Ohio has become the latest state where Republicans are proposing a significant rewrite of state election laws. It comes despite a smooth 2020 election.
Legislation introduced in the Ohio House Thursday calls for prohibiting off-site ballot drop boxes, eliminating a day of early voting and tightening voter ID requirements, all restrictions criticized by Democrats.
The bill also would add some conveniences to elections, including an online absentee ballot request system and automated voter registration through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Its sponsor, Republican state Rep. Bill Seitz, says the sweeping overhaul isn't suppressive but incorporates changes advocated by both parties, as well as election officials and voting rights advocates.
The Ohio Senate is drafting its own election reform bill, Republican Senate President Matt Huffman told reporters Wednesday — acknowledging pushback against the House version.
The bill’s author and co-sponsor, Republican state Rep. Bill Seitz, has said the sweeping overhaul isn’t an effort to suppress voters, as has caught attention in Georgia and other states, but a thoughtful effort to incorporate changes long sought by Democrats, Republicans, election officials and voter advocates.
House Democrats said the bill takes Ohio election law in the wrong direction. They said they would like to see legislation that allows for multiple drop box locations in each county, relaxed voter ID requirements, modernized election technology and timelines that prioritize voters — not election boards or politicians.
