Government & Politics

Secretary Of State Testifies For Voting Reform Bill

The Statehouse News Bureau | By Jo Ingles,

Jo Ingles

Published June 3, 2020 at 10:55 PM EDT

On a party line vote, an Ohio House committee has passed a bill that will make some changes to election law. Backers say it gives more flexibility to election officials should COVID-19 cause changes this November but its opponents have concerns.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose says he wanted voters to be able to request ballots online and for the state to pay postage for absentee ballot requests.

“The House took out some things I was concerned about and the House put in some things I was asking for," LaRose says.

The bill would allow LaRose to spend federal dollars for equipment and poll workers. But a provision to cancel early, in-person voting the weekend before the election was removed. Groups that had opposed cutting early voting days say they haven't had time to review the changes to the bill.

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Jo Ingles

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment. Jo started her career in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 80’s when she helped produce a televised presidential debate for ABC News, worked for a creative services company and served as a general assignment report for a commercial radio station. In 1989, she returned back to her native Ohio to work at the WOSU Stations in Columbus where she began a long resume in public radio.

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Jo Ingles