From adding early voting sites to simplifying voter identification laws, there is consensus among academics, election officials and lawmakers about broad improvements Ohio should make to its election laws, a report released Wednesday found.
A story from the AP says, the report by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's law school provides a possible blueprint for legislative reforms before Ohio's next big election, in 2010. But the details are still likely to inspire partisan disagreements in the highly politicized realm of elections.
"For me, the surprise was that there was so much agreement on basic issues," said Larry Norden, the Brennan Center senior counsel who was asked by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to compile the reports from two elections summits she has held since last November.
Among the broad goals likely to be pursued by lawmakers:
_Increasing the number of early voting sites. During the November election, early voters could only go to county boards of elections, creating long waits in large counties.
_Automatically updating voter registrations when voters move, unless they specify otherwise. This would cut down on the large number of provisional ballots cast during Ohio's elections.