Buckeye Reporter

Election Transparency Initiative Chairman Ken Cuccinelli said the Ohio State Legislature needs to pass election reforms in 2022, including a ban on ballot drop boxes and the practice of mass-mailing absentee ballot applications to voters who didn’t request them.

Cuccinelli, the former Attorney General of Virginia, said Ohio lawmakers should act on measures "making it easier to vote and harder to cheat," as "millions of American voters have lost confidence that our system of elections."

“That the Ohio legislature and its governor were unable to come together in 2021 to pass many of the reforms badly needed to ensure secure, transparent, and accountable Ohio elections wasn’t just disappointing—and downright unacceptable—but it was a profound disservice to so many other states who leaned bravely into the head winds of resistance determined to thwart election integrity," Cuccinelli said. "Without delay, we urge the House and Senate to act on legislation to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat in Ohio elections."

"The reality is that millions of American voters have lost confidence that our system of elections protects the right to vote, that their voice can be heard and their vote counted fairly and openly, and that it won’t be diluted by unsecure and unverifiable voting practices susceptible to abuse, mismanagement, or fraud," he said." Election integrity is a leading issue for voters, and it's past time Ohio catches up and begins to address the very real and legitimate epidemic of eroded public trust and confidence in our elections whereby normal Americans question whether participating in our democratic process is even worth it anymore."

Ohio state law allows any absentee ballot to be received up to ten days after Election Day, a practice the Election Transparency Initiative  (ETI) believes should be limited to only late-arriving ballots from military members and overseas citizens from Ohio.

ETI also wants Ohio to prohibit the use of ballot drop boxes, or to only allow them in government buildings, monitored by 24/7 video surveillance.

In 2020, non-profit groups supporting President Joe Biden tried to expand ballot drop box access in key Democrat strongholds, including Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Akron, Dayton and Toledo. Their move was opposed by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who said the boxes would not be secure.

Ohio state law also still allows mass-mailing of absentee ballot applications by political groups, while states including Florida, Kentucky and Iowa have banned the practice.

In 2020, a group calling itself the "Center for Voter Information" mailed filled out absentee ballot applications to thousands of Ohioans who did not request them, according to a report by WSYX-TV (ABC). One Columbus voter reported "her roommate received two separate ballot applications, both addressed to his son, who has not lived in the home for seven years"

At the time, LaRose confirmed the applications and practice was technically legal, though he said "its a good sign that voters are naturally skeptical of unfamiliar election mail."

ETI was founded in 2021 to "help enact laws promoting transparent, secure, and accountable elections in up to ten states where trust in our democratic system of elections has eroded." It is based in Arlington, Virginia.