Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost approved the summary of a petition for a ballot initiative that seeks major changes to Ohio’s election laws.
The Secure and Fair Elections Amendment (SEFA) proposal calls for same day registration and automatic voter registration when people renew, update or replace their licenses at Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices. Furthermore, this amendment wants to establish early voting polls two weekends before Election Day in November.
Yost approved Ohioans for Secure and Fair Elections’ petition summary after rejecting it the first time last month due to “deficiencies.” The group collected the “necessary 1,000 valid signatures from registered Ohio voters” and provided a “‘fair and truthful’ summary of the proposed amendment.”
ACLU of Ohio, who backed this initiative, said the official campaign for this bill will start in March. Next, SEFA heads to the Ohio Ballot Board for review. If the board approves this amendment, it will have till July 1 to collect 442,958 voter signatures to appear on November’s ballot.
“We are pleased to progress our campaign efforts forward, and we remain committed to protecting and ensuring the right to vote for all eligible Ohioans,” Campaign Manager for Ohioans for Secure and Fair Elections Toni Webb said.
“The freedom to vote is a fundamental American right and more participation in our elections means a stronger democracy,” Webb added.
Organizations who are backing SEFA along with the ACLU include the Ohio Conference of the NAACP; the Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute; the Ohio Environmental Council; the Ohio Organizing Collaborative; the Ohio Student Association; the Ohio Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism; and Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates.
A total of 21 states and Washington D.C. have same day voter registration, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of Star News Digital Media. If you have any tips, email Zachery at [email protected].
Photo “People Voting” by Wyofile. CC BY 2.0.
The sponsors of this “Ohio Initiative” should make folks “question” what this is all about. Do not “Change” for the sake of “Change”. In times like these, Just say NO.
For God & Country