Crazy. Would never happen in our community! But just in case this describes you: On July 17, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has scheduled a voter registration cancellation of voters who have not voted in the past four elections. Confirm or update your voter status at www.443vote.com or by calling 216-443-VOTE (8683). Otherwise you will have to completely re-register to vote in the next election. See here for more of the fine details.
Eric says
I see several former Cleveland Heights residents on the list. Some have moved out of state and some are now in Gan Eden.
Susan Efroymson says
While this may mean some in our community may need to re-register (Of course it should not! but if it does, Please Do!) and be a pain the neck that way, Eric, you hit the nail on the head.
Unlike most communities, getting something on the ballot in Cleveland Heights requires a percentage of registered voters (versus the more common percentage of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election) to sign the petition to get on the ballot. I know of two initiatives our community supported that did not make it and a significant part of the blame falls on inflated numbers requiring unreasonably high number of signatories. There were simply too many dead people on the list, and seminary girls who came and went, and married children now living elsewhere showing up on every sheet. And that’s just in our community. Other sub-communities had the same observations.
We are invested in every election. it might be about how responsibly school board handles our money, an issue of import, or the swing votes for POTUS.
So, anyone whose registration is in question is urged to verify their status and become registered.
a side note: Bochurim are often urged to vote in their yeshiva’s precinct. Anyone in a swing state in urged to ask a shailah about maintaining their registration at home (students can be registered at either location, not both). Anyone registered locally should then vote absentee even when it is local only.
Anyone going away for school, sem, yeshiva or who will otherwise be away on election day, should use this as a reminder to apply for an absentee ballot.
By not voting, one may be over on Lo Sa’amod Al Dam Re’echa (and yes, I did ask my LOR if I can say that before you ask). Every issue and office effects our community in one way or another. And every politician knows which communities care enough to show up at the polls. Your voice can make a difference, even if you never know that a local official was responsive to the needs of your neighbor because we show up on election day to say “we are the people, too.”
They count the votes, so if you don’t vote, we count less. No matter how you vote, please take the time to update your status and if necessary, register so you can be there for us on election day.