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Ohio House Democrats want the state to adopt an automatic voter registration policy, which they say will increase ballot access and voter participation.

(Lisa DeJong, The Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohioans would be automatically registered to vote when renewing their driver's license, signing up for public assistance or turning 18, under a bill introduced in the Ohio House.

Rep. Kathleen Clyde, a Kent Democrat, said voter registration should be easy and that automatically enrolling people would encourage higher voter participation.

"There are endless ways to use voter registration rules to deter and confuse voters, and we need to take away this weapon of voter oppression," Clyde said during a Thursday press conference.

Under House Bill 14, people would be automatically registered to vote if they've received veterans' or disability services or public assistance through the Department of Job and Family Services and when they get a driver's license or state ID card. Public and private school students would be registered when they turn 18.

Voters can already choose to "opt-in" and register to vote at state agencies. Clyde's bill would instead require voters to opt-out.

After registration, a voter would be "pending" for 21 days. During that time, the voter will be notified he or she has been registered and allowed to opt-out in-person or by mail.

Oregon is the only state to have a similar system. Five other states, including neighboring West Virginia, and the District of Columbia have recently passed automatic registration legislation.

Clyde said the change would add 1 million voters to the rolls. She said fraud is not a concern because the government databases already have several safeguards in place and voters' identities must be verified when they cast a ballot.

The idea is not new to the Ohio General Assembly and faces an uphill battle at the GOP-controlled Statehouse. Last session's version, also sponsored solely by Democrats, died after receiving only one hearing.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, opposes the idea. Spokesman Josh Eck said many people, including police officers and domestic violence survivors, do not want to register to vote to protect themselves. The secretary of state's office offers two programs to allow such citizens to vote without publicly disclosing their address.

"It's extremely easy to register to vote in Ohio and cast a ballot," Eck said. "We should be able to trust Ohioans to do so in their own way if they want to be registered."

Ohio launched online voter registration Jan. 1, after years of Husted and advocates asking lawmakers to approve the technology. Applicants' records are checked against state Bureau of Motor Vehicles records. Since then, 483 people have used the system.