Cleveland has issue with primary date
Education, health-care and taxes continue to be focal points of ongoing state budget negotiations in Columbus.
But another issue — the date of the 2020 presidential primary election, nestled into the budget documents that have caused negotiations to stretch on past the set deadline in the Statehouse — has come up as a potential area of disagreement.
That’s because the Ohio Senate set the election for March 17, 2020 — St. Patrick’s Day. Cleveland’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration draws massive, sometimes raucous crowds — estimated in the hundreds of thousands, which Cleveland’s tourism bureau says makes it among the largest celebrations of the holiday in the country. Democrats and elections officials in Cleveland are concerned the disruptions to Downtown polling places, and the competition for people’s time and attention will dampen turnout in one of the most populous areas of the state.
Convincing Republicans to change the date — requested by the Ohio Republican Party for procedural reasons involving national GOP rules — will be “tough,” said Rep. Jack Cera, a Belmont County Democrat who serves on a conference committee negotiating a final budget.
“But we don’t like it,” Cera said.
The Senate set next year’s primary for March 17 at the behest of the Ohio Republican Party, working to schedule the election so Ohio’s contest will fall after March 15, the cut-off under Republican National Committee rules for states that want their delegates to be awarded on a winner-take all basis.
The new date flew under the radar for most, appearing within an omnibus amendment package incorporated into the state budget late in the process. The budget passed the next day unanimously with bipartisan support.
Evan Machan, a spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party, said: “Early voting laws are some of the best in the country. We encourage voters to utilize their right to early vote if they have prior commitments on Election Day.”
Cuyahoga County elections officials noticed the date and have discussed internally the challenges it might create, said Anthony Perlatti, director of the board of elections.