To: Governor Mike DeWine
Tell Gov. Kasich: Stop Ohio's Poll Tax
Ohio's legislature just passed a terrifying voter discrimination bill that would force individual voters to foot the bill if polls need to be kept open late. That's a poll tax, plain and simple—Gov. John Kasich must immediately veto this bill before it becomes law.
Why is this important?
Imagine heading to the polls and seeing machines that are malfunctioning or power outages at your polling place. You wait for an hour, but have to leave to go to work or pick up your children. It might be difficult for you to get back to the polls before 7:30 p.m.
Normally, officials can extend polling hours when equipment malfunctions, inclement weather, or other problems prevent folks from being able to vote. But a bill on its way to Ohio Gov. Kasich’s desk would make that much harder by forcing an individual to foot the cost of a bond (and maybe the whole bill) to keep the polls open.
Even worse, the bill would leave it up to a judge to decide which petitioners have to front tens of thousands of dollars to cover overtime pay for every poll worker in the county and which ones don't.
A voter can petition for extended hours without paying anything if they are "indigent" but in a case in which a voter claims inability to pay, they are the only one who gets to vote. The polls are closed to all other voters even though they faced the same problem.
Last November more than 83% of polling locations in Hamilton County reported having problems with new election equipment and the polls were kept open longer [1]. In March, a massive car wreck prevented thousands of voters from making it to the polls in the normal time, so Hamilton County extended the closing time. Under the new law, this could have cost an individual voter upwards of $30,000 [2].
Tell Governor Kasich: The right to vote shouldn't carry a price tag. Veto SB 296 and stop this attack on voters.
[1] http://www.wcpo.com/news/political/elections-local/hamilton-county-board-of-elections-report-promises-fixes-after-83-of-poll-sites-report-problems
[2]http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/05/26/3781780/ohio-voting-cash-bond/
Normally, officials can extend polling hours when equipment malfunctions, inclement weather, or other problems prevent folks from being able to vote. But a bill on its way to Ohio Gov. Kasich’s desk would make that much harder by forcing an individual to foot the cost of a bond (and maybe the whole bill) to keep the polls open.
Even worse, the bill would leave it up to a judge to decide which petitioners have to front tens of thousands of dollars to cover overtime pay for every poll worker in the county and which ones don't.
A voter can petition for extended hours without paying anything if they are "indigent" but in a case in which a voter claims inability to pay, they are the only one who gets to vote. The polls are closed to all other voters even though they faced the same problem.
Last November more than 83% of polling locations in Hamilton County reported having problems with new election equipment and the polls were kept open longer [1]. In March, a massive car wreck prevented thousands of voters from making it to the polls in the normal time, so Hamilton County extended the closing time. Under the new law, this could have cost an individual voter upwards of $30,000 [2].
Tell Governor Kasich: The right to vote shouldn't carry a price tag. Veto SB 296 and stop this attack on voters.
[1] http://www.wcpo.com/news/political/elections-local/hamilton-county-board-of-elections-report-promises-fixes-after-83-of-poll-sites-report-problems
[2]http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/05/26/3781780/ohio-voting-cash-bond/