Ohio's Democratic Congressional Delegation demands prepaid postage for ballots and ballot applications, and for Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, to provide such prepaid postage free of charge, which the law does not preclude....Ohio's Democratic Congressional Delegation members are U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Cleveland, and U.S. Representatives Marcy Kaptur, Tim Ryan, Marcia L. Fudge, and Joyce Beatty....Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio

From left: U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Cleveland and U.S. Representatives Marcy Kaptur, Tim Ryan, Marcia L. Fudge, and Joyce Beatty (Members of Ohio's five-member Democratic Congressional Delegation)

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), along with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and U.S. Reps. Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3), Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), and Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH-11), chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Elections, on Tuesday sent a letter to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose urging him to use his existing authority to provide prepaid return postage on ballots and ballot applications. 

Earlier this year Ohio's state lawmakers passed a law making the state's November election a mail-in ballot election for all practical purposes, and due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The letter to LaRose from Ohio's five-member Democratic Congressional Delegation, Brown, Fudge, Kaptur, Beatty and Ryan, comes as the Nov. 3 general election is less than two months away where incumbent President Donald Trump will square off with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, a former longtime U.S. senator and former vice president under former president Barack Obama, the nation's first Black president.

A breakdown of Ohio voters per drop box in each county can be found here.

 Full text of the letter sent Tuesday to LaRose can be found here.

“In an election where many citizens’ only practical option is to vote by mail, forcing Ohioans to pay postage in order to exercise this right is akin to a modern day poll tax," the letter from the Democratic lawmakers reads in part. 

The lawmakers also said that nothing in Ohio law prohibits Ohio's secretary of state from honoring their requests. 

Sen Brown, a Cleveland Democrat and former Ohio secretary of state himself, is the most senior  member of Ohio's five-member Democratic Congressional Delegation, aside from Kaptur, the longest serving woman in Congress. (Editors note: Ohio has 18 people in Congress, two U.S. senators, Brown and Republican Rob Portman of Cincinnati, and 16 U.S. representatives, 12 U.S. representatives of whom are Republican, and four of whom are Democrats, namely Reps. Beatty, Fudge, Kaptur and Ryan).  

A former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Fudge leads Ohio's largely Black 11th congressional district, which includes Cleveland, and Kaptur's ninth congressional district extends from Toledo to Cleveland.

Beatty, one of two Blacks from Ohio in Congress along with Fudge, is a Columbus Democrat, and Rep. Ryan, a former presidential candidate, is a Niles Democrat

The federal lawmakers also urged  LaRose to communicate with the U.S. postal service to ensure ballots that originate in Ohio are delivered on time, and that  there are visible postmarks.

The lawmakers cautioned LaRose that "delays and cost cutting measures could endanger timely delivery of vote by mail ballots."

Last month Kaptur, Brown, Fudge, and Ryan sent a letter to the Ohio Controlling Board urging the board to confirm LaRose’s existing authority to prepay postage for absentee ballots and ballot applications for the upcoming November 2020 general election in Ohio.

They also sent a letter to Sec. LaRose in August urging him to reconsider his decision to prohibit local boards of elections from providing multiple secure ballot drop boxes in each county. 

In the wake of an ongoing, unprecedented public health crisis, LaRose, the lawmakers say,  banned county boards of elections from providing more than one ballot drop box for completed absentee ballots.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.