Ohio may become the biggest battleground state to have automatic voter registration in time for the next election.
A bipartisan coalition of state legislators joined GOP Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Wednesday in announcing the drive to enact a measure making Ohio the 18th state where eligible people are automatically registered whenever they interact with a state agency – most frequently the motor vehicle bureau – unless they say they want to opt out.
"If we don't hear from you for six years, and if you don't respond to this mailing, we make the assumption that you've moved or that you've passed on," LaRose said. "We can do a lot better than that in the year 2019, and come up with a system that doesn't inconvenience infrequent voters ... while at the same time maintains an accurate list."
The lawmakers said the switch could add as many as 1 million to the rolls in Ohio, which has voted for the winner in 14 straight presidential elections. Of the 17 states that have created automatic voter registrations, just four went for Donald Trump in 2016.
Molineaux and Nevins are co-founders of the Bridge Alliance, a coalition of 100 democracy strengthening organizations. (Disclosure: The Bridge Alliance Education Fund is a funder of The Fulcrum.)
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As co-founders of the Bridge Alliance, we are inspired and challenged by the problems facing our country. Our 100 member organizations work daily to protect the ideals of our American Dream so we can create healthy self-governance that has never fully existed before. Our members work to harness the tension of our differences as we enact our inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, balancing individual and community needs.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program assists military members who need to vote via absentee ballot. A spokeswoman for the Defense Department said there would be "minimal disruptions" if the United States pulls out of the international postage agency.
Election officials are growing increasingly concerned that the Trump administration's trade war with China could make it more difficult and expensive for overseas voters — including those in the military — to cast ballots in the 2019 and 2020 local, state and federal elections.
The issue is the pending withdrawal in October by the U.S. from the Universal Postal Union, a group of 192 nations that has governed international postal service and rates for 145 years.
Last October, the U.S. gave the required one-year notice stating it would leave the UPU unless changes were made to the discounted fees that China pays for shipping small packages to the United States. The subsidized fees — established years ago to help poor, developing countries — place American businesses at a disadvantage and don't cover costs incurred by the U.S. Postal Service.
With the U.S.-imposed deadline for withdrawal or new rates fast approaching, states officials are running out of time to prepare for overseas mail-in voting.
