Some on the left will blame Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted for this Republican trend. He’s made a big push to streamline and increase absentee voting, favoring older and generally more conservative voters. However, absentee turnout doesn’t seem dramatically different so far from 2008.
What has changed are the voter rolls in Ohio. Husted has removed 490,000 deceased voters and duplicate registrations from the rolls. The vast majority of these voters were registered Democrats, and considering Obama won the state by 263,000 votes, Ohio’s cleaner rolls could make a big impact.
These factors, and especially the Republicans’ clear advantage in absentee voting, have been ignored by the media in order to continue their narrative that conservatives can’t win this November. Republicans can win in Ohio if these trends continue and the Republicans mount a strong get-out-the-vote effort.
Despite what the pundits say, polls don’t win elections. If conservative activists knock on doors and talk to their neighbors, Americans will have a fighting chance to fire Obama. To empower these grassroots activists, American Majority Action has launched Liberty Headquarters in Ohio and other key swing states.
It’s tough to see how Mitt Romney wins in November without Ohio. Fortunately, Romney’s path to victory in Ohio is becoming clearer.
Ned Ryun is the CEO and president of American Majority Action, a national grassroots organization targeting Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, and Wisconsin this fall. For more information, call (540) 751-8774.
