Contact Andy Richards for more information

To be delivered to: The Ohio State House and The Ohio State Senate:

“Ohioans deserve a fair, efficient, and accessible voting system. Don’t push policies that set back voting rights in Ohio. Instead, work in a bipartisan fashion to craft real, forward-thinking, pro-voter reforms.”

Ohio could be the state that decides whether Barack Obama wins or loses the 2012 presidential election—and Ohio Republicans are trying to change the rules to disenfranchise Democratic-leaning voters. Ohio’s election laws have taken major strides forward in recent years—but GOP lawmakers are now trying to wipe out that progress. Three bills in the Ohio General Assembly—SB 148, HB 194 and HB 159—would dramatically limit the ability of hundreds of thousands of voters to make their voice heard in Ohio elections.

All of these bills have one goal: making it more difficult for Ohioans, particularly the working poor, the elderly, students and people of color, to participate in our democratic process. SB 148 and HB 194 would cripple in-person and mail absentee voting, dramatically scale back the window for early voting and eliminate county-level flexibility to craft innovative, pro-voter policies.

HB 159 is a voter ID bill that the Cleveland Plain Dealer called the “most restrictive” measure of its kind in the country. Adding a photo ID requirement would only serve to further disenfranchise young people, seniors, people of color, people with disabilities and the poor.

We need 100 signatures