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Late last month, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law eliminating the four-day grace period for mail-in ballots — otherwise known as Senate Bill 293 — for reasons that that Ohio Democrats and voting rights groups say are complete pretzel logic.
They say that only one year ago, the governor said the state has no need for new election reform laws.
And, they say, with SB 293, DeWine wants to eliminate the grace period because the U.S. Supreme Court may — not will, but may – soon declare such grace periods unconstitutional and eliminate them in all 50 states.
"I normally would veto a repeal of this four-day grace period. And frankly, that's what I wish I could do," DeWine said during a press conference last month announcing the signing of several other bills.
But, he said, a federal court ruled a similar grace period in Mississippi violates federal law, and the case ultimately will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I find this astonishing,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, a prominent voting rights organization.
“Has the Supreme Court made it illegal?” Turcer posited. “No, they have not acted on it. They have done nothing yet. So the governor wants to use a crystal ball and predict what they will do. It makes no sense.”
But DeWine says that if the Supreme Court rules that the four-day grace period is unconstitutional, it could wreak havoc on the administration of elections in Ohio this year.
What else SB 293 does
SB 293 also changes voter citizenship verification laws, which its Republican sponsors in the legislature say is an effort to address non-citizen voting fraud. In fact, non-citizens voting in Ohio is so rare as to be virtually non-existent.
That is particularly true for non-citizens who are in the U.S. illegally. The last thing most of them want to do is draw attention to themselves by trying to vote in an election.
Under SB 293, the Ohio secretary of state must review the state’s voter registration database on at least a monthly basis, rather than an annual basis, to verify citizenship. It also will require the 88 county boards of elections to cancel voter registration for anyone flagged as a possible non-citizen immediately, before investigating their citizenship status.
Who could be impacted
State Sen. William DeMora, a Columbus Democrat, said SB 293 is part of a larger Republican-led voter suppression plan.
“The grace period for ballots to arrive has gone from 10 days to four days and, now, to zero days under this law,” DeMora. “All based on a Supreme Court decision that doesn’t exist.”
The case before the U.S. Supreme Court stems from a ruling from the U.S. Fifth District Court of Appeals, which sets election laws for three states — Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
“The Fifth Circuit has no jurisdiction in Ohio,” DeMora said. “Why would Ohio care? Only DeWine. The guy has the spine of an amoeba. He lets the House speaker [Matt Huffman] run all over him.”
Turcer sees the hand of President Trump in the push to pass SB 293 and DeWine signing it into law.
“I’m sure there was pressure from the Trump administration,” Turcer said.
In September of last year, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he would lead the effort to do away with mail-in voting entirely.
There are real people who are going to be hurt by the elimination of the grace period, Turcer said.
“Basically, anyone who depends on the U.S. Postal Service to get their mail-in ballots there by Election Day,’’ Turcer said.
“There are the rural people who often have to drive a long distance to vote on Election Day,’’ Turcer said. “Then there are the sick and the elderly, who simply can’t get to polling places. Without the U.S. mail, they are simply disenfranchised.”
The same goes for college students who want to vote in their home counties, Turcer said.
SB 293 goes into effect immediately, meaning if you want to vote absentee in November, you should prepare now.
Turcer's advice to those who ordinarily vote by mail but who are mobile is to request a ballot as early as possible — 30 days out from the election — and once it is filled out, get to the secure ballot drop box outside your county board of elections, forgoing the U.S. mail entirely.
DeMora, though, worries that eliminating drop boxes is next on the to-do list of State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, the co-author of SB 293.
“They will do whatever it takes to make it harder to vote,” DeMora said.
For Turcer, the optics of SB 293 are bad enough to discourage people from voting at all.
“If people are paying any attention at all, this will make them worry that if they vote by mail, it won’t be counted at all,” Turcer said.
“What worries me is that the effect of laws like this will just convince more people that there is no point in participating in our democracy,” Turcer said. “People are getting ground down and depressed.”
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