Voter registration serves two purposes:

Ohio did not even require voter registration in 22 of its rural counties until 1977, because "everyone knows everyone here." Even after 1977, the registration was simple. Voters completed a registration form with basic information including name and address (so officials could assign voters to the right precinct), birth date (to assure voters were of age), citizenship, and signature. Voters could register just about anywhere, and anyone could help them register to vote.

 

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993  was enacted to make registration opportunities more readily available to members of historically under-represented groups, such as low income persons, persons with disabilities and members of the armed forces.

 

Under the Act, the state is required to use the widespread availability of agencies that issue drivers’ licenses and their ability to reach a broad spectrum of the population. (Ohio had required the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to offer voter registration since 1977.) Other agencies that provide services to under-represented people and the general population are also required to offer voter registration services to all clients. These include public libraries and high schools, agencies that provide services to low-income people and persons with disabilities, and armed forces recruiters and county treasurers. In Ohio, only the BMV has consistently offered voter registration to its clients.

 

The Help America Vote Act of 2002  introduced an identification requirement that asked for a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number on the registration application. This Act did not place any restrictions on who could help people register to vote.

 

With the passage of House Bill 3 in 2006, voter registration has become more difficult and more restricted.

 

The bill was passed to curb some recent problems with voter registration. Some voter registration drives in 2004 had been duped by paid registrars who turned in phony registrations under such names as Snow White or Mickey Mouse. Some groups held all their registrations to make a big splash by turning in hundreds or thousands at once, often just before the registration deadline. As a result, a variety of restrictions were imposed on registrars.

 

Under the law, anyone who is paid to register voters–even if it is just a small part of their job responsibilities, and even if they are paid something as nominal as a bottle of pop or a lunch–must jump through a lot of hoops. They must register online with the Secretary of State, take the online course of instructions and then print out and submit an affirmation that they have taken this course and will obey all the laws.1

 

They must complete questions at the bottom of each registration form, giving their name, address and identifying information, and they must provide the name of the person or organization who is paying them.

 

Completed registrations must be delivered to the office of the Secretary of State or a Board of Elections within 10 days of the forms’ completion, and the registrations must be accompanied by a copy of the registrar’s affirmation statement.

 

Unpaid volunteers do not register or fill out the identifying information, but they are under the same delivery deadline as paid registrars.

 

While proponents hail these changes as anti-fraud reforms, opponents label them as voter suppression provisions that make it extremely difficult to register disenfranchised demographic groups.

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1. The United States Federal Court for the Northern District of Ohio has  struck down certain sections of HB 3 having to do with paid  registrars.  It is being appealed. See Project Vote v. Blackwell.