Government & Politics

Election 2020

2020 is looking to be a pivotal year in politics. But this year's elections are about much more than the race for the White House. And the coronavirus pandemic is proving to be a complicating factor. WKSU, our colleagues at public radio stations across Ohio and the region and at NPR will bring you coverage of all the races from the national to the local level.

Secretary Of State Will Ask For Permission To Pay For Postage On Mail-in Ballot Envelopes

The Statehouse News Bureau | By Jo Ingles,

Jo Ingles

Published September 11, 2020 at 3:30 PM EDT

Ohio’s Secretary of State will ask a panel of state lawmakers Monday to allow him to use money raised from business fees to buy postage for mail-in ballots.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose says he needs permission from the Ohio Controlling Board to use $3 million in his office’s business account to pay return postage for mail-in ballots. He says there are good reasons why the state should get stamps to boards of elections for those ballot return envelopes.

“Simply providing the postage so there aren’t questions about how many stamps go on it and that kind of thing but also so people send their absentee ballots in without delay.”

LaRose says many more voters are expected to mail-in ballots this year due to COVID-19. At this point, one million voters have already requested ballots ahead of the October 6 start for early voting. That’s more than all of the mail-in voting requests in the primary this spring.