***Press Release*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 2013

Contact: Adam Warren (614) 466-4583

Senator Turner Salutes Start of Early Voting Period

Early opportunities to cast a ballot popular with Ohioans
CLEVELANDState Senator Nina Turner (D-Cleveland) today encouraged Ohioans to take advantage of the opening of Ohios 35-day early voting period to cast a ballot. Enacted in the wake of the deeply flawed 2004 elections, early in-person and no-fault absentee voting has provided necessary flexibility for working Ohioans and has shortened lines at the polls on Election Day. Since 2006, Ohioans have come to value the flexibility that early voting provides, said Senator Turner. Whether helping those with mobility challenges or ensuring that voters can cast a ballot regardless of work or school schedules, early voting is critical to all Ohioans. In the 2012 general election, over 600,000 Ohioans cast ballots at early voting locations in their communities and more than 1.2 million voted by mail. Early and absentee voters accounted for more than 33% of all votes cast in 2012. Not everyone has the ability to take time off work, or alter their schedules to go to a polling place on Election Day to cast a ballot, said Senator Turner. For many working Ohioans, early votingby mail or in personis the best option for them.

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