County Clerk Warns Residents About Following Election Laws
By Mark Johannsen, Contributing Editor

Portage County Clerk Samantha Gustavson warned residents on Monday about the need for honesty and security with absentee ballots. These ballots, which allow residents to vote in elections even if they are going to be out of town on election day, are “official, legal documents,” she warned in Monday’s news release.

“If someone you know has received an absentee ballot, but will be unable to sign the ballot and return it before November 6, it is a crime for you to sign the ballot envelope for them and return it. Signing this legal document in someone else’s name will put you at personal legal risk and prevent this person’s ballot from being counted.”

Gustavson went on to warn residents that the county clerk’s office has very sophisticated ways of detecting malfeasance and that attempting to forge a ballot is just “not worth it.” According to Ohio state voting laws, anyone convicted of voting twice in an election could face up to 2 years in jail and be forced to pay a fine of up to $10,000.

This news release comes directly on the heels of recent accusations by Republican leadership that voter fraud is a serious problem in our country. When asked, via email, if voter fraud is a serious problem in Portage County, Gustavson responded, “we have no reason to believe that voter fraud is occurring in our county to the degree that it is a ‘problem.’ We just want to be sure that people understand the rules and that no one accidentally puts themselves in legal jeopardy. If someone were to find a blank ballot that is not intended for them, they should discard it immediately or return it to the county clerk’s office.”

Letter to the County Clerk
To: Portage County Clerk’s Office
From: Ines Mendina, Aurora resident
Date: October 17

Dear Mrs. Gustavson,

I was very upset to read your press release about potential voter fraud with absentee ballots in our county. In an article written in the Aurora Advocate, you stated that you don’t believe voter fraud is a problem in our county. So, why did you need to write a press release about it? We have a serious problem in our country with misinformation, and these types of thoughtless warnings only add fuel to the fire. Republicans in Congress and the Oval Office are screaming about voter fraud and the threat that it poses on our country with no evidence to suggest that any of this fraud is occurring.

Warnings like yours only feed into this rhetoric. Even though you don’t believe it’s a problem, you send out a warning to Portage County residents without thinking twice. Residents see your warning and hear Republican leaders shouting about voter fraud and begin to think that this is a real problem in our county. You need to understand how your actions as an elected official affect your constituents.

If you don’t think voter fraud is a real problem in Portage County, why didn’t you also mention that in your press release? I find it hard to believe that you’re intentionally providing misinformation to our residents in order to sow distrust in the voting process, but whether it was intentional or not, that’s what you have done. Everyone in this country deserves the right to vote and have their voice heard, and it’s carelessness like this that threatens that right. Absentee ballots serve an important role in the voting process, and warnings like these could motivate voters to call for a ban on all absentee votes. Please have your office immediately release a statement expressing your lack of concern over actual voter fraud.

Sincerely,
Ines Mendina