The House of Representatives latest budget proposal did not provide for any funding for a statewide absentee ballot mailing in 2016. If the General Assembly does not authorize the mailings, this inaction will result in a confusing and unnecessary barrier to vote. Now it’s up to Speaker of the House Cliff Rosenberger to ensure that an amendment is inserted to protect absentee voting.
Why is this important?
During an all-important presidential election year when turnout is at its heaviest, it is absolutely critical that all Ohio voters receive an absentee ballot application. In 2012, the first time that all voters received an absentee ballot application, approximately one-third of all statewide votes cast their ballots prior to Election Day, primarily by mail.
Failure to provide for the money for this mailing is particularly troubling because the legislature prohibited the Secretary of State and local boards of elections from sending out unsolicited absentee applications with passage of SB 205 in 2014. The legislature designated itself as the sole gatekeeper for deciding whether all voters will receive absentee ballots applications in any given year.
Ohio Voter Rights Coalition
