The Knox County Democratic Party is pleased to share this PDF flyer listing resources “for the long haul” during the COVID-19 pandemic. You’ll find links to COVID-19 guidelines, financial assistance, food assistance, and the 2-1-1 service, among others. Download a copy and share with friends, family, neighbors and work colleagues. Thanks to “Five Knox Women Democrats with an Idea” for this handy resource.
Category Archives: News
Ohio Primary Vote by Mail: Info You Need to Share
Ohio’s Primary Election new deadline
In response to the coronavirus crisis, the Ohio General Assembly has extended the time for registered voters to cast their ballots in Ohio’s primary election until Tuesday, April 28. If you haven’t cast your ballot yet — you will have a chance to make your voice heard in this critical election. Here’s how:
1. Confirm your voter registration.
The deadline to register for Ohio’s primary election was Feb. 18. Click here to check your Ohio voter registration.
Any registered Ohio voter can cast a ballot in our state’s Democratic primary. Under Ohio election law, you declare your political party affiliation by requesting the ballot of a political party in a partisan primary election.
2. Request your absentee ballot.
There are several ways you can request an absentee ballot from your county’s board of elections. Click here to reach the Knox County Board of Election website, phone number, email address and mailing address.
- You can call your county board of elections and ask them to mail you an absentee ballot application.
- You can download, print and mail an absentee ballot application to your county board of elections. You can list March 17, 2020, as the date of the primary election. The board of elections must have your absentee ballot application by Saturday, April 25, at noon, but don’t wait — it may take several days to receive your ballot back in the mail. Also, don’t forget to sign your absentee ballot application.
- If you don’t have a printer, you can also create your own handwritten application and mail it to your county board of elections. Click here to find out what information must be included in your absentee ballot application.
- You can go to your county board of elections to request or drop off your absentee ballot application in person.
(Unfortunately, at this time you can not submit your request for an absentee ballot online).
You can request to have an absentee ballot mailed to a different address than the one where you are registered.
If you requested an absentee ballot but have not received it, contact the Knox County Board of Elections.
3. Fill out your absentee ballot.
Check out endorsements from the Knox County Democratic Party. Please support our Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, including write-in candidate Quentin Potter, who is running for U.S. Congress in our district (OH-07). For more information about how to write-in Quentin and learn about candidates, please check out our news item on the KCDP site: https://www.knoxcountydems.org/absentee-and-in-person-voting-starts-tomorrow-feb-19/
Make sure to print when filling out your absentee ballot and envelope completely and accurately — and don’t forget to sign it!
4. Return your absentee ballot.
There are several ways you can return your absentee ballot.
- You can mail it to your county board of elections. Click here for the Knox County Board of Elections. The envelope for your absentee ballot will include prepaid postage. If you are mailing back your absentee ballot, make sure it is postmarked by Monday, April 27.
- You can return it in person to your county board of elections. The deadline to return your absentee ballot in person to your county board of elections is Tuesday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m.
5. Track your absentee ballot.
You can track the status of your absentee ballot online. Click here to find Knox County’s website for tracking your ballot online. If you have mailed back your absentee ballot but the online ballot tracker indicates it has not been received, click here for the Knox County Board of Elections.
6. You can vote in person at your county’s board of elections on Tuesday, April 28, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., if you are a voter with a disability who needs to use an accessible machine or if you do not have access to mail.
If you have questions or concerns about voting in Ohio’s primary election, call 1-833-DEM-VOTE (833-336-8683).
ABOVE ALL, VOTE! We need your voice. And don’t forget to share. Be well, wash your hands, maintain distance, and keep your sense of humor. We will get through this odd time of Coronavirus.
Guide to Essential Businesses
Since 11:59 last night, Ohio has been under a stay-at-home directive. Only essential businesses are permitted to operate. But what is an “essential” business? In the last 24 hours, I’ve learned that Pak Mail on Coshocton Ave., Hillside Veterinary Clinic, assorted restaurants and drive-throughs, albeit some with curbside service, are still open. Call ahead to see if your destination is open. Remember: Only go out if you absolutely need to and be sure to stick to social distancing guidelines.
Click on this link to download the order and list of industries and businesses that may still operate. https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/s…/DirectorsOrderStayAtHome.pdf
Interchurch Social Services: Open for food pick-up and financial aid needs
As an essential food supplier, Interch
urch Social Services is open during this time. Please call your local office to schedule a time to pick-up food or to talk to someone about financial aid needs.
