Absentee Ballots

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Cuayhoga County executive Ed FitzGerald is criticizing a pair of new elections rules, saying they infringe on voting rights.

Republican Gov. John Kasich has signed into law two election-related bills heavily criticized by Democrats. 

Ohio Democratic Party chair and State Representative Chris Redfern says he expects the organization to file a federal lawsuit over an absentee-ballot measure passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The Ohio House has approved proposals to trim early voting hours and set rules for mailing unsolicited absentee ballot applications.

The Ohio Senate has approved a bill restricting who may send unsolicited absentee ballot applications to voters and for what election years.

Last year, all Ohio voters got absentee voter applications – whether they requested them or not – as a way to settle a fight over whether counties could send out those forms unsolicited.

An analysis of absentee ballot requests by a University of Dayton history professor shows a significant shift in Republican enthusiasm since 2008.

More than a million of Ohio's nearly 8 million registered voters have taken steps to cast a ballot.