Ohio SB 153: Voter Rights

The current five-alarm fire is SB 153,  a SAVE-type bill in the Ohio State House which is even worse than the federal bill likely to die in the Senate. It does the following: requires documentary  proof of citizenship to register to vote or re-register in the case of a move; removes voter registration drives and on-line registration since one must provide the documentation at the BOE or BMV; eliminates drop boxes; makes it harder to initiate citizen petition drives; requires monthly matches of voter info with social security and BMV files and if there is any discrepancy—including a middle initial difference—it’s likely to result in the person having to vote provisionally. And of course it will be harder for married women who take their husband’s name to register since their birth certificate name will not match their current information. It will also destroy the ability to fight against voter purges. They are going to try to move fast on this, so we need to make lots of noise, loudly and daily.

Resources for more information about the bill and the efforts to stop it:

• Ohio Voter Rights Coalition ohiovoterrights.org

• Ohio League of Women Voters lwvohio.org

• Common Cause commoncause.org/ohio/

• All Voting is Local allvotingislocal.org/ohio

And below is a document/tool vetted by the ACLU, Common Cause, All Voting is Local and the League of Women Voters with information about who to contact in the legislature, contact information, and suggestions about what points to make in your call, post card or email. 

• https://bit.ly/OhioSAVEAct

This document also lets you sign up if you are willing to offer testimony (in person or written) against this bill and helps with writing to newspapers about the issue.

Ohio HB 126: Ohio's Anti-Immigrant Bill

The Ohio General Assembly is considering House Bill 26, an anti-immigrant initiative that forces local and state law enforcement to partner with the federal government for any type of enforcement of immigration laws, including through 287(g).

Currently a handful of Ohio counties have 287(g) agreements in place - this partnership is between the federal government and state and local law enforcement agencies to carry out immigration laws. If passed, HB 26 would require every single one of them to not only join 287(g), but assist in any and all of President Trump’s inhumane, anti-immigrant agenda by assisting in mass deportations.

Mandatory partnerships, like 287(g), often open the door for unconstitutional practices, lawsuits, and financial liabilities. This is due to the extreme nuance of immigration law and the lack of adequate funding and training provided to local law enforcement.

Immigration law is extremely complex and should remain a federal responsibility. Compliance with ICE will not improve public safety or protect our communities. HB 26 focuses more on fearmongering and political playbooks, rather than supporting Ohio communities.

TAKE ACTION: Contact the House Public Safety Committee and urge them to REJECT HB 26.