* * * Do Ohioans really believe anything that comes out of the mouth of Republican Jon Husted? Husted has apparently teamed up with another Republican state senator, John Carey, to have a favorable commentary appear in the Chillicothe Gazette. Carey should have had to pay for the political ad for the propaganda that was printed in the newspaper. According to the article, Husted wants to improve funding for education. Husted is a major advocate for charter schools, and has received huge amounts of political contributions from the largest owner of charter schools in the state. Husted's political leanings make me suspicious of anything he says or does. His actions and language remind me too much of Kenneth Blackwell. We all remember what a nightmare voting was during Blackwell's control of elections!
Husted spoke at a Republican stronghold on Friday in Hancock County, Ohio. The Courier has information about his speech and this little tidbit on Husted's view of early voting:
....The early voting process still needs work, Husted said. One way of offering it may work in Hancock County, but not in Franklin County, he said.....
Does Husted want to have early voting differ in various parts of the state? Doesn't that go against people having equal access to vote? Is Husted trying to change voting in Franklin County because it is a huge Democratic Party stronghold?
If you recall, Republicans tried to stop certain aspects of the early voting. Here is a USA Today article from 9/30/2008 that shows exactly how Republicans tried to stop people from exercising their right to vote:
...On Monday, the state Supreme Court and two federal judges upheld the ruling by Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner that allows new voters to register and cast an absentee ballot on the same day from Tuesday through Oct. 6. Republicans argued that Ohio law requires voters to be registered for 30 days before they cast an absentee ballot.
The Ohio GOP asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Tuesday either to stop same-day voting or require elections official to separate those ballots so the registrations can be verified. But Brunner already has instructed election officials to segregate those ballots and verify the registrations before counting them.
Is this how Husted wants to "fix" Ohio's voting laws? Does he want to throw out early voting? The Republicans just want to do their part through Husted to disqualify and disenfranchise voters. They've done it before and they'll try to do it again.