The Ohio Senate inserted a harmful provision in the state transportation budget H.B. 53 that places unnecessary barriers to voting. Please line-item veto R.C. § 4503.111 and § 4507.213 to ensure young people continue to have a voice at the ballot box.
Why is this important?
Current law permits citizens to register to vote in Ohio while retaining an out-of-state driver’s license, however H.B. 53 would require any person that registers to vote in Ohio to pay upwards of $75 to register their vehicle in this state. By forcing out-of-state students to purchase an Ohio driver’s license and vehicle registration, students will effectively have to pay to vote. Over 116,000 out-of-state students attend Ohio colleges and universities and would be negatively impacted by this bill.
Legislators should not impose administrative expenses on students to deter voting. Not only is this provision and poor public policy, this provision is also likely to be unconstitutional.
Ohio Voter Rights Coalition
