Legislation Pertaining to Voter Registration Database, Voting Machines Receives Bipartisan Support in Ohio House

State Representative Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) has announced that the Ohio House of Representatives today passed Amended Substitute Senate Bill 200, legislation that enhances the Statewide Voter Registration Database and modifies electronic voting machines requirements. The legislation passed with bipartisan support.

“I am appreciative the League of Women Voters, the Ohio Association of Election Officials, and the County Commissioners Association were able to help us craft an elections bill which will allow our election officials to more efficiently manage our electoral process, and at the same time, assist voters in keeping their voter registrations accurate,” said Dovilla. “One of our most sacred obligations is ensuring the integrity of our electoral process, and the enhancements set forth in this legislation for Ohio’s Statewide Voter Registration Database will allow us to do so.”

Among other provisions, Am. Sub. S.B. 200:
• Requires state agencies to provide data to the Secretary of State that is collected in the course of normal business and is necessary to update an elector's voter registration to maintain the statewide voter registration database;
• Requires a board of elections to contact a registered voter to verify the accuracy of information in the statewide voter registration database, if information received from another agency identifies a discrepancy in voter registration; and
• Reduces the minimum number of direct recording electronic voting machines that a county must have if it chooses to use those machines as the primary voting system in the county.

Am. Sub. S.B. 200 has received the support of the League of Women Voters and the Ohio Association of Election Officials.

The legislation will now move to Governor Kasich for his signature.