South Dayton News

Several pieces of legislation dealing with election integrity reform failed to advance in the Ohio Legislature last year, but state Rep. Tom Young (R-Aiken) believes the proposed changes are "important reforms" to election laws in the Buckeye State.

Young was first elected to represent the 42nd legislative district during the 2020 general election, according to the Ohio House of Representatives website. 

"The key point there is the act that this legislation has had hearings, right, and it's still on the books in the committee," Young said to South Dayton News. 

Bill analysis of the previously filed House Bill 294 stated that the legislation sought to automate the voter registration and verification system through the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, as well as modify the process for voter roll maintenance. This was in addition to several other changes and clarifications related to voter identification, curbside voting, absentee voting, and election administration.

House Bill 387 aimed to add a photo ID requirement for voting, along with reforms to the absentee vote-by-mail process. Both bills failed to advance out of committee.

"The important reforms in the bill are, first, all election security, right, and integrity and those relate to any aspect of voter ID, which is important," Young said. "That is a broad measure and it's open, also, to allow people to have more than just a driver's license. The procedures for absentee ballots are important, and how they are processed are very important; obviously, that was a key issue in the last election."

Ken Cuccinelli, Election Transparency Initiative (ETI) chairman, told the Buckeye Reporter state lawmakers need to come together to pass election reforms this year. He thought this should include a ban on mailing voters absentee ballot applications they didn't request and ending the use of ballot drop boxes. 

"That the Ohio legislature and its governor were unable to come together in 2021 to pass many of the reforms badly needed to ensure secure, transparent, and accountable Ohio elections wasn't just disappointing—and downright unacceptable—but it was a profound disservice to so many other states who leaned bravely into the headwinds of resistance determined to thwart election integrity," Cuccinelli said to the Buckeye Reporter. 

Current law allows any absentee ballot to be counted up to 10 days after the election, as long as it is postmarked by the day before Election Day, Frank LaRose, Ohio's Secretary of State, noted on his website. The ETI believes late-arriving ballots should only be counted from members of the military and Ohio residents who are overseas. 

In 2020, nonprofit groups that supported President Joe Biden tried to expand ballot drop box locations in Democratic strongholds, including Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo, NBC News reported. Their efforts received push-back from LaRose, who questioned the security of the boxes. 

Ohio law allows political groups to mass-mail absentee ballot applications to voters who didn't request it. This practice has been banned by other states, including Florida, Kentucky, and Iowa. ABC 6 reported that during the last presidential election, the Center for Voter Information mailed out absentee ballot applications to thousands of Ohioans who didn't request one.