OHIO DEMOCRATS KEEP UP THE CAMPAIGN — VIRTUALLY
Ohio Democratic Party Launches “Stay Home And Vote” Push Ahead of April 28 Deadline to Vote in Ohio’s Primary Election
COLUMBUS — In response to the coronavirus crisis and Gov. Mike DeWine’s “stay at home” order, the Ohio Democratic Party has transitioned its campaign efforts to a completely online operation, holding virtual cross-country fundraisers, training hundreds of volunteers through webinars and reaching hundreds of thousands of voters with digital ads.
“We take the safety of our staff, volunteers and the people of Ohio very seriously, which is why we proactively postponed one of our biggest fundraising events of the year and supported the governor’s decision to close polling places on Primary Election Day,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper. “Our team is now working virtually, but the work continues. Over the past two weeks, we held a virtual town hall with Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Ohio House Democratic Leader Emilia Sykes, Ohio Senate Democratic Leader Kenny Yuko and hundreds of grassroots activists who are fired up and ready to go and a virtual fundraiser with state parties across the country to engage donors that want to invest in the important work we do. Because the Ohio Democratic Party was an early adopter of online organizing and reaching voters through digital ads, the transition has been pretty seamless. We haven’t lost a step — we’re simply retooling for success in this new normal.”
The Ohio Democratic Party has a number of online training sessions set for the coming weeks to teach volunteers how to use new tools to mobilize their own networks. An NBC News story this weekend discussed how the coronavirus pandemic could impact voter registration efforts, which typically rely on in-person events to register new voters.
“The best way to get someone registered to vote is for someone they know and trust to ask them,” said Pepper. “Much of this can be done online, and the progressive tech infrastructure is innovating all the time to make it easier for volunteers to connect with their own networks and encourage them to register to vote.”
The state party also launched a “Stay Home and Vote” campaign this week to encourage those voters who have yet to cast a ballot in Ohio’s primary election to vote by mail before the extended deadline of Tuesday, April 28.
“We’re pleased that Ohio’s primary election was extended, allowing Ohioans to stay home and vote,” said Pepper. “The bill passed by the legislature didn’t have everything we were looking for, but we’re glad to see that each absentee ballot will have postage paid and every board of elections will soon have a secure dropbox outside, where voters can return their absentee ballots at any time of day and without in-person contact.
“We’re urging every Ohio voter that wants to participate in the primary election to submit their absentee ballot application immediately, so they have ample time to receive and return their absentee ballot.”
