FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 10, 2020 Contacts: Jen Miller, director@lwvohio.org; 614-563-9543 Jen Miller of League of Women Voters of Ohio Comments on COVID-19 Directive & Press Conference by Secretary LaRose COLUMBUS: We thank all those who are working to keep our elections safe and secure in the face of unprecedented global health events. Democracy functions best when diverse groups of people work together, and that is what we have here: Secretary of State and Ohio Department of Health working with county Boards of Elections and local Health Departments to protect Ohio voters and our democracy. The answer is not to sit this election out, but to pick the avenue of participation that best suits your needs. You can request an absentee ballot by mail until noon on Saturday and have your ballot postmarked by Monday, March 16. Print the Absentee Ballot Application from home or contact your County Board of Election office to request an Absentee Ballot Application be sent to you. Voting early is also encouraged. If you want to vote on Primary Election Day, verify your polling location, given that more than 125 statewide have been moved. Best practices for sanitizing polling equipment and polling locations will be employed, and hand sanitizer will be made available for voters. If you are in a high-risk demographic and have already signed up to serve as a poll worker, we encourage you to talk to your primary care provider, and to let your county Board of Elections know immediately if you need to cancel your participation. If you are healthy and able, please sign up to be a poll worker today! Poll workers are the backbone of our electoral democracy, but we are facing poll worker shortages. There is still time to sign up and get trained. We also need Election Protection workers, who can assist voters in real-time on Primary Election Day, you can sign up here: https://866ourvote.org/volunteer/ Robust voter turnout is critical for a healthy, thriving Ohio, so please do your part. Together, we can make this primary, and every election, a success. # # # | 
