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House committee narrowly reports amended SB293 after heated debate on eliminating the four‑day ballot grace period
Summary
After sponsor testimony and extensive public opposition, the House General Government Committee adopted an amendment to Amended Senate Bill 293 and favorably reported the amended bill 9–4. Supporters, including Secretary of State Frank LaRose, said the changes align Ohio with most states and reduce administrative confusion; opponents warned the measure would discard legally cast ballots and burden seniors, rural voters and people with disabilities.
The House General Government Committee voted 9–4 to favorably report the amended version of Senate Bill 293 after a first hearing that included sponsor testimony, Secretary of State Frank LaRose's lengthy support, and multiple opponent witnesses from voting‑rights organizations.
Sponsors and proponents — including Senators Gabbirone and Brenner and Secretary LaRose — said the bill has three main components: require absentee ballots returned by mail to be received by county boards of elections on Election Day (with a UOCAVA/military exemption), strengthen processes for identifying and correcting mismatched voter records, and codify use of federal datasets (including the SAVE database and Social Security death records) to verify eligibility and remove deceased or noncitizen registrants. Senator Brenner told the…
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