Ohio has joined where Republicans want to make changes to voting laws after the 2020 election. The bill includes changes that appeal to both parties, but some that Democrats have spoken against.
In of his bill, Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) wrote that he isn鈥檛 challenging the election of President Biden. Seitz writes that Donald Trump won Ohio by eight points in "a fair and fraud-free count."
However Seitz wrote his bill will make Ohio鈥檚 elections more secure.
He鈥檚 proposing online absentee ballot requests and moving the request deadline from the Saturday before the election to 10 days before. County boards of elections and voting rights advocates urged voters to request absentee ballots early last year because of concerns about , and .
The bill also limits ballot drop boxes to one per county, while , and they would be available only for 10 days before the election.
Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose had said last year he'd without legislative approval. Then he. A lawsuit and then . Right now, LaRose's directive which allows only one drop box per county .
Seitz's bill also would eliminate in person voting the day before the election, though those hours can be scheduled another day. County boards of elections have suggested they'd like more time to prepare for the Election Day vote.
The bill also allows for automated registration through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles rather than all adults being automatically registered to vote, which Democrats have wanted. that would register voters at the BMV not long after he was elected in 2018.
to have seen an earlier version of the bill and said it would ban drop boxes entirely and require two forms of ID for in-person early voting.
Ohio Democratic Party chair Liz Walters put out a statement blasting the proposal, writing in part: "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."
Chair on GOP Voter Regression Legislation set to be introduced soon:
— Ohio Dems (@OHDems)
"While Georgia鈥檚 voting bill has been panned nationwide, Ohio Republicans used that bill as a starting point and then proceeded to work backward from there.鈥�
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