PROPOSED REFERENDUM ON HOUSE BILL 194 REQUIRES ADDITIONAL SIGNATURES

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced today that almost 10,000 additional signatures are needed by next week to place House Bill 194 to a statewide referendum next year.

Petitioners seeking to place House Bill 194, “the voter suppression” bill on the November 2012 ballot need almost 9600 more valid signatures to get the referendum on the ballot. They submitted 333,063 total signatures, of which only 221,572, about two-thirds, were valid.

Petitioners now have ten days, until Thursday, November 24, to gather the additional valid signatures. The petitions submitted have satisfied the other constitutional requirements to collect signatures from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties, and within each of those counties collected enough signatures equal to three percent of the total vote cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election, 2010. The three percent threshold was achieved in 52 counties.

Failure to secure the additional signatures would result in immediate application of HB 194, including curtailment of early voting.

Congressional Democrats hold hearing on nationwide voting law changes

In Washington DC, today, House Democrats, including Representative Marcia Fudge (OH-11), held a forum entitled “Excluded from Democracy: The Impact of Recent State Voting Law Changes”.  

Here are excerpts from Rep. Fudge’s opening remarks:

"It is time that the American people hear from more than just us that there is a concerted effort across this country to limit, to suppress and to undo our right to vote. It is deliberate and it is by design. From Ohio to Wisconsin, down to Florida, across Texas, the franchise is under attack today in this country. A certain predetermined segment of Americans are being targeted; young people, the elderly, our disabled and minorities, will all feel the repercussions of this concerted effort. There's nothing new about what we're seeing today if you have lived as long as I have lived. These are the tactics that have been used for years to compromise the franchise.” …

“Legislation passed or proposed in the state of Ohio, which is my home, and a number of other states has ended Sunday voting. Think about it, Ohio's Republican legislature has voted to reduce not only Sunday voting but voting early from currently what was 35 days a year ago down to 16 days. In 2008, African-American voters accounted for 22% of early votes and 31% of Sunday voters. Latinos accounted for 22% of Sunday voters. Minorities who work long hours all week and don't get time off need the flexibility that early voting and Sunday voting provide. On Saturdays and Sundays, before Election Day, people of faith across the country remind their parishioners to vote. But those orchestrating this suppression effort know full well the importance of Sunday voting and early voting. They know minorities in particular will be disproportionately impacted by these laws.”