The Independent View: Ohio to Seek Automated Voter Registration and Other Election Reforms

Ohio's Secretary of State Frank LaRose and State Lawmakers are working on Legislation to Reform the State’s Voting System, including Automated Voter Registration and Increasing the Sharing of Information between Agencies to Avoid Voter Purges.

LaRose, a Hudson Republican, said during a Statehouse News Conference that he hopes within the next few months to hammer out a Final Proposal to the State Legislature that would also contain Additional Measures to “Modernize” Ohio’s Voting Process.

One of the Ideas LaRose said his Office is Working on would Create an “Opt-Out” Voter Registration System. That means that when Voting-Eligible Ohioans file State Taxes, Renew a Driver’s License, get a Fishing License, or have other Interactions with a State Agency, they would be Registered to Vote unless they push a Button or Check a Box Declaring they Don’t want to be.

Another Idea LaRose put forward would seek to keep More Ohioans’ Voter Registration Up-to-Date by Requiring State Agencies to Notify the Secretary of State’s Office whenever a Voter Provides an Updated Address. LaRose said such Inter-Agency Cooperation to keep Voters’ Information Up-to-Date would help Avoid a Repeat of Controversial Purges of Ohio Voting Rolls pushed by LaRose’s Predecessor, Jon Husted.

The Secretary of State said his Office will still send a Final Notice by Mail to Voters set to be Purged, as Husted’s Office did. But LaRose said he hopes that greater Data Sharing will make such Efforts “Unneeded." “A lot of folks have been talking about this [voting] issue for a while,” LaRose said in a brief Interview. “I want to make it clear that this is something we’re taking seriously and moving forward on.”

LaRose was joined at the Press Conference by State Sen. Nathan Manning (R-13th District, North Ridgeville) and State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-14th District, Cleveland). The Two Legislators said they Intend to introduce Twin Bills in the Senate and House that have Co-Sponsors from both Parties.

“This is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue,” Sweeney said. “This is an issue that’s good for all of Ohioans.”

Before LaRose was Elected Secretary of State in November, he was a State Senator who Pushed Hard for Election Reforms such as Online Voter Registration. His Democratic Opponent, Ex-State Rep. Kathleen Clyde of Kent, Advocated for many of the Ideas brought up by LaRose on Tuesday, though she went further and sought to Automatically Register All Eligible Ohioans to Vote when they turned 18.

LaRose Balked at the Idea of Automatically Registering Young Ohioans to Vote, saying he had “concerns” that many Teens would soon need to Change their Address as they go to College or enter the Military.