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🚨Urgent: Ohio lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that would throw out 1000s of valid mail-in ballots🚨
SB 293 would take away Ohio’s long-standing 4-day acceptance window for absentee ballots that were mailed on time and postmarked by the day before Election Day. This means voters who followed the rules and got their ballots in on time would be disenfranchised for something out of their control– the speed of our postal system.
Ohioans with disabilities, rural Ohioans, Ohio seniors, and the working Ohioans who are most reliant on absentee voting to be able to participate in elections are at an especially high risk of having their votes thrown out simply because of mail delays.
SB 293 wouldn’t result in more secure elections, it would only make voting harder for Ohioans whose ballots are delayed by our postal system. Strong safeguards like signature matching, ballot tracking, and bipartisan oversight already make voting by mail secure—what this bill would result in is fewer valid votes being counted.
Ohio’s 4-day acceptance period doesn’t extend the time Ohio voters can cast a ballot, it’s simply a mail delivery window to ensure ballots from eligible voters are counted.
But if SB 293 were to pass, thousands of legal ballots from eligible voters would be rejected because of the post office, not the voter.
We can’t let that happen. The Ohio Senate's General Government Committee is voting on SB 293 on Wednesday at 9:15, and if it passes it might head to the floor for a full Senate vote that same day. Tell your Ohio state senator and members of the committee they must reject SB 293 to preserve accessibility and fairness in Ohio's elections.
Thank you for taking the time to act! Right now, there are no General Assembly members associated with your address. This could mean you are not an Ohio resident, or that you have newly elected members in both the Ohio House and Ohio Senate, which has not yet updated their new member contacts. If it is the latter, please try again in a few days. Please reach out to Elisabeth Warner with any questions at ewarner@lwvohio.org.
Thank you!
Thank you for speaking up for fairness in our elections!
Want to keep going?
Call your Ohio Senator to tell them you oppose SB 293.
If you have a personal story you can share, that's always best, but you can keep it simple and just say:
"I am a constituent in Senator X's district, and I oppose SB 293 because it's unnecessary and will result in valid votes being thrown out."
Find your Ohio Senator and get tips on how to make effective phone calls to lawmakers here.
You can also submit written testimony saying you oppose SB 293—this must be submitted by Tuesday at 9:15 am to the Senate General Government Committee HERE
You are encouraged to write your own, but we also have sample testimony here.
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