However, there is another group of Ohio and U.S. citizens whose situation deserves equal attention: those affected by eliminating the absentee-ballot “grace period” for ballots mailed from overseas. It appears that lawmakers and election officials may not be fully considering the real-world impact on U.S. military personnel, federal civilian employees, and their dependents stationed abroad.
At any given time, there are roughly 170,000 U.S. service members overseas, along with about 200,000 accompanying family members (not all of voting age). In addition, there are approximately 40,000 federal civilian employees abroad, plus their families. Ohio is the home of record for about 2–3% of active-duty personnel, which means an estimated 3,000–5,000 Ohio service members are stationed overseas at any one time. Applying the same proportion to federal employees adds roughly 1,000 more Ohioans. In total, more than 6,000 Ohio residents overseas—not counting their family members—may be affected by this policy change.
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), enacted in 1986, exists to ensure that these voters are not disenfranchised simply because they are serving or living abroad.
For these voters, mailing timelines are not theoretical. They rely on military mail, diplomatic pouch services, and foreign postal systems that can be delayed by distance, weather, security conditions, or host-nation disruptions. Even when ballots are mailed on time, delays completely outside the voter’s control can cause legally cast ballots to go uncounted if no grace period exists.
These are Americans serving our country—often in difficult or remote locations. Removing grace periods risks disenfranchising exactly the people we frequently thank for their service.
Reasonable receipt windows acknowledge the realities of overseas mail and help ensure that ballots mailed on time are counted. Whatever one’s views on other election issues, making sure deployed service members, federal employees, and their families can vote should be something we can all support.
Charles “Dennis” Hall
Beavercreek
Ohio made right choice in farm animal law
Thank you for Reporter London Bishop’s article on Ohio’s new restrictions on gestation crates for pigs. Given Ohio’s enormous role in U.S. pork production, this shift is undeniably significant, and it was encouraging to see such careful reporting on an issue that rarely receives sustained attention.
At the same time, the article was a reminder of how difficult the lives of farmed animals can be. The fact that pigs were ever kept in conditions so restrictive they couldn’t turn around is deeply unsettling, and even with these new rules, their reality remains far from easy. Still, reducing the most extreme forms of confinement matters, and I’m grateful to see Ohio take a step that lessens at least some of that suffering.
I also appreciated the article’s recognition of the long, complicated process behind this change. Progress in the treatment of farmed animals often comes slowly, through negotiation and persistence, and even imperfect improvements can open the door to broader conversations about how we care for the beings who depend entirely on us.
Thank you again for giving space to an issue that deserves far more public reflection.
Sara Crane
Toronto, Ohio
Rep. Mike Turner is not working for us
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton has managed to avoid getting called out as a RINO. By voting to confirm every unqualified Trump sycophant currently mismanaging our government and voting for a budget that extends tax breaks for billionaires and ends health care subsidies for millions, he stays loyal enough to the MAGA regime.
Reporter Jamie Dupree had to write his article without actually interviewing Mike Turner, but he isn’t the only one he won’t meet. We constituents have been asking for a town hall for years. Allegedly, he keeps office hours, but we only find a staff person there. Who is Mike Turner working for? Not us.
Sheila Drennen
Yellow springs