Chair Walters Statement on Voter Regression Legislation Being Circulated by Statehouse Republicans
April 22, 2021
Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters released the following statement on radical anti-voter legislation being circulated by statehouse Republicans that makes it harder for Ohioans to vote and creates confusion for voters, taking major steps backward in the fight for voting rights in Ohio.
“In a state that has set the bar for extreme anti-voter laws, this proposal actively takes steps to put Ohio further back in the fight for access to the voting booth. By limiting Ohioans’ ability to vote and by sowing confusion, statehouse Republicans are once again attacking the fundamental right to vote in this state. While Georgia’s voting bill has been panned nationwide, Ohio Republicans used that bill as a starting point and then proceeded to work backward from there,” said Chair Walters.
The circulated proposal would make it harder for Ohioans to vote by:
- Requiring two forms of ID for online absentee ballot requests,
- Eliminating a day of early voting on the Monday before Election Day,
- Cutting off Ohioans’ ability to request an absentee ballot 10 days out from an election, removing a week that Ohioans were previously able to request an absentee ballot, and
- Prohibiting local government offices from providing postage for voters to mail back absentee ballots. The proposal puts that power solely with the Secretary of State but provides no funding for the Secretary to be able to do so.
The proposal would create confusion for voters by:
- Codifying Frank LaRose’s nonsensical limit of one dropbox per county that can only be used in cases of emergency, but making a confusing exception to the rule 10 days out from an election, and
- Forcing Ohioans to opt-in to ‘automated’ voter registration, meaning voter registration isn’t automated at all.