Voting is underway for Ohio’s next top election official, but a new poll shows the vast majority of Ohioans don’t know who is in charge of running elections statewide.
Only 8 percent of registered Ohio voters correctly identified the secretary of state as the chief elections official in Ohio in a survey conducted earlier this year by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Half of those surveyed “didn’t know” who manages and conducts elections in Ohio and 42 percent gave incorrect answers.
Pew surveyed eight states: California, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Ohio had the highest rate of incorrect answers, with many voters saying that the governor or a state board manages elections.
Ohio voters also were misinformed about how to register to vote, according to the survey results. Nearly half — 46 percent — of Ohio voters did not know they could update their voter registration information through the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. More than one-third of Ohio voters did not know the postal service does not automatically update voter registration when an Ohioan moves.
Ohio voters prefer to get information about their polling place and other election information online, according to the survey. Only 30 percent said they “would definitely check” the secretary of state’s website while 69 percent said they would check Google, Bing or another search website.
The survey also asked Ohio voters their opinions about online voter registration and maintaining the state’s voter registration database. A majority — 51 percent — of registered Ohio voters favor being able to register to vote online through an official website.
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To view the poll results, click here.
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