Another election was held in Ohio and there were no reports of widespread fraud. That’s not stopping a handful of Republican state senators from introducing legislation to impose up-to-date restrictions on how Ohioans vote.
State Sen. Niraj Antani, D-Miamisburg, has introduced a bill to require Ohioans to provide proof of citizenship in order to register to vote or update an existing registration. Sense. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, and Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, have introduced another bill to require proof of citizenship requirements and eliminate ballot drop boxes.
This state legislation draws inspiration from efforts at the federal level, spearheaded by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson. The proposal, known as the SAVE Act, had little chance of passing if Democrats controlled the U.S. Senate. Now that Republicans control all three branches of government, it has a better chance of passing.
It is already illegal at the state and federal levels to register or vote as a noncitizen. Despite the threat of criminal prosecution, supporters of the program remain concerned that current law only allows voters to register on a promise.
However, this approach seems to have worked exceptionally well. Actual reviews of voter rolls have shown that instances of actual fraud are vanishingly occasional and not enough to affect the outcome of races.
Moreover, efforts to protect voting by requiring proof of citizenship may result in the disenfranchisement of eligible citizens. One study from the University of Maryland estimated that 21 million Americans did not have direct access to required documents. After Kansas imposed similar requirements about a decade ago, over 30,000 voters their registration has been suspended or canceled.
Proof of citizenship
Both measures set out the same list of documents proving citizenship. A U.S. passport, birth certificate, or naturalization certificate will work, but relies heavily on existing documents held by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Lawmakers appear to envision a system in which most initial registrations or updates will be verified behind the scenes, with county boards checking with the BMV to ensure they received citizenship documents when a voter obtained a driver’s license.
For people whose details do not match, for example due to a name change, marriage or divorce, they will need to provide a court decision or marriage certificate.
In a news release, Brenner framed his proposal as strengthening regulations and adding protections “so that when Ohioans cast their ballots, they continue to know that a reliable system is in place.”
Gavarone insisted that Ohio remains the “gold standard” for election integrity, but her bill “addresses areas of election law we can improve, including an additional layer of protection to enforce the citizenship requirement in the state constitution.”
“It is a simple solution that strengthens the trust and integrity of our institutions,” she added.
But the proposals would actually show that Ohio has sacrificed simplicity for safety. Federal law does not require proof of citizenship to vote, so even if lawmakers approve some version of the requirement, they can only really apply it to state forms and state elections. Like in ArizonaOhio voters will still be able to register using federal forms, but they will only be able to vote in federal elections and will not be eligible to sign initiative petitions.
Dropboxes
While Antani’s proposal relies on citizenship requirements, Brenner and Gavarone go a step further and ban the employ of voting drop boxes. While there have been no credible allegations of voter fraud involving drop boxes, they have been an ongoing concern for skeptics.
During the last election, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose imposed rules that effectively limit their application to individual voters who opt out of their own voting. In an August letter, he urged state lawmakers to consider removing drop boxes altogether.
Apparently Brenner and Gavarone were listening.
Their legislation restricts ballot drop-offs to hand-delivery – expressly prohibiting the board from accepting ballots “returned in person to an unattended receptacle.”
According to the Secretary of State’s early voting panel, voters who wanted to receive their ballot early were much more likely to vote early in person or by mail. The approximately 181,000 ballots returned via drop box represented less than 7% of the total. Absentee ballots and early ballots accounted for 31% and 59%, respectively.
Gavarone justified the drop box recalls with incidents in Oregon and Washington where incendiary devices were placed in drop boxes.
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