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Ohio Democratic lawmakers have proposed legislation that would make Election Day a state holiday.
Voter turnout in the state varies by election, ranging from 70% in the 2024 presidential election to 10% in 2025.
“Democracy works better when we all participate,” said Catherine Turcer, a voting rights advocate at Common Cause Ohio.
She said when it comes to elections, every vote counts, especially in local elections.
Data from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections show that 10 races had a vote margin of around 20, with six races within 10 and even a few ties.
Hamilton County BOE results in Cincinnati show at least 12 races were within 20 votes and eight were within 10 votes.
“Not all of us can participate if we don’t have good access,” Turcer added.
A Tufts University study found that of people who did not vote in the 2024 presidential election, about 25% said they had conflicting work or school schedules.
State Sen. Kent Smith, D-Euclid, proposed a solution.
“If elected officials in Ohio truly respect voters, we should respect them enough to allow them to get to the polls on Election Day,” Smith said in an interview.
He and several Democratic colleagues introduced Ohio Senate Bill 335, which would make the general election a state holiday. The first Tuesday after the first Monday in November will be “Democracy Day”.
“Holidays are considered special days, and I think that’s one of the things we should always be doing — trying to educate young people in Ohio about the importance of voting,” the lawmaker said.
According to the Movement Advancement Project, at least 14 states observe Election Day as a holiday, and five of them also require employers to provide paid leave to voters.
Seventeen other states where it is not a holiday provide paid leave.
Ohio is one of the remaining states that does not require either. However, Ohio allows voters to have a “reasonable amount of time” off during the day to fulfill their civic duties.
Turcer isn’t convinced this will actually address low voter turnout, as many industries still work on holidays. Childcare could also be an issue if people are unable to bring their children to the polls.
She said a better solution would be to introduce paid leave.
“It could also leave many lower-income essential workers behind,” Turcer said.
knot. Frank LaRose’s state team does not believe a leave of absence is necessary.
“Ohio has one of the most accessible election schedules in the country, with nearly a month of early voting, including evening and weekend hours. Every day is a holiday when you can return your ballot from the comfort of your home. We also have a very generous 13-hour voting window on Election Day itself, and we encourage all employers to give their employees time off when necessary to fulfill their civic responsibilities,” said LaRose spokesman Ben Kindel.
However, just a few months ago, Ohio changed its election laws.
Ohio Senate Bill 293, now signed into law, could make vote counting more hard.
The recent law, which goes into effect in mid-March, requires almost every vote to be counted on election night.
Previously, the state had a four-day grace period for Ohio’s 88 election boards to receive and count ballots if they were mailed before Election Day.
The recent law to interrupt this grace period comes as Republicans over the past few years have prioritized the so-called “election integrity” when President Donald Trump baselessly claimed there was massive fraud in the 2020 election.
Turcer worries that politicians may try to restrict other voting options, such as early voting and mail-in voting, if Election Day falls on a holiday.
“We should think about providing better access to a variety of ways to vote,” Turcer said.
The bill will be considered in the coming months, and Smith is confident that despite the GOP majority in the House, his idea is bipartisan and could succeed.
The state section came
We contacted the declared Republican and Democratic candidates for secretary of state to learn about their approach to the legislation.
Democratic candidate and former House Minority Leader Allison Russo stated that she fully supports making Election Day a holiday.
“Voting should be an engaging, rewarding experience that celebrates our democracy and citizenship. Why do we have to just mail in a ballot or stand in line? It should be a day to celebrate our democracy and our right to participate in deciding who governs and how we act as a society,” she said. “So it’s about more than just convenience. It’s about making a statement. There may be ideas and actions that are equally important, but there is nothing more important than voting.”
Democratic candidate Dr. Bryan Hambley also agreed it was a good bill.
“He had already talked to Leader [Nickie] Antonio has thought about it and is very supportive. As secretary of state, he would advocate for making voting easier and more fair for Ohioans, and this would be a positive step in that direction,” said Hambley spokeswoman Alissa Riessinger.
Republican candidate and current state treasurer Robert Sprague is in favor.
“In-person voting on Election Day, where ID is checked and eligibility is easily checked, is the safest form of voting and should be a federal and state holiday. At the same time, we should take a hard look at no-fault mail-in voting because mail-in voting is much more susceptible to fraud, supply chain breaches and postal errors,” said Sprague spokesman Dalton Throckmorton.
We further asked whether this meant Sprague would consider stripping most citizens of their ability to vote by mail if elected, and also asked for evidence for the claim that voting by mail is “significantly” more susceptible to fraud.
knot. LaRose continued to assure skeptics that Ohio was the “gold standard” and the election was completely secure.
Sprague’s team did not comment on additional questions.
Republican Party candidate Marcell Strbich also commented on this proposal.
“I can see the utility of this bill if Ohio law were to change to same-day in-person voting, but with 28 days it doesn’t make sense. It’s an optics bill designed to score political points now that SB 293 has been passed by eliminating the 4-day waiting period after the election,” Strbich said.
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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