(The Center Square) – An Ohio Voters Bill of Rights can move forward to get before voters as an amendment to the state’s constitution.
Attorney General Dave Yost approved the summary for the proposed amendment after the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the review in late October following Yost’s rejection based on the title.
Yost had rejected the summary in January based on the title but said it was reexamined without considering the title, and he deemed it fair and truthful.
“The fact that the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Ohio concludes the relevant statute does not grant me authority to review the title does not change my determination that it is misleading,” Yost wrote in a letter to the petitioners. “The court did not reach a decision on the merits of that determination. I stand by it. I urge you to consider a more accurate and less misleading title.”
The submitted title of the proposed amendment is “Secure and Fair Elections.”
During the January review, Yost said he did not review the entire summary, according to the Supreme Court, only the title. Because of that, the court ordered the review rather than sending the petition to the Ohio Ballot Board.
The proposed amendment would expand voting rights and registration, establishing the right to vote as a fundamental right in the Ohio Constitution. It would also bar the state from interfering with a legal Ohio voter to vote.
Also, it calls for automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration and an end to automatic roll purges after four years of no voting.
It would also allow voters to sign a declaration instead of presenting an ID to vote and create no-excuse absentee voting.
Next in the process, the Ohio Ballot Board must determine whether the proposal contains a single constitutional amendment or multiple amendments. If the board certifies the proposal, the petitioners must collect signatures from registered voters equal to at least 10% of the vote cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. Those signatures must come from voters in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties, and for each of those counties, the number must equal at least 5% of the vote cast in the most recent gubernatorial election.
If the secretary of state verifies sufficient signatures at least 65 days before the election, the full text of the proposed amendment will be placed on the ballot in the next regular or general election.