Scroll down on page for contact numbers: http://www.interchurchknox.org/index.php/services
Resources You Need: Knox County Health Dept., Pathways of Central Ohio/211
In the coming days and weeks, KCDP will do its best to share the resources and info you need to get through the coronavirus crisis. We will share them here and on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KnoxCoDems/
Today, we are sharing Knox County’s primary contact for those who are concerned about their health or those of their loved ones, Knox County Health. Knox Public Health and Knox Community Hospital are joining forces to open a call-line for local residents to talk directly with a medical professional about their symptoms and concerns. The call-line number is 740-399-8014. The call-line is operational from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Direct link to Knox County Health Dept.https://www.knoxhealth.com/
Many of the resources we cite here are found on the Pathways of Central Ohio 211 site, which provides nearly every resource you could need (thanks, Kristin Asmus McCloud!). Check them out here: https://pathwaysofcentralohio.com/2-1-1-crisis-hotline-inf…/
OHIO DEMOCRATIC PARTY TAKES LEGAL ACTION TO PRESERVE PRIMARY ELECTION AND PROTECT OHIOANS’ RIGHT TO VOTE
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Democratic Party today filed a writ of prohibition with the Ohio Supreme Court to ensure the primary election will take place and protect Ohioans’ right to vote, after polling places were barred from opening by the state Department of Health.
“This primary election must move forward,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper. “Earlier today we said that we would litigate to defend voters’ right to fully participate in the state’s Democratic primary election, and in the absence of action by the General Assembly and with other actors moving to shut down the primary, we have filed with the Ohio Supreme Court to ensure that all eligible Ohio voters are able to exercise their right to vote in this primary.
“Yesterday’s actions did not create unchecked authority with the governor or secretary of state to run a new election. So authority for a new election must come from the legislature or from a court. Today’s action seeks that court order, preserving the primary while also proposing a more workable window for the election to take place, along with multiple opportunities and a reasonable amount of time for voters to vote.
“We hope the court, governor, secretary of state, legislative leaders and other parties see the necessity of this order to preserve the right to vote and complete a fair and timely election in Ohio.”
Click here to view the Ohio Democratic Party’s complaint in original action for writ of prohibition:
Absentee and In-Person Voting Starts Tomorrow, Feb. 19
While big primary contests have yet to happen, early voting starts in Ohio tomorrow. Don’t wait until primary election day (March 17, by the way) to vote. Download and print this flyer from the Knox County Board of Elections that lists the times available for voting in person and information about absentee voting. Ask for a Democratic ballot and vote:
- Your choice of Democratic nominee for President
- Representative to Congress (7th District): Write-in Quentin Potter (you must fill in the oval and write in “Quentin Potter” — see illustration)
- Justice of the Supreme Court: John P. O’Donnell
- Justice of the Supreme Court: Jennifer Brunner
- Judge of the Court of Appeals (5th District): William B. Hoffman
- State Representative (68th District): Steven F. Mount
How to write-in Quentin Potter as Representative to Congress. Fill in the oval, write in Quentin Potter.
ALERT: PURGING OF VOTERS
Even though it is your right to decide when you want to vote, more than 1.7 million Ohio voters were removed from voter registration files by local county boards of elections because of inactivity. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted purged voters because they chose not to vote. Were you one of the 1.7 million purged?
To check your voter registration before the next election, visit Knox County Board of Elections or I Will Vote. (Remember to use your formal registration name when you search.)
If you arrive at your polling place and cannot be found in the poll book, thanks to an ACLU of Ohio court victory, you may cast a provisional ballot. Respectfully, but firmly, insist on your right to a provisional ballot. If any problems should arise, call Knox County BOE at 740-393-6716 immediately.
FEB. 18 LAST DAY TO REGISTER FOR PRIMARY ELECTION
A last-minute reminder to Knox County residents that Tuesday, February 18, is that last day to complete your voter registration before the March 17 primary election. For more information, please visit the Knox County Board of Elections. You must be registered in order to vote!
Steve Mount for Ohio House of Representatives 68th District
Steve Mount is the Democratic candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives from the 68th District (eastern Delaware County and Knox County), running unopposed in this March’s primary. He has been active in Democratic politics for decades, in New York, campaigning for John Glenn for president in 1984, and in Delaware County since relocating to Ohio in 1985. This is his first attempt at elective office.
