Ohio Legislative House Bill 194_Suppressing Voter Rights
Background: House Bill 194 drastically changes the voting process in Ohio to make it harder- to vote. This legislation will do the following:
· Eliminate the "Golden Week" of registering to vote and voting the same day
· Limit the early voting in person from 35 days to just 12 days.
· Reduce early voting by mail to just 2 weeks.
· Eliminate Sunday voting completely.
· Require that Saturday early voting hours end at 12 noon, no matter how large the county.
· Eliminate voting on the Friday, Saturday and Monday before the election, which is typically the busiest time for early voting.
· Prohibit the Board of Elections from mass mailing absentee ballot applications, used by large counties lessen election day lines
· Prohibit the Board of Elections from paying the return postage on an absentee ballot application, which puts an extra burden on the voter.
· Prevent local Boards of Elections from creating additional early voting locations without at least three board members agreeing.
· Removes the requirement that trained poll workers tell a voter if he or she are in the wrong precinct and that their vote would not count,
· Provisional ballots would require driver's license number, full social security number or State ID number,
· Eliminate the 10 days after a voting provisionally a voter has to prove his or her identity to the Board of Elections.
· Invalidates a vote even when intent is clear, for example: if a voter checks the box of their candidate and then proceeds to write the name of the candidate next to the box, their vote is not counted.
What this means to you: This legislation will undoubtedly lead to voter confusion and chaos on Election Day. House Bill 194 will make in harder and more inconvenient for seniors, working families, students and others to exercise their right to vote.
Hon. Sandra Williams, State Representative
Ohio House of Representatives, 77 South High ST FLR 10, Columbus OH 43215
DOWNLOAD 2011Fall_HB194_VoterSuppression.PDF with additional information
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