Judge Richard Frye Doesn't Care About the Coronavirus (Oregon, Franklin: living, law)

[BlakeJones]

Orders primary to proceed tomorrow in contradiction to most asking for a postponement. This guy is a real piece of work, history will not look back favorably upon him


https://www.10tv.com/article/judge-r...sible-2020-mar

[Bo]

The governor admitted in his presser announcing the suit that his case to do it was facing an uphill battle. The ancient Ohio law on this says that only an invasion is grounds for changing an election date.

I'll be at home, working and sitting this one out, but I'm curious who was really behind the countersuit and what their true motivation was.

[WRnative]

Ohio defies a Franklin County judge and closes down polling places for Tuesday's primary.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/0...primary-132340

Clearly what is needed now is a means for registered voters who have not yet cast their ballots to obtain absentee ballots, with an extended online absentee ballot request procedure and deadline, and a new deadline for mailing the remaining ballots.

Franklin County Judge Richard Frye, who earlier Monday rejected an effort by DeWine to postpone the primary, perhaps is correct that June might be more dangerous than now, especially in parts of Ohio where the COVID-19 virus has not reached detectable levels, assuming there is such a part of the state given the paltry level of testing yet available. So the election should be converted to an absentee ballot only election, or, at a minimum, absentee ballots should be so widely encouraged so that only a small percentage of the electorate will be left to cast ballots in person on the extended primary date.

Keep in mind that there are many local issues apart from the Presidential primary and local governments need the outcomes of the elections in order to prepare for the future. Likely, polling places will have to be open at some point in order to have a legal election. The polling places in June should be manned perhaps by National Guardsman in hazmat suits, assuming the state can obtain needed supplies of hazmat suits (unlikely) if things are going to be as bad in Ohio as the Italy-like crises now expected by elected and medical officials in states like New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. As with Greater San Francisco, parts of Ohio soon may be in lockdown preventing persons from even easily mailing back absentee ballots.

It also may be a good idea to establish an online appointment procedure (not mandatory) to allow votes to schedule their vote by time period. The idea would be to help smooth out the voting rush in order to avoid long waiting lines where persons could become more easily infected.

As an aside, given the economic catastrophe spreading across the nation, it's unlikely that any local levies will pass if a significant part of the electorate remains to cast ballots. This outcome also will result in local financial catastrophes, especially if renewal levies were a subject on local ballots.

My brother lives in a senior living facility in Franklin County. He was concerned about having to travel to a polling station. His complex is on lockdown with no visitors allowed, so he also was concerned about hundreds of residents leaving the complex to vote and then returning to the complex's buildings with perhaps one or more of the voters exposed to the COVID-19 virus.

He normally votes early, but didn't do so this year because he waited to see how the Democratic Primary would shake out.

He's proud of the fact that he's never missed an election. Seniors like him probably would have put their lives at risk, as well as the lives of others, in order to do their long practiced civic duty. This is especially true, perhaps (likely) due to limited testing, because the perception in Franklin County is that the COVID-19 infection is not widespread there yet.

Judge Frye also was correct that the Secretary of State Frank LaRose was derelict in waiting to the last minute to extend today's primary. What also is true, however, is that these are exceptional circumstances and not even the nation's leaders seem to have comprehended the crisis now at hand. And, barring a truly last minute change (possible given Ohio's action), Illinois, Florida and Arizona plan to hold their primaries today as scheduled.

https://www.nytimes.com/article/2020...ronavirus.html

Given the compulsion of many seniors and others to vote, the action of Gov. DeWine and other state officials to defy Judge Frye and to close down today's primary, likely will save lives and help protect the threatened health of first responders and medical staffs at direct risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus. I was wondering if even all of the polling places would have been adequately manned.

[Natural510]

He originally wanted to postpone it until June, but the virus may be in full throttle by then. Hopefully they will streamline the absentee ballot option.

[Bo]

Turns out the governor had more cards to play. The state health commissioner put out an emergency order to shur down the polls.

[ferraris]

In hindsight the DeWine administration should have either started with the health order from the beginning, or called on the state legislature to convene and vote on moving the election.

The judge was put in a very awkward situation and chose not to set a potentially dangerous precedent.

The whole thing was sloppily executed, but it worked out for the best in the end.

[ohioaninsc]

We need to go to mail in voting like in Oregon...they mail every registered voter the ballot with a stamped return envelope.

We won't be out of this by June.

[Natural510]

Anyone have an update on the absentee ballot situation? I mailed off applications last week, but not sure if I will actually get one in the mail.