COLUMBUS - A group of voting rights advocates (listed below) today called on Secretary of State Husted to restore at least two weekends for in-­‐person early voting.

"While we understand Secretary Husted's desire for uniformity, early voting hours must also be reasonable," said Carrie Davis, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. Norman Robbins, Research Director of the Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates" added, "Voters in many counties have come to expect that they will be able to cast an early ballot on Saturday or Sunday. Challenging budget times may mean that county Boards of Elections cannot offer early in-­‐person voting every weekend, but even offering two weekends for early voting would make a big difference for working Ohioans"

Recent restrictions on extended hours and weekends for early in-­‐person voting have eliminated the voting times when some 257,000 Ohioans voted in 2008. Secretary of State Husted's Directive 2012-­‐35 restores only 53,000 of these votes but denies the public the opportunity to vote on weekends. Restoration of two weekends for voting would permit another 51,000 to vote, and most of all give working people and African Americans (who used in-­‐person voting heavily) a chance to vote the way they preferred in 2008. Indeed, more than this number might vote on these weekends because 3 other weekends would still be denied to them. We note that despite availability of mailed vote-­‐by-­‐mail applications in 2008 in some counties, many voters in those counties chose to vote early in-­‐person rather than by mail. Therefore, mail applications are no substitute for our proposal.

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This statement endorsed by: League of Women Voters of Ohio, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, Ohio Conference NAACP, Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates, Project Vote, Ohio AFL-­‐CIO, Miami Valley Voter Protection Coalition, Ohio Women with Disabilities Network, and Citizens Alliance for Secure Elections
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More than 5,000 people from all over the nation, and various parts of the world including Australia, united today (July 28) on the West lawn of the U.S. Capitol demanding Congress take immediate action to stop fracking. After the rally that began at 2 p.m., rally participants marched for more than one hour, stopping at the headquarters of the America’s Natural Gas Alliance and American Petroleum Institute.

People impacted by fracking in their communities joined forces with 136 local and national organizations to call on Congress to Stop the Frack Attack and protect Americans from the dangerous impacts of fracking.

Rally speakers included, Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org; Josh Fox, producer of Gasland; Calvin Tillman, former mayor of Dish, Texas; Allison Chin, board president of the Sierra Club, and community members from swing states affected by fracking.

“As the increasingly bizarre weather across the planet and melting ice on Greenland makes clear, at this point we’ve got no choice but to keep fossil fuels underground. Fracking to find more is the worst possible idea,” said McKibben.
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Following an explosion yesterday at a natural gas well in Bolivar Township, Ohio, that left a 19-year-old worker dead, local residents gathered last night at Chesapeake Energy’s Canton office to protest Mayor Healy’s request that the Canton City Council approve the company’s plan to lease city-owned land for fracking.

Mourning the death of the oil and gas worker, protestors marched in a silent vigil to Canton City Hall, where they testified in opposition to the Mayor’s plan before the Canton City Council.

Earlier this year in Healy’s State of the City address, he dubbed Canton the “Utica Capital,” clearly demonstrating his support for the controversial practice of shale gas drilling. But a growing number of residents and concerned council members are now working to block his efforts to drill on city-owned property.

Kristine Vaughan, local coordinator for Food & Water Watch, said, “We are asking city council to uphold its responsibility to protect the health, safety and welfare of Canton residents and water customers. Risking permanent contamination of our city water supply for a short-term gain hardly seems logical. I’m certain that neither Mayor Healy nor city council wants to jeopardize the health of their constituents for a budget band-aid.”
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One person was confirmed dead from an oil- and natural gas-well explosion Monday morning, but authorities will need additional time to provide positive identification of the victim and an exact cause of the explosion that sent flames and an oil holding tank high into the sky and created a blanket of intense heat that could be felt across the street.

The explosion, believed to have occurred about 9:30 a.m., was in Lawrence Township at a site about two miles south of Bolivar in the vicinity of Bolivar Group Home at 10071 State Route 212, near the Wilkshire Hills subdivision.

Dr. James Hubert, Tuscarawas County coroner, said late Monday that the victim’s name won’t be released until identity is confirmed through the use of dental records. Hubert said once the victim’s dental records are acquired and examined by a specialist, he should be able to confirm the victim’s identity by the end of the week.

The victim, believed to be a 19-year-old male, was painting at the well site, according to Bolivar Fire Capt. Marty Huth, who served as incident commander at the scene Monday.
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