The voting rights of a single Cincinnati resident took center stage this week in the never-ending drama over the city’s under-construction streetcar.
Cincinnati blogger Randy Simes was forced to defend his right to vote this week in the face of conspiracy allegations by a Tea Party-affiliated anti-streetcar group. Image: Business Journals
Members of the Tea Party-affiliated Ohio Voter Integrity Project filed a complaint with the local Board of Elections challenging the right of city resident Randy Simes to vote in Cincinnati while he is in South Korea on business. Simes is the owner of Urban Cincy, a pro-streetcar blog and member of the Streetsblog Network.
On Monday, good sense prevailed, and the Board of Elections made a 3-1 determination that yes, Simes does have the right to vote absentee in Cincinnati. Simes called the whole ordeal “a big fishing expedition” that was “politically motivated.”