted via this popular option. Let's mobilize to see that those who planned to vote in person last week request a ballot and cast their votes at home. In that way, voters would have their say and keep their distance. If state lawmakers move quickly, the process may be completed before June. The Ohio Democratic Party has argued for an April 28 deadline. The Libertarian Party in its court action points to May 8. Even better would be Ohio using this moment to begin moving entirely to vote by mail, or vote at home. Oregon embraced the idea two decades ago and hasn't looked back. Other states have followed its lead. In November, Oregon, plus Colorado, Washington, Utah and Hawaii, will conduct vote-by-mail elections in full. California has been moving in this direction. Alaska, North Dakota and Nebraska have been testing, too. Experience advises gradual adoption of the change. Ohio has made a start with no-excuse absentee balloting. As other states have learned, the next logical step involves permitting counties, if they wish, to try voting by mail. These experiments have proved successful, more counties taking the leap, entire states eventually on board. Why make the change? The discussion of elections invariably leads to voter turnout. States with vote-by-mail report double-digit increases in the percentage of registered voters casting ballots. Most striking is the higher numbers often include off-year elections and primaries. Might that translate to Ohioans playing less of a name game when it comes to judicial elections? Voting at home is an improvement. A ballot arrives in the mail, and then a voter has time. For instance, rather than seek to make sense of ballot language in a hurried trip to the polls, a voter can examine what an issue entails, perhaps discuss the matter with family members and friends or search for expert analyses. A newspaper editorial might be helpful. The websites of candidates and news coverage are available. All of this means voters who are better informed, an outcome deserving the applause from all sides. States with full voting by mail have enjoyed financial savings as the voting apparatus shrinks. That includes less investment in expensive, and ever-evolving, equipment. Provisional ballots diminish, leaving fewer election complications. There also is protection against fraud (not that it is a problem) with bar codes and signature recognition technology. One-quarter of the country voted by mail in 2016 without trouble. Whole states have shown the process is secure. For many, going to the polls on Election Day is part of a tradition, parents taking children to ingrain the civic duty early. That isn't something easily left behind. Yet things change, and part of our shared public task is keeping pace, adjusting to fit the times. In the moment, that goes to tapping vote by mail to complete the primary in a pandemic. For the long run, Ohio desires increased turnout, less expense and better-informed voters, doesn't it? Douglas is a retired Beacon Journal editorial page editor. He can be reached at mddouglasmm@gmail.com. ——— ©2020 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) Visit the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) at www.ohio.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.