A pair of Democratic Ohio state lawmakers want to give voters the chance to sign up for absentee ballots permanently. Eight states allow all their citizens to opt in to regular absentee voting, and another 11 allow specific populations like people with disabilities to do so, too.
But under current law in Ohio, voters must file a new absentee ballot request with every single election. And the procedure isn’t all that simple.
Ohioans can register to vote online, but they can’t request an absentee ballot while they’re there. Instead, voters have to print and fill out a request form and then mail it in to their county board.
Ohio state Reps. Michele Grim, D-Toledo, and Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, argue that’s more cumbersome than it needs to be.
How the bill works
Ohio House Bill 400 would create several avenues for voters to sign up for the permanent absentee ballot list.
“Folks who regularly vote by mail can voluntarily opt into being part of a system where they’re always going to get an application to vote by mail,” Rader explained. “So they don’t have to go seek that out every election. They don’t have to go find a form, or go online and request a form and remember to do that, put it on their calendar.”
“So, it just kind of removes a step,” he added, “makes it a little bit easier for folks that prefer to vote by mail.”
The measure directs the Ohio Secretary of State to develop a new form for voters to add their name; voter registration, change of address and change of name forms would all get a new box allowing voter to opt in as well.
Ditto the online voter registration portal. Finally, anytime a voter requests an absentee ballot for an individual election, they could also sign up for absentee ballots going forward.
Rader stressed the program is voluntary. Voters can sign up and back out at will.
Rep. Grim said she regularly hears from voters who don’t realize they have to request an absentee ballot every single time. Primary, special, general — each one requires its own request.
“A lot of a lot of people don’t know that, or they forget sometimes,” Grim said. “So this would make it a lot easier, especially for older folks or people with disabilities, but also, you know, folks that maybe don’t work traditional jobs and have a hard time voting.”
“I actually did it in California, when I lived in California,” she added. “My ballot came every time, and I was able to vote and mail it back. It was very simple, and I think it just helps a lot of people.”
This is not the first time Democrats have proposed a permanent absentee voter list. Former state Rep. Michael Skindell, D-Lakewood, made the most recent attempt in 2022, but that proposal went nowhere.
A likely complaint is what happens when a voter moves or dies? Does the new resident just luck into an extra ballot? The short answer is no.
“That is against the law, so they can’t do that,” Grim said. “If they vote with someone’s ballot, that’s not their name, you know, that is a state and federal offense.”
What’s more, the proposal doesn’t direct county boards to send the actual ballot. Instead, voters would get the ballot request form.
To get an actual ballot the voter has to return that form with identifying information including date of birth, social security number or driver’s license and their signature.
Election officials verify that information on the application form and again when the voter sends in their ballot.
Grim notes it’s not as straightforward as it could be, but it’s an improvement on a system requiring the voter to initiate each absentee ballot request.
Rader also said it would be nice if voters could just sign up to receive a ballot rather than a request form.
“I would love to move to the next step, but I think we have to take this in incremental steps,” he said. “I think our goal here is to get people warmed up to this idea and see if we can’t get bipartisan support.”
Ultimately, Rader said, it would be great if Ohio joined the eight states and Washington, D.C. that proactively mail ballots to every registered voter for every election.
“If we can get more buy in for universal vote by mail would be fantastic,” he said, “but I don’t know if that’s like where our state is right now.”
This story was originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal and republished here with permission.
This article appears in Aug 6-19, 2025.