LINDA MARTZ, MANSFIELD NEWS JOURNAL
But voter registration at those locations skyrocketed after a court settlement went into effect in January.
At the time the federal lawsuit was filed, Project Vote, Demos and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said many county-level JFS offices in
The law was designed to increase participation in federal elections. It required state motor vehicle agencies to offer voter registration programs — but extended that to public assistance agencies, to reach low-income individuals.
During 2003 and 2004, the voting rights groups, county welfare offices in Ohio processed 4.7 million applications for assistance, but handled a fraction of that number — less than one-half of a percent — of voter registration forms.
The lawsuit singled out Morrow County JFS as being among 10 offices which didn’t register a single voter, from 2002 to 2004. It named Richland County JFS as being among 17 county offices which handled fewer than 10 voter registrations, and Crawford County JFS among 32 offices which forwarded fewer than 100 registration forms.
The lawsuit ended with a settlement agreement last fall. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services agreed to create and distribute voter registration materials, train agency employees, assign coordinators for each county, monitor complaints and track results.
When Project Vote sought a tally for the first six months of 2010, this time Richland County JFS had forwarded 1,793 voter applications, Crawford 271 and Morrow County, 315.
The number of low-income people registering to vote as they apply for public assistance in Ohio has increased more than 10-fold, statewide according to Project Vote.
Between Jan. 1 and June 30, 101,604 voter registration applications were submitted by Ohio Department of Job and Family Service clients. County offices averaged 17,000 registration applications per month — compared to only 1,775 monthly prior to the lawsuit.
“Yes, our numbers are up,” Richland County JFS Assistant Director Lori Bedson confirmed.
She believes voter registration through the Mansfield office began rising around 2005, probably due to the lawsuit.
“There was a push to really crack down on what was being done.”
Richland County JFS now makes voter registration forms available when people initially apply for public assistance, whenever they reapply or seek out emergency services, Bedson said. When people who are on public assistance change their address, “we send out another form,” she added.
“We have posters in the lobby and forms for people just walking in,” Bedson said. “It would be accurate to say we probably are more cognizant now because of the lawsuit.”
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services spokesman Benjamin Johnson said the accusation in the lawsuit was that “we missed some people.”
Before the settlement, voter registration forms were available, but not directly as a part of the public assistance forms, he said.
Now, applications for food, cash and medical assistance contain a checkoff asking whether the person is interested in registering to vote. If they indicate an interest, the last two pages of the form are the voter registration papers, he said.
Prior to January, people applying for public assistance could “opt in” to register. Now, in essence, they must “opt out,” Johnson said.
But Richland County Deputy Elections Director Jeff Wilkinson was skeptical about the greater number of applications forwarded by JFS will produce any real change in numbers of voters. Many “new” voters processed through JFS really are people who previously were registered, but moved and are providing updated addresses, he said.
In addition, Wilkinson contends a significant number of voter registration forms are rejected because of flaws — the most common being lack of a signature. Though the elections office attempts to get the problem corrected, the mailing sometimes comes back as undeliverable, he said.
Crawford County Deputy Elections Director Kim Rudd said while effects on overall voter numbers aren’t clear, applications coming from that county’s Job and Family Services office have greatly increased.
During the last three months of 2009, Crawford County JFS forwarded 38 voter applications, she said. In both October and December, the number of voters registered through the agency was zero, she said.
After the settlement went into effect, the number immediately spiked to 56 in January.
Over the first six months of this year, Crawford County JFS forwarded 422 voters registration applications, Rudd said. That amounts to 1.4 percent of the county’s current total of about 29,800 registered voters.
“Obviously, numbers are way up from Job and Family Services,” Rudd said.
The elections official said it’s too soon to determine whether the low-income voters who registered through JFS offices were affiliated with any party. Newly registering voters don’t indicate an affiliation on their form.