Democrats Lament Another Broken Promise by LaRose

Controlling Board declined to hear LaRose’s late request for ballot postage on day when Republicans sought to impeach Gov. DeWine

COLUMBUS— State Reps. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) and Catherine D. Ingram (D-Cincinnati) responded to the state Controlling Board refusing to hear Secretary LaRose’s late request for additional authority to pay return postage for absentee ballots in its meeting yesterday. LaRose said he will come back to the Board in mid-September, but absentee ballot applications are set to be mailed to 7.8 Million Ohio voters before that – around Labor Day – without return postage. The members have been urging LaRose for months to use existing authority of his office to pay return postage for both applications and ballots. 

Rep. Hicks Hudson said: 

“This is really breeding confusion. Don’t throw out promises that you can’t keep. That is exactly the kind of thing that created so much confusion during our primary. Sec. LaRose is weeks away from sending ballot applications to Ohio voters without the return postage that should be included. I don’t know if we are where we are because of GOP infighting or GOP collusion but, either way, it’s everyday Ohioans who stand to lose.”

Rep. Cathy Ingram said: 

“Democrats have been calling for months for Sec. LaRose to pay return postage. We granted him this spending power for the federal relief funds at the Controlling Board on June 15. Our position has not changed. Pay the postage for Ohio voters – for both applications and ballots. We are six months into a global pandemic that is hurting and killing Ohioans. This is no time for games.”