In the past, 17 year olds who will be 18 by the fall election have been able to vote partisan ballots for candidates in the Ohio primary. A Democratic state representative who’s been critical of the Republican Secretary of State says they’re not able to this year. But his office says that isn’t true. Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports.
Democratic Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) is accusing Secretary of State Jon Husted of changing rules to deprive some young Ohioans from voting in this primary election.
“Seventeen year olds, for decades, have always been able to participate in the primary as long as they will be 18 years old and able to vote in the general.”
But Joshua Eck with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office says 17-year-olds who are going to be 18 before the general election are only allowed to vote on candidates for the offices that will be decided in the upcoming general election. Eck says the rules being followed now are the same rules followed by Husted’s predecessor, Democrat Jennifer Brunner.
