May 7, 2021
Republicans in Ohio are proposing a significant rewrite of state election laws, an effort that comes despite sweeping GOP victories in the state last year and a smooth election. Legislation introduced in the Ohio House calls for prohibiting replacement of ballot drop boxes anywhere but at a local elections office, eliminating a day of early voting, shortening the window for requesting mail-in ballots and tightening voter ID requirements - all restrictions the House Democratic leader has criticized as “modern Jim Crow laws” targeted at disenfranchising voters of color. The bill also would add some conveniences to elections, however, including an online absentee ballot request system long sought in the state and automated voter registration through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Ohio GOP lawmakers introduce voter suppression bill
Ohio’s new voting bill, HB 294, would place restrictions on mail-in ballots, early voting, and drop boxes.
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Ohio has introduced a new voter suppression bill championed by Republican elected officials, joining Georgia and Florida which have signed similar legislation into law this spring.
The bill,
Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) and
Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth), and replete with restrictions on mail-in ballot “curing” or corrections, early voting, and reduces the number of drop box locations to just one per county, according to the
Huffington Post. If passed, HB 294– also called the Elections Modernization and Security Act– would turn a number of voter restrictions into law.
May 7, 2021
Republicans in Ohio are proposing a significant rewrite of state election laws, an effort that comes despite sweeping GOP victories in the state last year and a smooth election. Legislation introduced in the Ohio House calls for prohibiting replacement of ballot drop boxes anywhere but at a local elections office, eliminating a day of early voting, shortening the window for requesting mail-in ballots and tightening voter ID requirements - all restrictions the House Democratic leader has criticized as “modern Jim Crow laws” targeted at disenfranchising voters of color. The bill also would add some conveniences to elections, however, including an online absentee ballot request system long sought in the state and automated voter registration through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
May 7, 2021
FILE-This Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 file photo shows Board of Elections worker Bob Moody moving boxes of ballots at the Trumbull County Board of Elections in Warren, Ohio. A state representative sponsoring a significant rewrite of Ohio s election laws says it will be released soon, Tuesday, April 20, 2021. State Rep. Bill Seitz said the bill could reduce early voting days and prohibit ballot drop boxes but also could add conveniences like online mail-in ballot requests. (AP Photo/David Dermer, File)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Ohio became the latest state Thursday where Republicans are proposing a significant rewrite of state election laws, an effort that comes despite sweeping GOP victories in the state last year and a smooth election.
May 7, 2021
Republicans in Ohio are proposing a significant rewrite of state election laws, an effort that comes despite sweeping GOP victories in the state last year and a smooth election. Legislation introduced in the Ohio House calls for prohibiting replacement of ballot drop boxes anywhere but at a local elections office, eliminating a day of early voting, shortening the window for requesting mail-in ballots and tightening voter ID requirements - all restrictions the House Democratic leader has criticized as “modern Jim Crow laws” targeted at disenfranchising voters of color. The bill also would add some conveniences to elections, however, including an online absentee ballot request system long sought in the state and automated voter registration through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.