11th Congressional District Residents Will Have to Vote 3 or More Times

In the wake of the Congressional vacancy created by the untimely death of respected U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, (see our prior post), the Plain Dealer reports that the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections is going to have to schedule a primary and general election to fill her seat in Congress. This, on top of coordinating the November presidential election, will give 11th District residents 3 voting opportunities in the next few months. Make that 4 possible elections for Cleveland Ward 7 residents who live in the 11th District and were represented by former Cleveland Councilwoman Fannie M. Lewis, who recently passed away on August 11, 2008. The Plain Dealer indicates that although the elections would be very expensive if separately held, some cost savings could be achieved by coordinating the dates of the votes and using the November voting equipment.