For Immediate Release on 10/20/20
Contact: Sam Gedert
sam@OhioBallotFacts.org
614.706.3136
OAEO Launches New Site to Reassure Voters
With only two weeks until Election Day, amidst unprecedented levels of misinformation and allegations of fraud regarding Ohio’s election system, the Ohio Association of Election Officials has launched a new website to help set the record straight. OhioBallotFacts.org has interviews with election officials, news articles, academic studies and other materials to reassure Ohio voters that ballots will be counted accurately and fairly.
“The most common scenarios I hear are massive absentee ballot fraud and that Russia is somehow hacking into voting machines. I also have heard that thousands of ineligible voter will illegally cast ballots. It’s been really frustrating because there simply isn’t a kernel of truth truth in any of it. We always get a little bit of this type of thing, but this year it’s been a real distraction” says Michelle Wilcox, President of the Ohio Association of Election Officials
Although voter fraud is extremely rare, increased political polarization and a general uncertainty caused by COVID-19 is heightening voters’ concerns that the results of the 2020 election may be compromised.
“I get it, I really do. 2020 has been such a crazy year, it’s been hard to know what to believe. We just want to make sure people have access to the facts so they can better evaluate any allegations they are hearing” added Aaron Ockerman, Executive Director of OAEO.
In order to help make the facts presented on the site more accessible, much of the content is in the form of video monologues or interviews. The OAEO has contracted with Sam Gedert of Action Factory to host all the video content. Mr. Gedert conducts interviews on specific topics and provides narration for videos that examine or explain voting law, processes, and vocabulary.
The website and corresponding social media platforms will be releasing new content daily up until the election.