Sharon Coolidge

scoolidge@enquirer.com

MOUNT AIRY – Democrats took their fight to keep early voting Downtown to the streets – and to buses – walking and riding from Walnut Hills to a proposed new county Board of Elections in Mount Airy.

Their goal: Show that moving early voting from Downtown to the neighborhood bordering Colerain Township would make it almost impossible for someone without a car to get there to vote in person.

Republicans – who want to move the voting location – say they'll improve transportation, possibly adding express shuttles from Downtown.

It took the group 1 1/2 hours, one bus transfer, $2.25 and a half-mile walk from the closest bus stop to the proposed site.

And that was just one way, pointed out state Sen. Eric Kearney of North Avondale and Democratic state Sen. Nina Turner, who is also a candidate for Ohio secretary of state.

"We can't wait until 2016 to raise awareness," Turner said. "We need to stand up and fight before this happens."

Republican leaders cried foul before the group – which also included Cincinnati City Councilwoman Yvette Simpson and state Senate candidate Angela Beamon – even left.

This November, Republicans said, voters can vote in person over four weeks during weekday business hours and on two Saturdays. Plus, all voters will receive an application to vote by mail. There's also still Election Day.

But state officials have reduced the hours for voting compared to the past – and they won't include Sundays this year.

Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou remains adamant Mount Airy is a better location than the current one on Broadway.

Mount Airy is the center of the county geographically and in terms of population; Hamilton County currently has the lowest early voting turnout of any county, he said.

"This was a political stunt, not grounded in any kind of fact," Triantafilou said.

The Mount Airy site isn't easily accessible to people who don't have cars. An estimated 12.7 percent of Hamilton County households – 6.8 percent outside Cincinnati and 21.7 percent in Cincinnati – don't have a vehicle, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2012 American Community Survey.

The issue over whether to move early voting to Mount Airy exploded in January when the county suggested the move would save money and solve space problems. The move has national implications, since it could affect who is able to vote in a key swing state.

The Board of Elections cast a tie vote on the move. Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted broke the tie, allowing the move.

In his decision, he pointed out that it won't happen until after the 2016 election and urged local leaders to find common ground, especially on finding a spot for in-person early voting. ⬛