Republican State Senator Mark Waggoner says Ohio needs to make changes in the way it conducts elections.
Waggoner - Election reform is long overdue in Ohio. It's time to take advantage of 21st century technology to improve the integrity and accessibility of our system. The proposals in this bill would improve the operations and accuracy of Ohio's elections.
This bill would do several things. It would eliminate the golden week - the period of time when voters can register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day. It also shortens the in person, early voting period. It would also allow voters to make changes to their registration online. But Democrats in the Ohio Senate say it would make it harder for poor Ohioans and minorities to take part in the process. Senator Nina Turner of Cleveland says this bill is a solution in search of a problem. She says the chance of fraud is very, very remote.
Turner - The fact that there has been so many reductions in polling places throughout the state and a voter might be in the right polling place but the wrong precinct. The notion that citizens votes would not be counted is ridiculous. Most people who decide to vote do not wake up in the morning and say "My God, I think I'm going in and impersonate Senator Joe Schiavone. And in impersonating him, I think I might also vote in the wrong precinct. Most Ohioans do not do that.
Democratic Senator Shirley Smith says voting under this bill would be as difficult as going through a checkpoint at the airport.
Smith - I have no doubt, that the rate we are going today, in the very near future, we will be asked to show our birthmark to cast a ballot.
Smith says requiring voters to submit their social security numbers online is not a good idea.
Smith - It's just plain dumb. And it's also counter productive. Especially for a people who were asked to know how many bubbles were in a bar of soap before they could vote. Especially for a people who witnessed family members dying to have an opportunity to vote. Especially for a people who were forced to pass literacy test before they could vote. For those people, they have given enough.
But Republican Keith Faber says the criticism is all about nothing. He says voters who are afraid to give their social security number online can still register to vote…they just cannot do it online.
Faber = Let's stop and remember that no matter what you say about the online voter registration system, whether you like or don't like to give your driver's license number, whether you like or don't like to give your real address, or like or don't like to give your full social security number, you don't have to. If you want to register to vote you can pick up the old standard paper form of voter registration just like we've used in Ohio for years, fill it out and be completely registered vote. The same information we use today will be the same information we use after this bill has passed.
The senate passed the bill 23 to 10 with Republicans voting for it, Democrats voting against it. Last week, majority Republicans in the Ohio House passed a different election reform bill. Now it's up to the two chambers to decide how to put the two versions together in some way so that the Ohio legislature can pass one uniform election reform bill.
