News You Ought to Know
AP Exclusive: Thousands of Ohio absentee applications denied
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Thousands of Ohio voters were held up or stymied in their efforts to get absentee ballots for last year’s general election because of missing or mismatched signatures on their ballot applications, an Associated Press review has found.
The signature requirement on such applications is a largely overlooked and spottily tracked step in Ohio’s voting process, which has shifted increasingly to mail-in ballots since early, no-fault absentee voting was instituted in 2005.
To supporters, the requirement is a useful form of protection against voter fraud and provides an extra layer of security necessary for absentee balloting.
To detractors, it’s a recipe for disenfranchisement — a cumbersome addition to an already stringent voter identification system.
Three states — Oregon, Washington and Colorado — conduct all-mail elections, eliminating the ballot application process by automatically mailing a ballot to every registered voter before Election Day.
Miller said Ohio has not shown the political will to move in this direction, but her organization is pushing establishment of a permanent absentee list for those voters who meet certain criteria that require help, such as illness, permanent disability or illiteracy. Seven states and the District of Columbia have just such a system.
Spectrum Cable Employee, fatally stabbed and robbed 83-year-old customer
IRVING, Texas – An employee for a cable service provider accused of killing an 83-year-old Irving woman had visited her house just one day before the murder, according to police documents.
Roy James Holden Jr. is charged with capital murder. Police tracked him down after they say he went shopping with the victim’s debit card wearing the same clothes he wore during the murder.
Although the motive seems clear, it looks like it was a robbery. Police still don’t understand what Holden was thinking when allegedly he returned to the home of a customer, stabbed her and took her wallet.
Betty Jo Thomas was visited on Wednesday at her Irving home by Holden, an employee for Spectrum. Police say he came back the next day, went inside her home, stabbed her to death in her living room and left with her wallet.
Holden was arrested for capital murder Friday.
According to an arrest warrant, Holden was wearing the same clothes he was seen wearing in a home surveillance video when he used Thomas’ debit card to make purchases at a Walmart in Mesquite and a QuikTrip in Sunnyvale.
Holden did not have a criminal history. Spectrum says it is cooperating with the police investigation.
Irving police are reminding people to not tell people — even contract workers — that they live alone.
