By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As potential changes to voting rules loom over the nation, local elections officials want Wood County voters to know that the existing voter registration rules are still in place – at least for the May primary.
While voter registration rules remain the same, new rules for mail-in ballots have been tightened, requiring ballots to be returned to the local board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on election day, May 5. In the past, there was a four-day grace period for ballots that got hung up in the mail.
President Donald Trump has suggested that mail-in voting be banned in the U.S. – despite his use of a mailed ballot in March in Florida.
On March 31, Trump signed an executive order that directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to create a national list of eligible voters and orders the U.S. Postal Service to send mail ballots only to people on that new federal list.
All this, in spite of the U.S. Constitution giving sole power over running elections to the states.
According to Wood County Board of Elections officials, mail-in ballots in the past have accounted for up to 20% of the votes cast locally. That percentage of mailed ballots has dropped as the use of early voting has increased.
Terry Burton and Julie Baumgardner, co-directors of the Wood County Board of Elections, estimated 10% of local voters continue to use mail-in ballots for a variety of reasons.
Those voters will now have less time to return their filled in ballots, so they don’t miss the new deadline.
The use of ballot drop boxes in Ohio has already been limited, with each county only allowed to have one drop off location.
Under a 2024 order from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, voters can’t simply assist other voters by putting their ballots into the board of election’s secure drop box. People assisting voters now have to get authorization from boards of elections offices before dropping off ballots for family members who are disabled or elderly.
Because of the frequently changing proposals for new voting rules under Trump’s administration, the Wood County Board of Elections is unable to plan ahead.
“We don’t spend much of our day worrying about it,” Burton said.
However, because Baumgardner and Burton know that voters are concerned, they encouraged citizens with questions to contact their office.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or the SAVE America Act, would force Americans to prove they are citizens when they register to vote, mostly through a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate, according to the Associated Press.
Drivers’ licenses in many states would not be enough. The legislation says that the identification must be compliant with new REAL ID rules and also indicate that the applicant is a citizen of the United States — which few state licenses do.
A person registering to vote could also present a passport or a birth certificate. U.S. military members could present a military ID – along with a record of service that shows where they were born.
Most people registering to vote would have to present the documents in person at an elections office, including people who vote by mail. Advocacy groups that oppose the legislation say that the bill would crush voter registration efforts ahead of this year’s elections.
The legislation would also require states to share voters’ information with the Department of Homeland Security as a way to verify the citizenship of the names on the voter rolls — giving the federal government unprecedented access to state voter data. Many states are already engaged in legal fights with the Trump administration over demands that they provide voter information.
The changes are part of Trump’s effort to assert more federal control over elections and “guarantee the midterms” for the Republican Party in November.
“This is not close to being enacted” by the Senate, Burton said. “It’s liable to change, if it gets voted on at all.”
Federal law already requires that voters in national elections be U.S. citizens. The best advice the board of elections had for citizens was to be aware of their voter registration status.
“Keep your voter registration up to date,” Baumgardner said. “You can do that easily online” – at least for now.
Voters whose last names have changed after marriage or divorce are advised to bring their marriage or divorce decrees when voting, to avoid having to vote by provisional ballot.
Despite Trump’s statements that the new voter registration rules will keep non-citizens from voting, studies across the nation have shown that existing precautions are already doing that.
Since Burton has been with the Board of Elections, the state has identified two non-citizens who registered here, but who never tried to cast ballots. Baumgardner and Burton explained that the registrations were the result of a statewide requirement that all people applying for social services in Ohio must be given a series of forms to fill out.
That has led to two people erroneously filling out voter registration forms.
“They think they have to fill out the form,” Baumgardner said.
“In their desperation to get these services, they fill out every form,” Burton said. “They end up never voting.”
“There are enough safeguards in place,” Baumgardner said.
Burton and Baumgardner stressed their commitment to allowing citizens to vote and not be stopped by red tape.
“We are going to do our best to let you vote and have your voice heard,” Baumgardner said.
