Voting Rights

Common Cause Ohio works with many other organizations and groups to protect and expand voting rights in Ohio. The Ohio Voters Rights Coalition is a non-partisan network of local, state, and national voting advocates dedicated to ensuring that all eligible Ohioans can vote and have their votes counted. In addition to Common Cause Ohio, coalition partners include organizations such as All Voting is Local, American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, Campus Vote Project, Fair Elections Center, Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates, ProgressOhio, Ohio Conference NAACP, Ohio Student Association, Policy Matters Ohio, and League of Women Voters Ohio.

Common Cause Ohio works with the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition to actively promote voting improvements including the following:

Automated Voter Registration

When an eligible citizen gives their information to government agencies they will automatically be registered to vote unless they opt out. AVR maintains up-to-date registrations by sharing address and name changes between agencies. AVR saves money and also helps maintain more accurate lists.

We Support Increased Early Voting Opportunities Such as:

  • Expanding and making permanent evening and weekend early in-person voting hours.
  • Creating a permanent absentee ballot mailing list is another way to help voters.
  • Allowing multiple early voting centers per county.
  • Reinstating same day registration: in the past, “Golden Week” allowed voters to register and cast their early ballot on the same day.

Improved Online Voter Registration:

  • Adopt online tools to allow third party groups and governmental agencies to register voters efficiently
  • Implement pre-registration for 16 and 17-year-olds

Full enfranchising of people in the criminal justice system:

  • Require voter registration and absentee voting be conducted at local jails for eligible voters.
  • Maintain voter registrations of eligible voters who are convicted of a felony but are not incarcerated.
  • End the limitation on people with criminal convictions from circulating petitions.

Additional Voting Rights Reforms:

  • Expand eligible voter identification.
  • Maintain accurate voter registration lists.
  • Implement robust language assistance programs.

You can learn more about these voting rights improvements by reading the Ohio Voter Rights Coalitions’ publication, “The New Frontier: How Ohio Can Expand Voting Rights.” You can also read a summary statement of the Coalitions’ and Common Cause Ohio’s priorities.

You can also follow Ohio Voter Rights Coalition on Twitter and Facebook, and check out our newsletter.