The League of Women Voters of Ohio, along with other voting rights partners, sent a letter to Ohio Secretary State Frank LaRose on March 18 demanding that changes to the Primary Election calendar comply with the National Voter Registration Act and the Ohio Constitution.

“We agree that postponing the election helped protect the health and safety of Ohio voters and poll workers,” Jen Miller, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said. “Having an accurate, up-to-date registration is the first step for casting a ballot, so voters must be granted the same registration schedule as every other election.”

The League of Women Voters partnered with A. Philip Randolph Institute Ohio, ACLU of Ohio, Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, and Demos in sending the letter to the Secretary of State.

“Ohio’s A. Philip Randolph Institute is going into battle again to fight to protect voters’ opportunities to register and vote. Every eligible Ohioan deserves to have their voice heard, their vote counted, and their constitutional rights respected,” Andre Washington, Executive Director of Ohio’s A. Philip Randolph Institute, said.

Secretary LaRose’s March 16 directive sets a new voting schedule amid the coronavirus pandemic that violates Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act, which requires the deadline for voter registration to be no more than 30 days prior to a federal election. It also violates Article 5, Section 1, of the Ohio Constitution, which allows eligible Ohioans to vote when registered for 30 days before any election.

“Yes, in many ways we are in uncharted territory. But neither the global pandemic, nor the fact that the election date is changed, means that we need to devolve into anarchy. The national and state laws that protect the rights of Ohio voters are still in effect and must be followed. Under the law, Ohio voters must be permitted to register up until 30 days before a federal election,” Freda Levenson, Legal Director for the ACLU of Ohio, said.

The Secretary of State’s directive prohibits boards of elections from registering new voters for the extended in-person primary, stating that February 18 would remain the registration deadline.

Even if a different date is set through legislative or legal action, the registration date must be 30 days prior.

“When elections move, the strong protections of the National Voter Registration Act move with them,” Brenda Wright, Senior Advisor for Legal Strategies at Demos said. “That’s critical, because arbitrary voter registration deadlines are a barrier to the ballot for too many voters, especially voters of color.”

“It is important that all eligible Ohioans get to exercise their right to vote in this important election,” Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said. “Every other jurisdiction that has felt compelled to move its primary election date because of the current health crisis has recognized that the law requires that people must be allowed to register to vote for up to 30 days before the new election date. There is no reason for Ohio to ignore clear and settled law.”

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Amicus brief filed

On March 23, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, along with partners, filed an amicus brief in the case Ex Rel. Ohio Democratic Party v. Frank LaRose.

The case concerns when and how to conduct Ohio’s rescheduled primary election in light of last week’s postponement due to COVID-19.

The League and its partners do not take the side of any party in this case, but file this brief to alert the Court and both political parties to two particular matters: the requirement to adjust the voter registration deadline and the need to make voting accessible to all eligible citizens.

“There is no perfect approach to holding an election during a global pandemic, but Ohio must abide by bedrock voter registration laws,” Miler said. “Additionally, Ohio should ease the vote-by-mail process, which is cumbersome for seniors, youth, Ohioans with disabilities, and homeless citizens. Protecting public health is critical, but we must also do everything we can to preserve access for all eligible Ohio voters.”

The League is joined by Ohio’s A. Philip Randolph Institute and represented by the ACLU of Ohio, Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, and Demos. The brief points out that, regardless of what date the primary election is to be held, federal law requires that Ohioans must be permitted to continue to register to vote up to 30 days in advance. Last week, the League of Women Voters and partners sent a letter to the Ohio Secretary of State demanding any new election comply with this requirement of the National Voter Registration Act.

The organizations also caution that the methods of voting in the rescheduled primary, as suggested by the political parties, rely exclusively on an overly narrow vote-by-mail scheme, and point out that reliance on that exclusive option will make voting inaccessible for some communities across the state.

“We cannot allow politics to get in the way of Ohio’s elections. Each person’s vote is sacred and must be counted,” Washington said. “We must ensure that historically disenfranchised communities are given multiple ways to cast a ballot, and that includes in-person voting.”

“Whether the election date is reset for April 28, May 16, June 2, or some other day due to the coronavirus pandemic, federal law protecting the rights of voters still matters as much as ever,” Levenson said.“Eligible Ohioans must be permitted to register to vote up to 30 days prior to the primary. Further, the election must be accessible for all voters. Ohioans must be provided mechanisms beyond the current, narrow vote-by-mail system to participate safely in the upcoming election.”

“In responding to the current public health crisis, our governmental authorities must do everything possible to preserve the fundamentals of our democracy,” Ezra Rosenberg, Co-Director of the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law said. “This means ensuring that, consonant with public safety, every person eligible to vote is provided the fullest possible opportunity to do so. We hope that the positions we lay out in our brief today will guide both the Ohio Supreme Court and Ohio’s elected and appointed officials in reaching that goal in these difficult times

“This public health crisis need not become a crisis for our democracy because when elections move, the protections of the Constitution and our voting rights laws move with them,” Wright said.. “Regardless of when Ohio holds its 2020 primary, the state must make voting accessible for all eligible Ohioans, especially Black and brown voters who too often are pushed to the sidelines of our democracy by obstacles such as arbitrary voter registration deadlines or burdensome procedures for voting absentee or at the polls.”