Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted cast a vote for himself Wednesday. The state’s chief elections officer broke a tie vote at the Hamilton County Board of Elections over whether to hang a poster bearing his name in all of the county’s polling places. Husted and fellow Republicans say the poster, which features a drawing by a fifth grader from Jackson, Ohio, is harmless and informational because it encourages people to “exercise your right to vote.” It also, however, prominently features Husted’s name in white letters against a blue backdrop stripped across the top. And that, Democrats say, is unfair in an election year when Husted is running for office against Democrat Nina Turner. They say the poster essentially is a campaign ad for Husted, and no one else is allowed to bring buttons, posters, bumper stickers or other campaign material into polling places.
They also complain that a second poster, which includes voter registration information, is just as offensive because it, too, displays Husted’s name in type as big as a bumper sticker in the lower right-hand corner.
Husted told the board last week it must display the voter registration poster, but he said boards of election across the state could choose not to display the poster with the kid’s artwork. Hamilton County’s board voted 2-2 along party lines last week, so Husted broke the tie Wednesday.
Full Article: Husted says Husted poster must go up in polling places.