COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio lawmakers on Wednesday approved a
bill setting forth when provisional ballots are counted in the
political swing state and what it takes to cast one.
Provisional ballots include those cast when voters don’t bring proper ID to the polls or cast them in the
wrong precinct.
The
bill passed by the House and Senate Wednesday would put into law recent
federal court action that requires provisional ballots cast in the
wrong precinct, but right polling location, to be counted. The goal of
the legislation was to reduce the number of ballots rejected for voting
in the wrong precinct but correct polling place.
Some polling places contain voting machines for several precincts.
The
measure, which Gov. John Kasich likely will sign, would cut the number
of days provisional voters would have to prove their identity and
eligibility to seven from 10. The bill keeps in place current rules that
election officials not count the ballots for at least 10 days.
The
bill would also require voters to provide their date of birth and
current address on the provisional ballot affirmation in order for the
ballot to be eligible to be counted. It also bans provisional ballot
cast in the wrong precinct and the incorrect polling location from being
counted.
The bill passed along party lines in the GOP-controlled
House and Senate, typical of several recent voting-related bills.
Republicans said the measure would simplify the process of casting
provisional ballots, while Democrats called it voter suppression.
The
legislation "is one of a series of bills that promote uniform access at
the polls for all voters while modernizing Ohio’s elections processes,"
said Rep. Mike Dovilla, a Republican from Berea in northeast Ohio and
chairman of the House Policy and Legislative Oversight Committee.
Opponents
say it will increase the number of fields a voter must fill out for the
ballot to count and criticized shrinking the number of days a voter has
to return to a local elections board to show identification.
State
Rep. Kevin Boyce, a Democrat from Columbus, said it violates the
principles of the 1965 Voter Rights Act, calling it "a vote against
civil rights for Ohioans."
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