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Some Want Changes To Proposed Voter Registration Bill

By Jo Ingles

Published August 23, 2019 at 8:35 PM EDT

A group that says it advocates for voters is proposing some changes to a new bipartisan bill that backers say will make it easier for voters to update their registrations when they deal with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Common Cause Ohio’s Catherine Turcer says the earlier people register and get involved in voting, the more likely they are to vote. So, she wants 16 and 17 year-olds to be able to pre-register when they go to the BMV for the first time. At 18, those registrations would become permanent.

Turcer also wants to scrap part of the bill that requests declaration of party affiliation.

“It would be very easy to say, ‘I just want to decline. I don’t want to have a long conversation about me being a Democrat or a Republican or having the people around me hearing this conversation' and just opting completely out," Turcer says.

Turcer also wants to ensure that voters aren’t being removed from the rolls just because they haven’t voted, but that there’s evidence they’re no longer eligible to vote.