Ohio governor ‘reluctantly’ signs bill eliminating grace period for late ballots

Ohio Governor Signs Law Eliminating Mail-In Ballot Grace Period Despite Reservations

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine reluctantly signed legislation Friday eliminating the state’s four-day grace period for counting late-arriving mail-in ballots, citing concerns over potential legal chaos if he vetoed the measure.

The new law ends Ohio’s practice of counting absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day but are postmarked by that date, a policy that has been in place for years. With this change, Ohio joins the growing majority of states requiring mail ballots to arrive by Election Day to be counted.

“I believe that this four-day grace period is reasonable, and I think for many reasons it makes a lot of sense,” DeWine told reporters during the bill signing. “Therefore, I normally would veto a repeal of this four-day grace period. And, frankly, that’s what I wish I could do.”

The Republican governor explained his decision was influenced by a pending U.S. Supreme Court case from Mississippi that could potentially invalidate similar grace period laws nationwide. The high court is reviewing a ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found Mississippi’s law allowing post-Election Day ballot counting violated federal statutes.

“No one knows how the Supreme Court will rule,” DeWine said. “However, if the court in late June upholds the 5th Circuit case and Ohio’s grace period for counting late ballots is still in effect, the election situation in Ohio would be chaotic.”

DeWine warned that such a ruling would create conflicting rules for state and federal candidates on the same ballot, with insufficient time for state lawmakers to harmonize the requirements before the critical November elections.

With Ohio’s policy change, the number of states that accept mail ballots that arrive after Election Day has dropped to just 14, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most states, including Ohio, maintain exceptions for certain eligible voters such as military personnel serving overseas and their families.

The bill represents a continuation of voting law changes in Ohio despite DeWine’s previous statements. In 2023, after signing a comprehensive package of election reforms, the term-limited governor had warned Republican lawmakers that he would likely veto further voting restrictions, stating that election integrity in Ohio had been sufficiently secured.

Democrats and voting rights advocates strongly opposed the legislation, arguing it creates unnecessary barriers to participation in the democratic process.

“The bill puts thousands of voters at risk of having their ballots not counted simply because of mail issues, and it could cancel registrations for many, including women who might have changed their last names or newly naturalized citizens,” Democratic state Representative Christine Cockley said in a statement. “Our efforts should be on making it easier for people to participate in our democracy, not harder.”

Critics point out that the bill also increases the frequency of voter registration purges and forces more voters to use provisional ballots, which require additional verification steps before being counted.

The continued modification of Ohio’s election procedures comes despite consistent evidence that the state’s electoral system functions with high accuracy. Post-election audits have repeatedly demonstrated that Ohio’s results are tallied with near perfection, including after the 2020 election, whose results former President Donald Trump continues to dispute despite no evidence of widespread fraud.

Conservative election groups celebrated the governor’s decision. Ken Cuccinelli, national chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, praised the move in a statement: “By passing SB 293, Ohio lawmakers stood with the majority of states nationwide in affirming that Election Day should be treated as Election Day — a commonsense standard that strengthens trust in our elections.”

The change in Ohio’s election procedures will be in effect for the 2024 elections, which include highly competitive races for president, Senate, and Congress in this pivotal swing state.