Anne has answers: Expect pro-pot group on your phone

Got a question about marijuana legalization in Ohio? Anne Saker, The Enquirer’s lead reporter on the topic, can find answers.Contact Anne atasaker@enquirer.com, 513-768-8489, facebook.com/annesaker, Twitter @apsaker, #AnneHasAnswers.

Tuesday starts early voting, 28 days from Election Day. How should voters expect the Issue 3 campaign to proceed?

Early voting starts Tuesday, meaning that you can vote in the comfort of your own home. That feature could make the biggest difference to the outcome of Issue 3, the legalization of marijuana in Ohio

Off-year balloting in odd-numbered years typically draws the lowest general-election voter turnout, around 3 million of the more than 7 million registered voters statewide. Two years ago, not even a third of the registered electorate bothered to vote in Greater Cincinnati: In November 2013, Hamilton County pulled in 29.98 percent, Butler County got 27.19 percent, and Warren County drew 24.91 percent.

Still, 50 percent of the vote plus one vote wins. Thus the kind of voter casting a ballot in 2015 will determine the fate of Issue 3 – and it may not be who you think it will be. As I pointed out last month, marijuana scrambles the usual political calculus. Democrats and Republicans don’t vote in predictable ways on marijuana.

Pot legalization debate blurs the political lines

Plus, Ohio will be the first state to give a straight up-or-down vote to full marijuana legalization. That could change things, too.

Both sides are well aware of the stakes. Ian James is the executive director of ResponsibleOhio, the private investor group that is bankrolling Issue 3. He has said repeatedly he expects to spend at least $20 million on the general election campaign.

Curt Steiner, a well-known Columbus political professional who is running the No on 3 effort, has said he hopes to raise $5 million to $8 million. So far, his strategy has lined up more than 70 organizations and some of the political establishment against the measure to hold news conferences to express opposition.

But with early voting kicking off, Steiner said, “We are paying attention to those voters who request absentee ballots, and we’re following up with many of those by mail or by phone.”

ResponsibleOhio has already run some television advertising. The most recent went out Monday featuring two women of a certain age discussing the value of having legal marijuana available as medicine through a limited, heavily regulated cultivation “that will put the drug dealers out of business.”

Steiner says No on 3 is still raising money to buy television ads. “We feel we can win no matter what the turnout is, and we’re not anticipating a very high turnout,” he said. “Based on what we’re seeing so far, we expect a relatively normal off-year turnout.”

Internal polling “has been very encouraging,” although Steiner declined to go into details.

James, on the other hand, said ResponsibleOhio’s internal polling put the “yes” vote on Issue 3 at a whopping 57 percent – which is 5 percentage points higher than the only outside polling done so far, in early July by Quinnipiac University.

The next four weeks, James said, is when ResponsibleOhio is ready to pour it on in other ways beside blanket advertising. Not only has ResponsibleOhio registered more than 150,000 new voters this year, it has built out a sophisticated social media campaign that aims to follow up with millennial voters through the early-voting season. Through the technique of geofencing, ResponsibleOhio can send tailored advertising to mobile phones depending on geographic area.

“We’ll email, we’ll call, we’ll do a social media push, we’ll knock on people’s doors,” he said. “We’ll say, ‘You’ve said you wanted to vote by mail, now here’s your chance to do it, from the safety and comfort of your own home. You cannot legalize it just by sitting there thinking about it.”

Baby boomers, who are more likely to vote, can expect a twofold approach. ResponsibleOhio already is hitting the medical availability. But to the generation that in its youth smoked pot to shake a fist at The Man, James said another approach will resonate: "Do you still want the government to tell you how to think about marijuana?"

How to vote

Starting Tuesday, county boards of elections will mail absentee ballots to those registered voters who have requested them. Voters must complete, sign and seal their voted ballots, taking care to provide the required information, including proper identification. Voted ballots must be postmarked the day before Election Day and received no later than Nov.13. Absentee ballots may also be delivered in person to boards of elections no later than the close of the polls on Election Day. They may not be returned at polling locations.

Voters have until Oct. 31 at noon to request an absentee ballot by mail, though they should do it as soon as possible to allow for plenty of time to receive, complete and return their ballot. In addition to the statewide mailing, voters can also get an absentee ballot by contacting their county board of elections for more information, or by downloading an absentee ballot request form at MyOhioVote.com.

Ballots for military and overseas voters became available Sept. 19. Military voters who have not yet registered to vote or submitted a request for an absentee ballot may still do so by visiting OhioMilitaryVotes.com or OhioVoterPassport.com for overseas voters. There they can download the Federal Post Card Application, register to vote and request an absentee ballot, read through frequently asked questions, track the status of their mailed ballot and sign up for election reminders via email and social media. All voters can also contact their county board of elections directly for more information.