The Ohio House voted 61-34 along party lines Thursday in favor of an elections bill that voting rights groups say will make casting ballots during a pandemic more difficult.
House Bill 680 would block the Ohio secretary of state from prepaying return postage on applications for absentee ballots or on the ballots themselves. It calls for shortening the time allowed for requesting an absentee ballot to seven days before Election Day.
It would also block public officials from canceling or delaying an election. Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton used a public health order to close polling places for the March 17 presidential primary to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The fast-tracked legislation, first introduced May 27, encountered opposition from groups such as the NAACP, League of Women Voters of Ohio, Common Cause Ohio, AARP Ohio, ACLU of Ohio, Ohio Council of Churches, and others. The bill moves to the Senate now for consideration there.