New Ballot Issue Guide

A new guide is uploaded on the Ohio Campus Compact website explaining the statewide ballot issues on the November ballot. A direct link is here and also linked from Resources Page on OCC's site.

Please post if you have any ideas on how to use this guide on your campus. I think it would be great to have a forum dedicated to explaining and discussing these issues.

Test out sample ballot

There are two ways to see a sample ballot in Ohio:

1. The first way is to see a generic sample ballot from the Ohio Secretary of State's website. The direct link is here which is linked from their About This Election page.
2. The other (and much better way) to see a sample ballot is to go to the website of your county board of elections and see the actually ballot you will be voting on with all of the local issues and candidates on it. One problem is that some counties don't have websites for their board of elections so this method is not possible for everyone. To see a listing a of County boards with links to their websites (if they have one) go to this page and check out your ballot today! http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/elections/boeDirectory.aspx

For example: you can see my local ballot in Franklin County.

Confirm your voter registration information

The Ohio Secretary of State's website allows registered voters to search online for their information. You simply fill in a few lines of information and then you can confirm your registration status and your polling location.

All voters should do this before Election Day to ensure there are no errors that prevent you from voting on election day.

http://www.sos.state.oh.us/SOS/voterquery.aspx?page=361

Debating our Destiny

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/index.html

This is an awesome website! Jim Lehrer, of PBS's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer has made a second installment of "Debating our Destiny" which chronicles Presidential Debates from 1976 to 2004. Watch all the videos, they will get you excited about next Friday, September 26, the first Presidential Debate of the current election.

Students’ “dependent” status not affected by voter address

There have been a number of rumors and some false statements about registering college students to vote. Some of this misinformation concerns the dependent/independent status of students. Traditional aged college students often claim their parent’s home as their own while they are in college. Their parents also claim the student on their tax forms and students claim their parents income on their FAFSA. Most traditionally aged college students (unless they’re married or have filed a petition with their school to be independent) are categorized as dependent students.

Being a dependent student has quite a few ramifications such as often receiving less financial aid (because students are claiming their parents income) and the ability to stay on their parent’s health insurance plan while attending school.

What is very clear, however, is the location a student chooses to register to vote does NOT affect their dependent status. This is contrary to the beliefs of many people and the statements of some election officials. It is actually a personal decision whether a student should register in their hometown or where they are attending school. In my opinion, it comes down to which location do students feel closer to? If a student feels closer to their hometown and wants to vote on candidates and issues that affect their hometown, then they should either arrange to vote at home in person (either by early voting or on election day) or by absentee ballot. If a student has fallen in love with their college town or city their institution resides in, then they should register to vote there so they can influence the policies that affect their adopted hometown.

This is the official word from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office:

“A student may vote using his or her Ohio school residence address. However, the student may not also vote an absentee ballot where he or she last lived (e.g. with one or more parent or guardian). When a college student votes from his or her school address, the school residence is considered to be the place to which the student’s habitation is fixed and to which, whenever the student is absent, the student intends to return, and is considered by the student to be his or her permanent residence at the time of voting.”

Here is in article from Inside Higher Ed that explains a particular situation in Virginia, but it applies broadly to other states:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/03/voting

Ohio Ballot Access: Breaking News!

Just today, the Ohio Secretary of State's Office confirmed that the Green Party is going to be on the ballot in the November 4th General Election.

From the Associated Press:

"A spokesman for Brunner said Wednesday that she made the decision voluntarily in light of recent court rulings allowing minor party candidates to appear on the ballot.

The Green Party's petition to make the ballot was rejected last month because it lacked the 5,000 signatures required in a Brunner directive. Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney and vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente sued Brunner in federal court.

Brunner's office also said that the names of Constitution Party presidential nominee Chuck Baldwin and vice presidential nominee Darrell Castle also will appear on the ballot."

These won't be the only third party candidates on the Ohio ballot this fall. On August 21st, the U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus ordered the Socialist Party placed on the Ohio ballot. Brian Moore is running for president with Stewart Alexander as his vice-president. Also on August 21st, independent candidate Ralph Nader filed 14,285 signatures (well over the 5,000 required) to put his name on the ballot alongside running mate Matt Gonzalez. Earlier, on July 17th, another court ruling directed Libertarian candidate Bob Barr and his running mate, Wayne Allyn Root, to be placed on the ballot after they did not turn in enough signatures.

Politics1 has the most comprehensive list of presidential candidates I have been able to find. You can find information about all the national candidates, including those not listed on the Ohio ballot. http://www.politics1.com/p2008.htm

I will create a one page flier to pass out on Ohio's campuses with information about the Presidential candidates. I will post that on the website soon!

All these candidates add a great deal of color to the Presidential landscape. It is important for students to know about all of the candidates because many people can be turned away by both of the major political parties. With these other options, students can feel comfortable that someone will resonate with them.