Citing high demand for absentee voting during the March primary election, Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner decided yesterday to allow voters to cast ballots on the weekends leading up to the November general election.

Brunner's decision breaks a tie vote on the issue by the four-member Franklin County Board of Elections.

It means that beginning Oct. 4, Franklin County residents can vote at Veterans Memorial, 300 W. Broad St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.

"I believe it is reasonable to anticipate that demand for in-person absentee voting will be even greater for the general election," Brunner wrote in her decision.

Political organizations, candidates and elections officials are urging voters to come early to avoid long lines expected for the Nov. 4 presidential election, Brunner wrote.

The county needs to accommodate the work schedules of as many voters as possible, she said, because of the county's large number of registered voters and its "complex economy."

Elections-board members Doug Preisse and Michael Colley, both Republicans, had rejected the idea of weekend voting, citing scheduling conflicts at Veterans Memorial and the additional cost to have elections-board staffers work on the weekends.

Brunner, however, sided with fellow Democrats William A. Anthony Jr. and Kimberly E. Marinello, for the weekend voting.

She said the board should reschedule elections workers to provide for days off and that absentee voting should be canceled when a weekend event at Veterans poses a conflict.

If voting is canceled, the board must publicize that cancellation before the absentee-voting period, Brunner said.

Matthew Damschroder, deputy director of the elections board, estimates that $60,000 will be needed to cover the weekend staffing.

"We're going to execute the best off-site voting that anybody has ever seen," he said.

Brunner said the cost for the weekend hours is "significant" but noted that Franklin County commissioners have supported the elections board's past efforts to extend in-person absentee voting.

Preisse still disagrees with the decision.

"At some point, we're going to roll a voting booth up to everyone's house," he said. "It certainly is possible to have all voting locations open 24 hours a day, but is it practical?"

dnarciso@dispatch.com

Beginning Oct. 4, voters can cast ballots at Veterans Memorial from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.