COLUMBUS, Ohio — Voting rights groups have filed a lawsuit against Ohio's new voting law, one that they say discriminates against people with disabilities.
Ohio has reduced access to ballot drop boxes, which has left some Ohioans feeling left behind in elections.
"Their voices matter as much as any other voter in the state," said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
That is why LWV and voter Jennifer Kucera have filed a federal lawsuit against the state, alleging House Bill 458, now law, violates the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They are being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as well as the ACLU of Ohio.
"House Bill 458 just went even farther in criminalizing assisting voters with disabilities just returning their sealed ballot envelope," Miller said.
The only people allowed to deliver a sealed absentee ballot besides the voter are members of the postal service or specific relatives. This includes a spouse, a parent, grandparent, child, sibling, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew.
It excludes caregivers, employees of a care facility, grandchildren, cousins, neighbors, friends and anyone else unrelated.
If anyone not listed returns the ballot, that would be a fourth-degree felony. If a voter receives a felony for helping their loved one, they would no longer be able to vote.
"As a person with a severe disability living by myself, I rely on my caregivers to do everything for me on a daily basis, including opening and helping me process my mail," Kucera said. "As transportation is difficult, I rely on voting by mail.”
Having muscular dystrophy, she uses a wheelchair. She does not have a mailbox attached to her apartment, so her options are to pay for a car service that caters to people with disabilities, which can be costly.
"The only way I can vote under existing laws is by having my 75-year-old mom, who has mobility issues of her own, drive all the way to my apartment and assist me," she added, in a press release.
Kucera lives in Cuyahoga County, which at least has a drive-up ballot drop box. Other counties, like Franklin and Summit, do not.
"[Some people with disabilities'] county board of elections drop box isn't drive up and so they have to have someone drive them to the board of elections and then struggle to get to that drop box," Miller said.
No supporters of H.B. 458 could be found to go on record Thursday to talk about the lawsuit. However, Case Western Reserve University elections law professor Atiba Ellis explained why the restrictions were put forward in the first place.
"We are currently seeing lawmakers making legislation driven in part by the myth of voter fraud and they are overly restricting access to the ballot on this basis," Ellis said.
There have been a multitude of stories on Republicans who claim that the 2020 election was stolen or unsafe — and how "voter security laws" need to be strengthened. However, the only individual convicted of voter fraud in recent years in Cuyahoga County was a Republican attorney.
To reiterate, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud or ballot harvesting.
Lawmakers may argue that people with disabilities have plenty of opportunities to vote, Ellis said.
"The advantage of a drop box is that it's available 24 hours a day to let people vote," he said.
Republicans could also argue that there are enough people listed to vote, so people with disabilities don't need more, he suggested.
WCPO's sister station in Cleveland, WEWS, asked Gov. Mike DeWine about the lawsuit since he signed the legislation.
"Obviously, we don't want to have barriers for people to vote," DeWine said, noting that he hadn't seen the complaint. "We'll have to look at the lawsuit."
DeWine isn't listed as a defendant, but the official capacities of Sec. of State Frank LaRose, Attorney General Dave Yost and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley were.
LaRose's office declined to comment. Yost's didn't respond. O'Malley's responded.
O'Malley's office seems to be listed because Kucera lives in Cuyahoga County. The lawsuit is there to prevent the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office from enforcing the provision.
"The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office has not prosecuted anyone for a violation of this statute at this time," spokesperson Lexi Bauer said.
The prosecutor's team is reviewing the lawsuit, Bauer added.
"We note that Ohio law already provides that a disabled voter may have the assistance of a person of their choice in voting," she said. "Moreover, it specifically provides that disabled and hospitalized persons have the right to request and have ballots personally delivered by Board of Elections employees to them at their home or in the hospital for voting, and then to have those same employees return the ballots to the Board for counting."
