News Intelligence Analysis
Posted on Tue, Dec. 06, 2005
From Ohio
Beacon Journal
Bill Seeks Ohio Election Reforms
Proposal would ban backing of candidates by secretary of state
Associated Press
COLUMBUS - Ohio's chief elections officer would no longer be able to hold two jobs seemingly at odds with each other -- counting votes and backing candidates -- under changes to an election-reform bill released Monday.
In a jab at GOP Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, criticized for his honorary role in the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign last year, fellow Republicans want to prohibit such dual responsibilities in the future.
``It is reasonable to expect that a person making decisions during and after an election about a campaign should not be an interested party to that campaign,'' said Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls.
He said the proposal came out of the perceived conflict of interest last year when Blackwell was an honorary vice chairman in the Bush-Cheney campaign.
Blackwell, running for governor next year, held that campaign post along with other statewide Republican officials.
The proposal also prohibits the secretary of state from taking an active role on a ballot issue, although it would not affect issues already in the pipeline.
That would seem to allow Blackwell to proceed with his own proposal, headed for the ballot next year, to limit the state's ability to increase spending and taxes.
The bill to be introduced today in the Senate Rules Committee would also require that all Ohio voters show identification at the polls to curb voter fraud.
In addition, county election boards would no longer be able to open satellite offices, and the number of signatures required to launch a statewide ballot issue would jump from 100 to 1,000.
The identification proposal is aimed both at fraud at the polls and at the time a person registers, said Sen. Jeff Jacobson, a suburban Dayton Republican.
The bill would impose the same identification requirements at the polls as those adopted this fall for voters casting absentee ballots.
Any number of documents would serve as identification, including a driver's license, paycheck, utility bill or bank statement.
Democrats plan to fight the requirement, arguing the rule would hurt the poor and could limit the number of ballots cast.
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