Southeast natural disasters could impact Ohio absentee voters

(The Center Square) – Secretary of State Frank LaRose has contacted Ohio emergency workers helping with hurricane response in the Southeast to monitor potential issues with absentee ballots.

Dan Lusheck, deputy communications director for LaRose, said the office will also continue to monitor for specific issues following Hurricane Helene that struck the Big Bend area of Florida and unleashed devastating flooding in North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.

Also, Hurricane Milton struck the Tampa area late last week with massive storm surge and significant damage all across central Florida, including the heavily populated Tampa and Orlando areas.

Hundreds of Ohio-based aid workers are in North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, along with national troops. There countless numbers of college students, and postal service for those in the damaged areas could impact absentee ballot mailings.

With less than three weeks left before Ohio's absentee ballot postmark deadline, it’s the time of year thousands of snowbirds leave or have left the state for warming weather in the Southeast.

Lusheck said LaRose is chairman of the National Republican Secretaries of State Committee and he’s reached out to secretaries in the southeast to offer assistance.

LaRose’s office has also reached out to Ohio emergency workers in the area who are helping with crisis response.

On Tuesday, the United States Postal Service said it continues restoring operations to impacted areas where it is safely possible, but a significant backlog of mail and packages remains.

“The full recovery of service to the area may stretch forward for some time,” the USPS said in a statement.

According to the postal service, 278 of the 303 postal facilities in Florida are open, and 295 offices have reported 154,540 pieces of delayed mail from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Lusheck encouraged Ohio absentee voters, to track their absentee ballot at voteohio.gov/track. He also said the office will monitor the areas for specific issues, and those with concerns should contact the secretary of state’s office.