On the Other Hand, We Could Encourage Voting Rather Than Suppress It
It's always a one-way ratchet with these folks. Gerrymander, restrict voting. Gerrymander, restrict voting. Gerrymander, restrict voting. Now that we've completed the latest gerrymandering ratchet in Ohio, it's apparently time to move on to the latest voting restrictions ratchet.
From Ohio Capital Journal:
In a rare move Tuesday, an Ohio House committee voted to advance a bill changing the deadline for absentee ballots after a single hearing. What’s more, lawmakers folded in portions of a different controversial measure related to proof of citizenship just hours before the hearing.
Advancing the proposal, Ohio Senate Bill 293, puts both changes on the fast track for approval.
The Ohio House could take up and vote on the bill during Wednesday’s session.
[. . .]
The original bill eliminated Ohio’s current four-day grace period for the return of absentee ballots so long as they’re postmarked before Election Day.
That change represents the third successive reduction in the return timeline for federal elections.
As recently as 2022, properly postmarked ballots would still be counted if the arrived within 10 days of Election Day.
The changes come following pressure from the Trump administration.
In an executive order the president asserted a new reading of federal statutes claiming all ballots arriving after Election Day are invalid.
In a testy exchange, Russo argued that Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is pushing for the changes because of the Department of Justice’s contention that absentee ballots open the door to fraud.
“That’s their argument. I never made that argument, and I’m not making that argument,” LaRose responded.
“But you’re asking us to change state law based on that argument,” Russo insisted.
Additionally, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected a Mississippi law allowing a similar grace period for absentee ballots.
That circuit’s precedents don’t apply to Ohio, but the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.
LaRose cited both points in testimony for the bill but insisted considerations beyond Ohio’s borders aren’t driving his support.
“The arguments about what the federal law says or not have never been my primary motivation behind this,” LaRose said.
“My primary motivation for doing this is to make sure that Ohio is very clear with an easy to remember date.”
Like old-world bakers constantly tinkering with their recipes, the Frank LaRoses of the world hone their craft, except instead of making an artisanal loaf of some sort, they make democracy less representative.
It doesn't have to be this way. You could, for example, work to make voting districts move equitable and voting easier. You could have automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration. You could make voting by mail easier. I mean, there are many ways to do this. Indivisible even has a guide called, of all things, "How States Can Expand Voting Access".
Crazy, I know, so crazy. But the truth is – although Frank LaRose seems unaware of it – another option in politics is making a proactive case for yourself and your policies and encouraging as many people as possible to vote, rather than lying all the time and trying to shrink the electorate to a size that can be drowned in a bathtub.