Partisan Games Means Continue Barriers to the Ballot Box for Ohio Voters
July 11, 2010
Today, Advancement Project released an issue brief examining the ramifications if Ohio lawmakers failure to enact comprehensive election reform to correct provisions of the election code that impede the ability of voters to participate in elections.
Ohio lawmakers introduced two election reform bills, Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8) and House Bill 260 (H.B. 260), in 2009. Subsequently, both bills were amended and substitution bills were later introduced by their respective General Assembly Sponsors. H.B. 260 is the result of bipartisan proposals that were generated after the November 2008 general election. It includes recommendations from election officials, voters, and community advocates developed during post-2008 election summits hosted by the office of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. H.B. 260 would provide sweeping changes to Ohio’s election code, including changes to absentee ballot procedures, provisional ballot rules, voter registration, voter ID, and voter challenges to name a few.
Advancement Project’s issue brief highlights four important election reform provisions of S.B. 8 and H.B. 260, that if adopted will reduce voter disenfranchisement:
* Provisional ballots
* Voter registration
* Voter challenges; and
* Voter ID
Filed under Voter Protection, Ohio
