APNewsbreak: GOP lawmakers seek end of vote window

By STEPHEN MAJORS

Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Republicans who control the Ohio Senate want to get rid of a disputed weeklong period in which new voters can register and then immediately cast a ballot, a top official said Monday.

Republicans planned to file a bill Tuesday that would move back the registration deadline to 65 days before Election Day, Senate GOP Chief of Staff Matt Schuler said.

That would eliminate an overlap between the beginning of absentee voting, which is 35 days before the election, and the current registration deadline, which is 30 days before the election.

The state Republican Party sued Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to stop the window before the Nov. 4 election, but state and federal courts upheld it. Republicans say lawmakers never intended for Ohio to have same-day registration and voting, and that the one-stop shopping makes it too difficult for elections officials to prevent voter fraud.

About 13,000 voters -- or about 0.2 percent of registered voters -- used the overlap period before this year's election.

Senate Republicans want to get the bill passed before the legislative session ends and a new, Democratic-controlled House takes over in January.

"We're aiming to clarify places where there's been some concern that it's not crystal clear," Schuler said.

Dan Tokaji, an elections law expert at The Ohio State University, said federal law clearly prohibits states from having registration deadlines earlier than 30 days before Election Day.

"It's hard to see why anyone would want to make it more difficult to vote," Tokaji said.

Brunner, a Democrat, has set up an elections summit in December in which the elections process will be discussed and potential changes to the law will be proposed. She is unlikely to go along with any changes before the summit concludes and before the new legislature takes over.

"On the heels of a successful election, Secretary Brunner has called a bipartisan summit where we will examine what went well, and what needs to be improved," said spokesman Kevin Kidder. "We look forward to working with the new legislature and the governor next year to further improve Ohio's bipartisan elections system."

The Senate bill also takes aim at other areas of dispute between Republicans and Brunner over the elections process:

-- It would allow Brunner to share with county boards of election the names of voters whose registration data doesn't match information in government databases.

-- It would allow poll observers to be present at polling locations during early voting.