Brenner, Gavarone Introduce Bill to Protect Ohio's Elections

COLUMBUS—State Senator Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) and State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) introduced Senate Bill 324, which further builds upon Ohio's work to protect our elections.

"We take pride in maintaining safe and secure elections," said Brenner. "This legislation will strengthen the Buckeye State's election laws and add protections so that Ohioans continue to know there is a reliable system in place when they cast their vote." 

"Ohio is the gold standard when it comes to running elections," Gavarone said. "Senate Bill 324 addresses areas of the election law we can improve, including an extra layer of protection to enforce our state constitution's citizenship requirement. This is a simple fix that strengthens trust and integrity in our institutions."

The legislation requires voters to provide proof of citizenship to their boards of elections when registering to vote or updating their registration if they have not previously done so. If proof of citizenship is not provided, the board can allow a voter to cast a provisional ballot, but the voter must provide proof of citizenship for it to be counted. 

Senate Bill 324 also requires absentee ballots to be hand-delivered to election officials or mailed back in. A voter's assistant must also sign a form attesting they are legally able to deliver another person's ballot

Senate Bill 324 now must be referred to a committee. Follow the legislation here.