Bad Voting Bill Coming to Ohio
By the time you read this, Rep Bill Setiz will likely have introduced a bad voting bill in the Ohio House. Bad because it makes voting more difficult by eliminating the last day of early vote, only allowing drop boxes for the ten days before an election, ratcheting up ID requirements for absentee voting, and making other small but significant changes. Despite our clean elections and Trump victory, Ohio doesn't want to be left behind in the rush towards increased "election security" -- fueled of course by The Big Lie.
The Seitz bill is bad but tricky too: it also contains some long-sought voting improvements such as allowing online absentee ballot requests, and using electronic billing statements for ID.
Because we haven't seen the exact details yet, we can't say for sure how the good and bad balance out -- but the feeling is this could very well be a Trojan horse, getting through the gates with some things we like, only to crush us with increased obstacles to the ballot. (Also unknown is what if any might be in an Ohio Senate version of an elections bill -- quite possibly even worse.)
It's not as if Seitz's intentions or feelings about voting are in doubt. There are, after all, plenty of ways to improve Ohio's elections without doing things that suppress votes. As Seitz said in an article published last week by Cincinnati Public Radio, "I will tell you the truth – I have been in the Statehouse, House and Senate, for 21 years and the worse thing I have ever done was 15 years ago when I voted for no-excuse absentee voting and the early voting period." Nuff said.
Take a stand
For Individuals: If you haven't taken action yet, please click here to send an email to your Representative and Senator to ask them to protect access to the ballot for all Ohioans.
For Organizations: Do you belong to any groups, large or small, political, cultural, business, or otherwise? All are welcome to sign our pro-democracy and fair elections organizational sign on letter.
For Businesses: Across the country, many businesses and corporations are leading the way in the fight to push back against voter suppression bills. That could be the same here in Ohio. Just this past week, the Dispatch ran an opinion piece by the head of the Columbus Partnership supporting pro-voter election reform. Do you own a business? Work for or patronize one that supports keeping Ohio's elections free and fair? Whether the business is large or small, we need their support. Click here to find out more about the "Democracy is Good for Ohio Business" campaign. Read the Business Sign on Letter and sign on HERE.
Stay Tuned
More developments about this and possibly other voting bills will come soon. Keep your eyes peeled for more info. (Subscribe to) and read your local Ohio papers for breaking news and follow How Things Work at the Ohio Statehouse for up-to-date information on calls to action.