Ohio’s voter-registration system has for the last few years attracted lawsuits and political criticism. Republicans get accused of gaming voter-registration rules to keep some Democratic voters out of the polling booths. Democrats demonize voter-registration rules in a state that has among the most liberal early voting and absentee voting laws in the country.
It is time to modernize voter registration in a way that cannot be construed as voter suppression and that ensures accurate voter rolls.
New Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has taken a step in the right direction with a working group of Democrats and Republicans whose goal is to modernize voter registration in Ohio.
Ohio’s system for weeding out voters barely passes legal muster and tends to rely on snail mail, rather than taking advantage of technology. The last lawsuit ended in a 5-4 vote by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the state’s process for maintaining voter-registration lists.
Under federal law, it is illegal to eliminate a voter because of inactivity. Ohio sends mail to voters reminding them that they must take some action to keep their registration alive. If voters do not vote and are not heard from after six years, they are purged from the rolls.
Even now, it takes very little effort in Ohio to keep one’s voter registration active. However, Ohio should bend over backward to make sure that all citizens have every opportunity to register, however infrequently they choose to vote.
Under the LaRose proposal, when Ohioans interact with the state, as by filing taxes, registering a car, or renewing a driver’s license, they would automatically be registered to vote unless they opt out.
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have opt-out systems in place.
Another proposal from Mr. LaRose would require state agencies to notify the secretary of state’s office whenever a voter provides an updated address. This last one is a no-brainer.
Let’s move on these very doable changes in the state bureaucracy so that the 2020 elections are about candidates and policies, not voter suppression.
First Published May 1, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
