More signatures submitted opposing House Bill 194

November 23, 2011 at 12:03a.m.

COLUMBUS

Democrats submitted an additional 166,000-plus signatures to the secretary of state’s office Tuesday, all but assuring Republican-backed election-law changes will appear on the November 2012 ballot

Opponents of House Bill 194 need about 9,500 valid signatures to qualify, in addition to the 221,572 the secretary of state already has certified. And they’re expecting to defeat the new law in similar fashion to the way they defeated Issue 2 earlier this month.

“We’ll sweep this away as we did Senate Bill 5,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern. “We’ll accept the apologies after the election.”

House Bill 194 proposes a number of changes to Ohio’s election laws, including eliminating the so-called “golden week” during which people could register to vote and cast ballots on the same day and prohibiting elections boards from sending unsolicited absentee ballot applications to eligible voters.

Proponents believe the legislation is needed to help prevent fraud and ensure election rules are applied consistently across the state.

But opponents say the changes will make it harder for the elderly, low-income residents and minorities to cast ballots.

One section of House Bill 194, which called for an end to early voting as of the Friday before Election Day, was passed as part of a later bill and implemented by Secretary of State Jon Husted for this year’s general election. Redfern said he and other opponents of that change are considering a legal challenge if Husted does not reverse course on the issue.

“We look forward to continuing to press for opportunities for Ohioans to come and vote at the polls [in an] early and open process, seven days a week for the 35 days that we have,” he said.

The House Bill 194 referendum is one of several efforts by groups working to qualify issues for the November 2012 election.

Democrats also are circulating petitions to block Republican-drawn congressional districts, outlined in House Bill 319, from taking effect.

And Tea Party and related groups hope to place a right-to-work issue before voters to amend the constitution to bar mandatory membership or dues payments to labor unions.

Attorney General Mike DeWine last week rejected petition language on the latter; backers are expected to submit new language, which must be approved before they can circulate petitions.