A new ballot initiative effort is underway in Ohio that would let voters enact a transformative expansion of voting access in a state where Republican officials have long sought to restrict it. If this proposed constitutional amendment and a separate one that would end Republican gerrymandering both qualify for November's ballot, 2024 could be a watershed moment for the future of fair elections in the Buckeye State.
These efforts come on the heels of two ballot measures last year where voters first rejected a GOP attempt to restrict direct democracy by requiring a 60% supermajority of voter support—instead of a simple majority—to pass future amendments. Rejecting that measure then enabled Ohioans to vote 57-43 to restore abortion-rights protections last fall.
This latest amendment would establish sweeping new protections for voting by deeming it a "fundamental right" and prohibit any policies, procedures, intimidation, or "any means whatsoever" that have the intent or effect of denying or unreasonably burdening the right to vote. It would also prohibit lawmakers from adding any voter qualifications not allowed by the amendment—including any that impose a "test, tax, charge, or expense" for voting—except for felony disenfranchisement, which currently applies only to people in prison.
The amendment would also make voting more accessible by easing voter-registration burdens. Eligible voters who do business with the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles would be automatically registered unless they choose to opt out via a subsequent mailing. Voters could also newly register and cast a ballot on the same day throughout the early-voting period or on Election Day, replacing Ohio's registration deadline of 30 days before Election Day, which is the earliest allowed under federal law.
The reform would also repeal constitutional language that requires voters to re-register if they don't vote over a four-year period. The 1993 National Voter Registration Act prohibits states from purging eligible voters solely for exercising their right not to vote. In 2018, though, the Supreme Court's right-wing majority let Ohio Republicans implement this re-registration policy, which purged voters who had failed to respond to a single mailing warning they would be removed for not voting.
Casting a ballot itself would also become easier, with the amendment mandating early voting be available in the 28 days before Election Day, including during regular weekday business hours and on the last two weekends. Critically, it would remove a GOP-backed limit of one early-voting location per county, regardless of population, by letting county officials decide how many sites and where. The current restriction means there are far fewer early-voting sites per capita for Democrats and voters of color because they are heavily concentrated in just a handful of highly populous counties (Ohio has 88 counties in total).
Counties could also set up more than just one drop-box location for mail ballots. Furthermore, the amendment would ensure voters could vote by mail with postage prepaid and no excuse required; request their mail ballot and track its status electronically; and be notified and given the chance to fix problems, such as incomplete information on the ballot envelope. Mail ballots that have been postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days afterward would be valid, to avoid postal delays disenfranchising voters.
Last year, Ohio Republicans enacted a package of voting restrictions that included one of the nation's strictest voter ID laws. It requires—without exception—that in-person voters must show an unexpired photo ID that is one of the following: an Ohio driver's license or nondriver's ID; a U.S. passport; or an ID from the U.S. military, Ohio National Guard, or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Instead, the amendment would significantly expand that list to any unexpired photo ID from a federal or tribal government agency, a state or local government agency in Ohio, or any in-state educational institution. Previously registered voters who lack a valid photo ID or forgot to bring one could sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury and still vote.
The amendment is backed by the NAACP and Ohio Organizing Collaborative, which claims they "have funding lined up," but getting on the ballot this November is by no means guaranteed. Supporters must first get Republican state Attorney General Dave Yost to accept their proposed ballot summary, and since he already rejected their initial version last week, they'll have to revise it and try again.
If Yost approves the revisions, Ohio's Ballot Board would then have 10 days to rule on whether the amendment complies with the single subject limit or must be filed as separate amendments. While the board has a 3-2 GOP majority, Ohio's Republican-majority Supreme Court has taken a relatively permissive view of what qualifies as a single subject, such as with last year's abortion amendment. Back in 2020, a similar voting-rights amendment was deemed to be a single subject, but supporters failed to obtain enough signatures due to the pandemic.
If supporters clear both of these hurdles, they could then begin gathering the 413,487 signatures required statewide, plus an amount equal to 5% of the votes cast for governor in 2022 in half of the state's 88 counties. The initial deadline to submit signatures is July 3, but if supporters fall short, they would receive an additional 10 days to make up the gap.
Under decades of nearly uninterrupted Republican rule, Ohio voters have been subjected to aggressive gerrymandering and increasing restrictions on voting access. But as shown by neighboring Michigan, where recent elections have seen large majorities of voters pass multiple ballot initiatives to expand voting access and end GOP gerrymandering, direct democracy can be an essential tool for protecting and expanding representative democracy.
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