Senate Bill 82 Testimony by Kelly Dufour, Common Cause Ohio<\/b><\/p>\r\n
Before the Senate General Government Committee\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\r\n
April 6, 2025<\/b><\/p>\r\nChair Roegner, Vice Chair Gaverone, Ranking Member Blackshear and members of the Senate General Government Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide written\u00a0 testimony on Senate Bill 82. I would have appreciated the opportunity to testify in person, but had previous work travel scheduled.<\/span>\r\n\r\nMy name is Kelly Dufour and I\u2019m the voting and elections manager at Common Cause Ohio. Common Cause is a nonpartisan organization focused on strengthening public participation in our democracy and ensuring that our government is transparent and accountable to its citizens.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOne of the priorities of my work is attending and tracking activities at the Boards of Elections (BOE). In recent years, I have worked with fellow voting advocates to attend regular meetings and track county-level election administration in more than 48 counties across the state. I personally enjoy the work and find it fascinating to hear how counties of varying sizes administer the same directives issued by the Secretary of State).<\/span>\r\n\r\nDuring my attendance at BOE meetings, particularly in 2024, election officials have reported to their boards multiple physical and cyber safety threats. Senate Bill 82 is necessary and will provide basic personal protections for election officials who are working to carry out what should be routine, bipartisan procedures for election administration.<\/span>\r\n\r\nLast year, I witnessed election officials report the following safety concerns to their boards:<\/span>\r\n\r\n \t