Ever since President Trump said earlier this week he wants to ban voting by mail and voting machines through an executive order, there have been questions about whether Ohio might make changes to mail-in voting. That's been part of Ohio's 28-day early voting period since 2005.
But changes to mail-in voting in Ohio are not being proposed, at least for now.
There's no evidence that mail-in voting leads to voter fraud. But Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena) said she suspects there is a greater likelihood of more cheating in mail-in voting.
“The likelihood that you have cheating is higher than with in-person voting,” Lear said in an interview. “The likelihood that you can prove someone’s identity is more difficult with mail-in voting.”
Lear said she’s waiting to see what a federal report on the 2024 election says about Ohio’s mail-in voting process. She said that report, which should be available soon, will likely show whether more needs to be done. But she said she believes there is likely more that the state can do to improve voting integrity.
“The system which we have in place which is pretty good can get even better because we know there are always ways to make it better, make it safer, to make it ensure that all of our voters have what they need and get their votes counted,” Lear said. “That’s the important thing.”
Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said voting by mail is already very secure. And she said her group will oppose any legislation that would make it more difficult for people to vote by mail.
“We want to make sure that this critical form of access for voters remains available in Ohio because it is secure and common sense,” Miller said in an interview.
Miller said many senior citizens, military members, and rural Ohioans depend on mail-in voting. Trump has won Ohio three times, and each election featured early voting by mail. In 2024, the secretary of state’s office reported 1,078,103 Ohioans voted absentee by mail.
“More Ohioans voted by mail for Trump than any other presidential candidate last year so this should not be a partisan issue,” Miller said.
Ohioans can cast ballots by mail or in-person at early voting centers during the early voting period. Those opportunities are credited with reducing long lines at polling places on Election Day. Ohio made the changes after the long delays voters experienced in the 2004 presidential election made national headlines.
Trump has said he also wants to issue an executive order to get rid of electronic voting machines. There are legal questions over whether he could do that.
However, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said last week that he thinks that would be a bad idea to get rid of Ohio's electronic voting machines. He noted Ohio's machines have a redundant paper trail. And he added that Ohio's electronic machines make it easier and quicker for boards of elections to tabulate votes on election night.
