Senate bill expected to repeal Ohio's election law

COLUMBUS, Ohio --


A proposal to repeal Ohio's contentious new election law will soon be introduced in the state's Senate, the leader of the Republican-led chamber said Wednesday.

The law trims early voting in the presidential battleground state, among other changes. It's been on hold since September, until voters can decide this fall whether it should be tossed out.

Plans to replace the law are still being discussed, Senate President Tom Niehaus told reporters. The New Richmond Republican said it's too early to tell whether any new legislation could be passed before November's general election.

"The goal is, whatever we do, that there be clarity for the November elections," Niehaus said.

The state's top election official has called for state lawmakers to scrap the election law, so that it won't appear on fall ballots.

Secretary of State Jon Husted told local officials in a speech last week that a campaign about the details of the overhaul measure will confuse Ohioans at the same time election officials are trying to inform people about how to vote.

Husted, a Republican, welcomed Wednesday's news of an upcoming Senate bill that would repeal the law.

He estimates that removing the referendum from ballots would save taxpayers $1 million. "And it will save them the anguish of having to listen to both sides needlessly argue about a ballot effort," Husted said in a telephone interview.

Husted has said he wants Ohio lawmakers to restart the process of writing a new bill after this year's presidential election.

But lawmakers are considering the possibility of replacing the law with multiple bills, Niehaus said.

Senators have divided the elections law into three areas for further review, he said. They are looking at changes to the state's petition process, local elections boards' operations and early voting rules.

"If there are going to be changes, we would need to implement those early enough to give the secretary of state ample time to work with the local boards and educate them on the changes that would be in place," Niehaus said.

The elections law contains many ideas backed by Husted, though state lawmakers also left their mark. A partisan fight ensued over the plan, and the elections measure cleared the state Legislature in late June with no Democratic support.

The overhaul also contains some provisions that some Democrats do back, such as the ability for the secretary of state to contract for bulk purchase of election supplies to help reduce costs to the county boards.

Among other changes, the law shortens the in-person early voting window from 35 days before Election Day to 17 days and the period for absentee voting by mail from 35 days to 21. The cuts effectively eliminate a five-day period during which new voters could register and cast a ballot on the same day -- an idea which has also gotten bipartisan support in the past. People would be allowed to vote in person on Saturday until noon, and not on Sundays or the three days before Election Day.

Volunteers from the Ohio Democratic Party and President Barack Obama's re-election campaign circulated petitions to successfully put the law on hold until Ohio voters could decide whether it should be kept.

Fair Elections Ohio, the coalition which brought the referendum, has said repealing the law and replacing it with other changes would also create confusion.
The group says it doesn't want changes to the law between the March 6 primary and general election.

"For 2012, the time for compromise has passed, and election officials and Ohio voters deserve to know the rules well in advance," said Greg Moore, campaign director of Fair Elections Ohio, in statement this week.

Republicans hold a 59-40 advantage in the Ohio House and a 23-10 edge in the state Senate.

House Minority Leader Armond Budish hasn't said whether he would support a repeal of the law. He told reporters this week he hasn't had a chance to talk about repeal with the caucus. State Sen. Eric Kearney, a Cincinnati lawyer who leads the Senate Democrats, has said he's uncertain whether a repeal of the law is constitutional.