Why is he running? Steve offers this thoughtful explanation,
There are many reasons I am running for election to the Ohio House of Representatives. As a moderate Democrat, I believe I would offer voters of my district a choice of supporting strong family values and common sense policies that would improve their day-to-day lives.Improving healthcare, enacting common-sense gun legislation (as Governor DeWine has proposed), and addressing the effects of climate change before it is too late are all issues I would champion in the legislature.As a moderate, I would also work to bridge the bitter partisan divide that plagues our state and country. Establishing more of a balance in the legislature would help, as would calling a “truce” on the cultural issues that accomplish nothing but deepen mistrust. Even today, there is common ground, and focusing on that agenda could start to rebuild working relationships while actually accomplishing something that benefits the voters.
Steve practices as a tax lawyer with the Columbus office of a global law firm. His practice focuses on community development financings which encourage investment in low-income communities in Ohio and across the United States.
He has written books on two principal community development programs, The Rehabilitation Tax Credit and The New Markets Tax Credit, and is the author of several articles on Opportunity Funds and other topics. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Ohio Super Lawyers.
Steve graduated, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1979 and, summa cum laude, from Muskingum College in 1976. He was born in Nelsonville, Ohio.
He has lived in Genoa Township with his wife Kathleen since 1985. They have three daughters and one son, and two grandchildren. In addition to politics, his interests include running and climbing.
Election Day for the 2020 primary is March 17. Early voting begins on February 19.
Write-in for Congress: Quentin Potter
Last December, Democrats in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District were despondent. The incumbent Republican, U.S. Representative Bob Gibbs, was running unopposed for his re-election bid in 2020. But then, a Democrat from Stark County woke up one morning and decided this prospect was unacceptable. He filed a petition to become the write-in candidate for the Democratic primary ballot. He may not think he’s heroic but we do.
Who is the mystery write-in man? Quentin Potter. We’re happy to share that he’s eminently qualified, personable, and very much worth the effort to pen in his name on your ballot this March.
According to his biography, which we excerpt here from his Facebook page:
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Quentin has lived in the 7th District since 2011, when he was named Vice President and Treasurer at Lorain County Community College and moved to Avon. In 2014, he and his wife, who was born in Canton and grew up in Marlboro Township, relocated to the area to assist in caring for her mother. Although officially retired after almost 30 years in Ohio’s public sector, Quentin continued to work at the request of the Ohio Office of Budget and Management as the director’s representative on several financial oversight commissions in northeast Ohio. In this role, Quentin brought his financial leadership experience to assist communities and school districts resolve financial issues.
Quentin’s background includes not only executive experience; as a young man, he worked with UPS (as a member of the Teamsters) and managed a full service gas station for several years before returning to college and earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Education. He knows from personal experience the value of higher education, putting himself through school via jobs in retail and sales.
Quentin carries with him the independence and perseverance characteristic of many with Appalachian heritage. His parents were both from Eastern Kentucky, where several generations of Potters lived and worked, and, as a boy, Quentin spent time each summer at his grandmother’s small farm in the hills. His public service furthered an inherent understanding of the disparate circumstances facing Americans and an appreciation for the role of a well-run government in addressing people’s needs and creating opportunities.
In 1996, Quentin married Cynthia Burnell at Werner’s United Methodist Church in Stark County, the same church where Cynthia’s parents married 50 years earlier. They currently live in Plain Township with their 2 cats and spend time almost every day walking (Cynthia) and running (Quentin) on the nearby Stark Park trails. Quentin is a committed runner, having completed 13 marathons. He plans to incorporate his running into his campaign by finding local races throughout the district as a way to get to know communities and voters more directly.
About, Quentin Potter
At our January meeting, attended by Quentin, KCDP voted to endorse his candidacy, as well as that of Steve Mount, who is running for Ohio House (more on Steve soon).
Never written-in a candidate on your ballot before? Neither have we! But it is super easy. To vote for a write‐in candidate: completely darken the oval () to the left of the blank line and write in the candidate’s name. See example below:
Bookmark this page so you can remember how to write in Quentin Potter. Let’s show Rep. Bob Gibbs that we’re not just rolling over and letting him win. Vote Quentin: write him in!
Registration Deadline Date: February 18, 2020
Absentee Voting: Begins February 19, 2020
Absentee Voting Location:
117 East High Street, 2nd Floor, Room 252, Mount Vernon, OH
Primary Election Day: March 17, 2020