Ohio

From organizing protests and petition drives to filing lawsuits and writing legislative testimony, a look at how the League of Women Voters has helped protect voting rights in 2013.

The co-presidents of LWV Cuyahoga Area (OH) guest blog about their voter service work and their high school registration project in particular.

"Asked whether the blanket mailing by the secretary of state was necessary, the League of Women Voters of Ohio's Carrie Davis offered, 'Regardless of what rules we have in place going forward... whatever options we have, we need to make clear to voters what their rights are. I think that's been a big source of confusion this election cycle.'"

"Tina Merlitti, who heads up the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area and is a former Akron councilwoman, was an observer on behalf of the state Issue 2 campaign at Callis Tower in Akron, a single-precinct polling location... Merlitti said the biggest problem she saw at the polling place was voters who had moved and weren’t sure where they needed to vote. ... 'Often the people were supposed to vote there,' she said. 'We would look it up for them and then take them back to the judge — the one checking voters in — and say, ‘They’re supposed to vote here.’ They would then give them a provisional ballot. After it happened a couple of times, they would send them to us to have us look it up for them.'”

"The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for voters in the battleground state of Ohio to cast ballots on the three days before Election Day, giving Democrats and President Barack Obama’s campaign a victory three weeks before the election. ... The court refused a request by the state’s Republican elections chief and attorney general to get involved in a battle over early voting.

"Magnificat High School [OH] students participated in a candidate forum featuring Cuyahoga County Council District 2 candidates ... The two-day event, presented by the League of Women Voters, also gave students the opportunity to cast their votes and participate in a mock election."