The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
Ohio’s local election workers are overworked, underpaid and strained by conspiratorial attacks, and the state could be doing more to leave politics out of the election process, according to a voting rights group who talked with local election administrators.
All Voting is Local Ohio partnered with research firm Public Circle, LLC, to study the evolution of the work election administrators at the local level do as they prepare for another highly-contested election.
“Today, these professionals are straining under the weight of back-to-back statewide special elections and rhetorical attacks on their trustworthiness, character and patriotism,” the report stated.
More complex elections, technological advancements and increased voter education needs have piled on to a load local election directors say only grows bigger every year. Add to that a “politicization” of elections, including claims of voter fraud and mass voter challenges , and “hidden costs” arise, according to the authors of the election workforce report .