STARK CO. BD OF ELECTIONS "EARLY VOTER" LINEUP, NOV 4, 2018

UPDATED:  10:05 AM

541 VOTED IN STARK EARLY VOTING 11/04

SOURCE OF INFORMATION:  STARK CO. BOARD OF ELECTIONS
WHAT IF YOU ARE TURNED AWAY AT THE POLLS?  A MUST READ RCP ARTICLE

NOTE:  (FROM A SCPR READER)

There appears to be a mistake on a Republican flyer which was received by voters from the Ohio Republican Party.  The flyer contains language which reads "Return your Absentee Ballot Today Or Bring It to the Polls on Tuesday, November 6th.

I contacted the Board of Elections and was told that they do not accept Absentee Ballots on the day of in house voting.  I also contacted the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections and was told the same thing.

ORIGINAL BLOG

Many Ohio African-American leaders believe that "organized" Republicans (i.e. those elected to the Ohio General Assembly) have been working at least going back to the early 2000s to suppress the Black American's vote.

One of the responses has been the promoting of "Souls to the Polls" which is a program that many African-American churches participate in a "the Sunday before an election" to encourage parishioners to move en masse from the church pews to the prescribed by law polling places to "early vote."

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in the technical sense Ohio law does not provide for early voting.  However, Ohio does permit absentee ballot (without an excuse ['in person" voting]) and the casting of the ballot in one trip to the designated polling place which in Stark County is the Stark County Board of Elections, 3525 Regent Ave NE, (Plain Township), Canton, Ohio.

Yesterday at 1:00 p.m. about 60 Stark Countians were lined up outside BOE offices waiting their turn to vote before Tuesday's November 6th election date which is the last opportunity for Stark Countians to vote by visiting their designated precinct polling places.

1520 WINW "JOY Radio" which specializes in "Urban Gospel" music teamed up with WINW "Start of the Union" host and state Representative Thomas West (49th District, held by a Democrat since 1974) to promote "Souls to the Polls" yesterday.  West is opposed by Republican James Haavisto in tomorrow's election.

LINK to SCPR Blog on Haavisto/West

Note:  Friedman's opponent is J. Kirk Schuring who though sitting by allowing Stark County's public schools to lose millions of dollars attempts to bamboozle Stark County voters that he is pro-public education, to wit: (also, see this LINK)

The Stark County Political Report does not have an exact count of the number of  African-American (responding to Souls to the Polls) were in line yesterday.  However, perhaps as many as a third of the 1:00 p.m. lined up "in person" voters were Black voters.

There is a strong African-American preference for Democratic candidates.

Accordingly, it is not surprising that Democratic state Representative Tom West was the host for yesterday's "Souls to the Polls."

7th Congressional District Democratic candidate Ken Harbaugh did make a "cameo appearance" at the West hosted event.

On Saturday, the Harbaugh campaign was "out-in-force" from its assembly point at the Stark County Democratic Party Headquarters and fanned out to know on 9,000 doors (according to Harbaugh) within the portion of the 7th that encompasses Stark County.

Stark County is the largest voting population center in the 7th.

Harbaugh appears to banking on Stark to take him "over-the-top" on Tuesday.

The Harbaugh campaign is planning a Victory Party? at the Canton Brewing Company.