Amid the furious fireworks of today’s politics, there came a brief, welcome moment of quiet Friday. It was the sound of compromise. As we noted earlier this week, what appeared to be partisan warfare had broken out between Ohio’s chief elections official and the leader of Cuyahoga County government. The issue: whether counties are free to mail unsolicited applications for absentee ballots to their residents if other counties can’t afford to do so.
Yes, Democratic Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald said — it is good public service. No, Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted said — it is unfair. As their argument rolled on, they threw wilder and wilder rhetorical punches. Some Cuyahoga votes might not be counted! The U.S. Department of Justice might intervene!
Now the nonsense has gone away. FitzGerald and Husted said Friday that they’ve made a deal: Cuyahoga will mail absentee ballot applications only to those who request them for the election this November, and Husted will use state and federal funds to mail unsolicited applications to all eligible Ohioans for the November 2012 presidential election.
Both men have reason to be pleased with the compromise. All Ohioans have reason to be pleased with this temporary return to political sanity that focuses on serving voters, not scoring ideological points.
Full Article: Absentee ballot compromise is welcome fix | The Tribune.