2009: Mandel Voted Against Online Voter Registration And Other Voting Reform Measures. In 2009, Mandel voted against HB 260. The bill would allow online voter registration and absentee ballot requests, eliminate the requirement that a voter’s identification show the voter’s current address, expand from one to four the number of locations early voting can take place in a county, and automatically register people to vote upon graduating high school, updating information at certain agencies or updating driver’s license information. It would also create a formula for boards of elections to determine distribution of voting machines, eliminate the requirement that a person must reside in the precinct in which the person votes, require changes of address made to driver’s licenses to serve as notification of change of address for voter registration, and allow people who have moved within a county to cast a regular (not a provisional) ballot. It would require notification be sent if a board of elections does not accept a person’s voter registration or absentee ballot application and allow that person up to 15 days before an election to correct the voter registration application, allow people to request absentee ballots once for the entire calendar year, allow certain county-wide elections by mail, reform financing of elections and revise language on ballots and voter registration forms. The bill passed 52-46. [H.B. 260, 11/18/09]
2008: Mandel Voted To Make Voting Harder By Prohibiting Same-Day Voter Registration/Voting. In 2008, Mandel Voted in favor of S.B. 380. The bill would generally prohibit same day voter registration and application for absent voter’s ballots, require absent voter’s ballot identification envelope statements to be completed for absent voter’s ballots to be counted, permit partisan observers at early voting polls, revise the time period in which voters may cast absent voter’s ballots in person, and require the Secretary of State to provide county boards of elections names of voters whose registration information did not match motor vehicle records. The bill passed the House 55-43, but was vetoed by the Governor because, “The bill addresses issues that are too complex and controversial to properly address in a lame-duck session.” [S.B. 380, 12/16/08; Columbus Dispatch, 1/7/09]
Published: Jan 1, 2011 | Last Modified: Apr 21, 2021