Toledoans may soon be able to register to vote when they stop by city offices to pay a water bill or do business at Toledo Municipal Court.

City Councilman Nick Komives on Tuesday plans to introduce legislation aimed at making voter registration more convenient. If council approves his proposal, the city’s Department of Public Utilities and Toledo Municipal Court each will have a representative who can assist Toledoans with the process.

Those are two city entities residents interact with most frequently, he said.

“This is a way for us to increase voter registration and make sure that everyone has the opportunity to have their voice heard in the most important piece of our democracy,” he said.

Mr. Komives said his proposal is partly in response to the U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 decision this month to uphold Ohio’s practice of purging voter rolls.

The state sends residents who have failed to vote for two years a pre-addressed, postage prepaid return card and asks that they verify they still live at that address. If voters do not respond and then fail to vote in any election for four subsequent years, the state removes them from the rolls.

“My career in activism really began around voting rights, so I’ve always been acutely aware of what’s happening to people’s access to the ballot,” Mr. Komives said. “Many people may not even be aware they are no longer registered.”

It’s also a response to his disappointment in the low voter turnout in the September primary election, he said. Only 13.5 percent of registered voters went to the polls to cast ballots in the mayoral and city council primary.

Councilman Tom Waniewski said the proposal “appears to be worthwhile legislation,” but he has some questions he hopes will be answered on Tuesday.

His primary concern is whether the city would have to hire people to help with the added responsibilities at the utility department and the court, and he wondered if voter registration should be left up to the Lucas County Board of Elections to handle.

“It sounds good, and I’m all for people voting. I wish we would have had more than 13 percent in the last primary,” Mr. Waniewski said. “But my concern is are we steering away from what these departments should be doing efficiently to begin with?”

People can already register to vote at the Board of Elections, public libraries, the Secretary of State office, or the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, according to the Board of Elections.

The proposed ordinance asks for $5,000 in annual funding to cover the cost of printing materials to market and implement the new service. The Human Relations Commission would oversee the program.

City Legislative Director Gretchen DeBacker said it makes sense for multiple agencies to offer voter registration services and provide information about voter registration deadlines and upcoming elections.

“The goal is just to simplify the process and to make it as easy as possible for people,” she said. “All of our governmental agencies are related to one another. It seems to make sense to try and connect people to as many different entities as we can at one time.”

City council meets at 2 p.m. Tuesday at One Government Center.

Contact Sarah Elms at selms@theblade.com, 419-724-6103, or on Twitter @BySarahElms.

First Published June 25, 2018, 4:24 p.m.