Alarm bells are ringing at the League of Women Voters of Toledo-Lucas County.
The organization, founded in 1921, evolved from the suffrage movement giving women the right to vote.
“Here we are fighting for the vote again, 100 years later,” co-president Rosemarie Barciz told Toledo City Paper.
Proposed legislation at the federal and state level would require more documentation to register to vote. Barciz added, “I can only portray it as voter suppression.”
The SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in mid-April. However, a companion bill in the Senate is unlikely to pass. President Trump signed a similar executive order requiring additional documentation for voter registration. More than a dozen states are challenging that order in court on constitutional grounds.
Meanwhile, Ohio’s Senate Bill 153 mandates proof of eligibility for registering or updating voter information. Barciz noted that the changes would require voters to invest more time, money, and effort into casting their ballots. “Every time there’s a change in registration, (such as) your name or address changes, you’ve got to go back to the board of elections again and take those documents.” The League believes the proposal would make it more difficult to register new voters and to gather signatures for citizen petitions to change laws or amend Ohio’s constitution. It would also eliminate drop boxes for ballots. “They are putting obstacles in the way of exercising the right to vote. They are saying that you are going to have to go to the board of elections, which means that our group can no longer have table events and register people.”
The league contends the federal and state legislation and the executive order amounts to a solution in search of a problem. “Oh, definitely. Voting, especially in Ohio in the last election, I believe was 99.6% accurate. The few people who tried to vote who were not eligible were an error and not intentionally trying to vote as a non-citizen. Ohio just does not have that problem.”
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The League depends on volunteers and donations to help inform and educate the public on issues they consider crucial to democracy. The organization is non-partisan but not non-political. For example, members were present at the recent “Hands Off” demonstration. “We go with what the bill is, or the policies are regardless of what side initiatives or pushes it,” adds Barciz. “We are looking at how it affects voting rights. That’s our goal. We want to be sure that everyone has the right to exercise their vote.” Former LWV president Ann Fabizack-Payne acknowledges that the league’s advocacy mission may be misinterpreted. “We are a political organization…we are non-partisan but that doesn’t mean we are apolitical. We know it’s important so we’re always thinking…focus on the policy, not the person or the party but policy. That’s what we do.”
League Co-President Bonnie Bishop concedes it can be challenging in a hyper-partisan atmosphere to take positions on policies and issues. But it is a core value. “There are two sides to the league. Voter education, get people to vote, get poll workers. Then there’s the advocacy side, where we take positions on everything from health care, juvenile justice, we’re pro-choice and lately we have handed out cards in case ICE approaches. We have our fingers in so many areas.” That includes opposing the electoral college system. The league advocates for the choice of presidential elections based on the popular vote.
The League continues to seek members, volunteers, and donations to support its efforts and projects including internships and registration drives, educational forums and helping poll worker recruitment.
Barciz says the group is still optimistic. “We simply have to be. We can’t give up. We’ve come too far…but it is hard. It’s very hard. But without optimism, where are we?”
For more information and to become a member: https://www.lwvtoledo-lucascounty.org/
