Senate passes bill requiring mail-in ballots to be delivered by Election Day

The Ohio Senate passed a bill that would require all mail-in absentee ballots to be delivered to the board of elections by the time polls close on Election Day.

Senate Bill 293, sponsored by state Sens. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, and Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, now heads to the state House for consideration.

“Election day is election day for a reason,” Gavarone said in a release. “Allowing ballots to be delivered days after the election does nothing but hurt the integrity and credibility of our elections.”

The bill would require all mail-in ballots to arrive by the time of poll closing, except for ballots from uniformed services personnel and overseas absentee voters. States like Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania have the same deadline.

“I am proud to team up with Senator Gavarone to sponsor this legislation,” Brenner said in a release. “This legislation will ensure that Ohio is abiding by Federal election law and President Trump’s executive order.”

Last week, a voting-related bill that expands the Secretary of State’s Safe at Home address confidentiality program to help victims of violent crime protect their personal information and stay safe had its second hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senate Bill 225 was sponsored by state Sen. Susan Manchester, R-Waynesfield.

“No citizen should be afraid to cast their vote in an election,” Manchester said in a release. “Expanding this program ensures that Ohioans impacted by violence can protect themselves and their families from future harm.”

Ohio’s Safe at Home Program currently keeps the personal voter registration information of survivors of domestic violence, sexual battery, human trafficking, rape, or menacing by stalking private, thus keeping them safe.

Senate Bill 225 is pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Last week in the Ohio House, state Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, introduced House Bill 577, the Secure the Vote Act, which would require photo identification to cast absentee ballots by mail, thereby ensuring voter identity and preventing voter fraud.

“The foundation of our republic is fair elections, and we need to close the loophole that allows mail-in voting without photo identification,” Ferguson said.

Ohio requires photo identification for in-person voting, but doesn’t require people who vote by mail to provide a photo ID.

“Preventing voter fraud and ensuring one person, one vote is something every Ohioan should agree on, and my Secure the Vote Act will keep our elections safer and more secure,” Ferguson said in a release.

HB 577 is now awaiting a committee assignment.

Earlier this year, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine partially vetoed a provision that would have created a new Election Integrity Unit.

Even though he approved the idea of prosecuting election law violations, such as election fraud and voter suppression, DeWine decided to veto a provision that would have required local prosecutors to decide within a year whether to act on possible violations.