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The Statehouse News Bureau provides educational, comprehensive coverage of legislation, elections, issues and other activities surrounding the Statehouse to Ohio's public radio and television stations.

Ohio's Top Elections Official Wants Automatic Voter Registration

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose

Ohio’s top elections official says it’s already easy to vote in Ohio but he says wants to make it even easier. Here's what he wants to do.

Right now, when you get your Ohio driver’s license, you can register to vote or update your registration. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose is asking a bipartisan group of lawmakers and others to come up with legislation that would automatically register you unless you opt out.

“The simple question is ‘With this information that you have already provided us, we are going to register you to vote or update your voter address, would you like to opt out?’ If they opt out, that is their choice to do that but otherwise, they are going to walk out there as a registered voter," LaRose says.

LaRose wants the group to come up with details on how this can be done at the BMV, when filing state tax forms, getting a fishing license or having other interactions with the state. 

Democrats have long wanted automatic voter registration. But some Republicans have expressed concerns that it would flood the voter rolls with duplicate information, give non-citizens access to voting or somehow increase the incidences of voter fraud. LaRose says automatic voter registration will help maintain and insure integrity of the voter rolls.

Copyright 2019 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

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