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Ohio Senate extends deadline for overseas primary ballots to be returned

worker pulls a pallet of ballots at Franklin County Board of Elections
Dan Konik
/
Statehouse News Bureau
A worker pulls a pallet of ballots at the Franklin County Board of Elections. The Ohio House is next to consider legislation addressing overseas voters in the May 3 primary election.

The Ohio Senate called a previously unscheduled session to take place Tuesday to address the delay in getting ballots to overseas voters because of the fluctuating status of state legislative and congressional district maps.

Local boards of elections will not have ballots ready in time to send to overseas voters by the March 18 deadline. The state asked the federal government to waive the requirement that overseas voters have access to their ballot 45 days before the May 3 primary.

The federal government denied that request, leading to Senators Tuesday extending the final day of the primary for only overseas voters.

Under the Senate amendment, ballots from overseas voters can be received by local boards of elections 20 days after the May 3 primary. The previous required return date was 10 days after the primary.

The amendment would also shorten the required window between having the ballots ready for use and the primary from 45 days to 30 days.

The amended bill, which has an emergency clause attached to go into effect right away, must now be approved by the Ohio House. The House is expected to vote on the legislation Wednesday.

Local boards of elections are behind in getting ballots ready because previous attempts at drawing state legislative and congressional district maps have been invalidated by the courts.

A state legislative district plan passed Feb. 24 and a congressional district map approved March 2 are both facing objections in court.

Elections officials have asked lawmakers to extend the May 3 primary for all voters. But legislative leaders say they do not want to do that unless the court takes further action on their proposed state legislative and congressional district maps.
Copyright 2022 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.

Andy Chow is a general assignment state government reporter who focuses on environmental, energy, agriculture, and education-related issues. He started his journalism career as an associate producer with ABC 6/FOX 28 in Columbus before becoming a producer with WBNS 10TV.