Caring for our Neighbors
In 2020, lines of voters wrapped around buildings, into neighborhoods and onto freeways to vote early.
We saw traffic jams at limited drop boxes
and confusing rules for mail voting.
Ohio’s anti-voter bill does nothing to address these issues.
COME TO HEARINGS AT THE OHIO STATEHOUSE AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
Next hearing: The next hearing on HB 294 will be Thursday, June 17 at 9am. The committee has invited only supporters of the anti-voter bill to testify at this hearing. You can attend the meeting in Room 121 of the Ohio Statehouse or watch online here.
Future hearings: Stay tuned to this site for information on future hearings where you can speak out and oppose this anti-voter bill. Get your testimony ready. Tell the committee why you don't like this anti-voter bill!
First Hearing: The first hearing happened on May 20 with testimony from the bill's sponsors only. You can watch it here.
HB 294’s anti-voter provisions
1. Limits counties to one ballot drop box location for 10 days before an election—regardless of
how large or populated a county is. Voters in Ohio’s highest population counties sat in traffic
jams at drop boxes last year but counties will be prohibited from making drop boxes more
accessible.
2. Eliminates one of the busiest final three days of early voting - Monday. In 2020, some 31,413
Ohio voters voted the day before Election Day.
3. Cuts off mail ballot requests at 10 days before the election, which would make Ohio more
restrictive than 40+ other states. In 2020, some 451,863 Ohio voters requested a ballot the
final week. In that time, 413,093 voters requested and returned their ballots.
4. Two forms of ID would be required to apply online for a mail ballot and vote-by-mail voters
would be subject to a new three-tier ID rule with strict photo ID as the preference. 58.6% of
voters, more than 3.5 million, voted by mail in 2020.
5. If a vote-by-mail ballot is not inside TWO envelopes--the inner envelope and the outer
return envelope—it will be thrown out. Ohio Republicans are trying the same anti-voter
tactic Pennsylvania Republicans did to throw out more ballots.
6. The bill doesn’t add any automated voter registration to the voters’ experience. It continues
the same Motor Voter policy in place since 1995. In fact, it explicitly excludes online BMV
customers from the opportunity to register to vote.
7. Keeps large numbers of young people from the requesting mail ballots online by requiring 2
forms of ID, (incl. photo ID). The Plain Dealer reports that 17% of Ohio 18-year-olds don’t
have photo ID.
8. Makes ban on public offices paying return postage even stricter than current law. Paying
voters’ return postage would remove a barrier to voting by mail.
Freedom to vote Town Hall Tour
NEW: Canton June 21 Register HERE
NEW: Fairview Park June 28 Register HERE
Watch past town halls:
Additional town halls will be added as they are finalized.
Other ways to Help
If you live and vote in Ohio, we need you to call and email these Ohio Republican leaders and ask that they oppose HB 294:
1. Contact Speaker Bob Cupp, (614) 466-9624, Rep04@ohiohouse.gov
2. Contact Rep. Shane Wilkin, Chair Government Oversight Committee, (614) 466-3506, Rep91@ohiohouse.gov
3. Contact Rep. Bill Seitz, co-sponsor: (614) 466-8258, Rep30@ohiohouse.gov
4. Contact Rep. Sharon Ray, co-sponsor, (614) 466-8140, Rep69@ohiohouse.gov
- The right to vote is our most fundamental freedom.
- A democracy that works for us must include all of us.
- We all want safe and accessible elections, and Democrats have a number of pro-voter bills that protect our right to vote.
- Pushing pro-voter legislation to improve accessibility by creating true automatic voter registration with the ability to opt out, expanding drop box locations, creating accessible online ballot requests, and paying return postage on mail ballots.
Thank You
Whether you help through volunteering your time, or spreading our mission through word-of-mouth, thank you.
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