Clyde responds to Secretary Husted's comments on student voting issue

State Representative Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) released the following statement in response to Secretary of State Jon Husted’s comments on the attack on student voting rights:

“Secretary Husted today described voting in Ohio as a "privilege" and described Democratic legislative concerns about the voting rights attached in the transportation budget as "hysteria" and "hysterics". He wrongly claimed the Senate Republicans' provision will not affect voting by students in Ohio when, in reality, it will cause students who register and vote in Ohio to pay $75 or more to get new documents from the BMV or be fined $150 to $1000 and face jail time.

“I believe Secretary Husted is mistaken about the legal implications of this provision and I am disappointed to hear him dismiss the concerns of our congressional representatives, Judge Nathaniel Jones, my colleagues and myself as "hysteria." The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits voter intimidation such as using one's voter registration status to target, investigate, prosecute, and criminally punish them for unrelated matters. Over 100,000 students come to Ohio to further their education and this provision will surely intimidate them and cause them to not register to vote, even though it is their fundamental right to do so.”