As the 135th General Assembly comes to a close, Ohio legislators are pushing two enormous and radical voting and elections bills. Both SB 324 and HB 552 would drastically alter the way elections are handled in Ohio, undermining both the work of the Boards of Elections and access for Ohio voters. We know these bills would have a huge impact, but we can’t say exactly what for sure since the reach of the bills is so broad and deep, and because there has been virtually no research or analysis to try to predict intended or unintended consequences.

County Boards of Elections are still working to incorporate changes from the last big election law bill, HB458, including the complicated strict photo ID and special ID designations. Additionally, SB71, the DATA Act, was also passed with the August budget bill to create an Office of Data Analytics and Archives under the Secretary of State. The true costs and impacts of these massive bills are not yet well-defined, nor are the implications for Ohio voters.

After a procedurally successful general election and certification across all 88 counties on November 20, we need to ask our elected officials, ‘Why rush massive election changes without providing time for thoughtful feedback from the elections officials and the county commissioners who have to fund them?’

Your elected officials need to hear this message from you: elections bills require a thoughtful approach, a full fiscal analysis, and significant feedback from the elections officials in 88 counties who administer them. In short, they must not be rushed!

Please call your Ohio representative and senator and tell them not to push forward any changes in Ohio voting and elections laws without thorough, deliberate, and comprehensive analysis, including in-depth discussions with Board of Elections officials. You can find phone numbers for your representative and senator HERE. It is fine to leave a voicemail message.

Here’s an idea of what to say: “My name is [Your Name] and I live in [Your Town]. I urge you not to push forward any voting and election bills without first doing thorough research and in-depth analysis of any potential impacts of the bills, including a financial analysis. Also, I urge you to reach out to your local Board of Elections and work with them before backing any sudden and impactful changes to current law.

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