FROM: Majority Floor Leader Bill Seitz

DATE: November 19th, 2020

RE: Nine Keys to an Election with Integrity
_____________________________________________________________________________

As widespread concern mounts over the validity of the 2020 election results, nary a peep
has been heard about the results in Ohio. This is for the very good reason that Ohio’s legislature
has enacted nine key provisions that ensure a fair and fraud-free count – and Secretary of State
Frank LaRose has faithfully executed the laws we have passed. Whether due to judicial
overreach, executive branch ineptitude, or legislative malpractice, other states do not follow all
nine of these safeguards, which opens the door for those who question the results to have
grounds for expressing their concerns. I do not contend that the presidential election results
should be overturned; I simply have no way of knowing whether the Trump campaign can prove
their claims in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, or Wisconsin. But I do claim
that the nine reforms we have passed in Ohio – virtually all of them over Democrat opposition,
and some of which we have had to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold – have proved crucial
in enhancing public confidence over the results.

1. Clean Voter Rolls

We regularly purge our active voter rolls to eliminate those who are deceased or
those who are inactive and fail to respond to postcard notices to update their
registrations. Other states have been very lax about maintaining clean voter rolls.

Why it Matters: Particularly in states that mail absent voter ballots to all
registered voters, having a dirty list enhances the opportunity for fraudulent returns.

2. Absent Ballots on Request Only

We do not mail unsolicited absent ballots to all registered voters. All are invited
to apply for an absent ballot, and all lawful requests are fulfilled, but we believe that
personal responsibility is not a dead letter in Ohio.

Why it Matters: Mail-in absent ballots to all registered voters greatly enhances
the opportunities for fraudulent returns, particularly if voter rolls are not kept clean
and up to date.

3. Secrecy Envelopes
In Ohio, every absent ballot must be inserted within a secrecy envelope that
contains the voter’s name, signature, address, date of birth, and either their Social
 Security number or driver’s license number. No ballots that are not safely placed in
the secrecy envelope are counted.

Why it Matters: The secrecy envelope is a critical piece of evidence to ensure that
the person casting the ballot is actually the registered voter to whom it was mailed. It
is a valuable safeguard against identity theft.

4. Signature Match
We require that the signature on the secrecy envelope of a mailed absent ballot
must match the signature on file with the board of elections that was used to achieve
voter registration. Some states have disregarded the signature-matching requirement.

Why it Matters: Requiring a signature match helps to ensure the voter casting the
ballot is the voter properly registered to do so, and not someone else.

5. Postmarks
We require all mailed absent ballots to bear a postmark of no later than the day
before the general election. In at least one state (Pennsylvania), the courts ruled that
postmarks were not required.

Why it Matters: Without a postmark, there is no definitive way of determining

whether the vote was cast in accordance with the statutory time limit by which absent
ballots must be returned.

6. Drop-boxes
We allow one drop-box per county, and it must be outside the county board of
elections office where it can be properly surveilled.

Why it Matters: Other states have allowed multiple drop-boxes, which increases
the cost of elections and the odds that they will not be properly supervised, with the
risk that we will never know who placed ballots in those boxes, and who may have
pilfered ballots out of those boxes.

7. Ballot Harvesting Prohibited

We prohibit ballot harvesting in Ohio. Only the voter or a close family member
may return the voter’s absent ballot.

Why it Matters: In other states, “community organizers” are permitted to

“harvest” ballots from perfect strangers and return them to the board of elections – or
not, depending on where the community organizers feel the votes would fall.

8. Absent Ballot Counting Procedures

In Ohio, all absent ballots and early votes received prior to Election Day are
counted immediately. We do not wait to begin the absent ballot count until after the
Election Day count has been performed.

Why it Matters: There is widespread suspicion that in those states that count the
Election Day results first, a dangerous temptation is created for fraudsters to know
exactly how many “absent ballots” they need to “find” in order to overcome the
 Election Day count. Such temptations are removed by counting the absent ballots
received on or before Election Day right along with the Election Day count.

9. Ballot Paper Trail

Ohio requires that there be a voter verified/voter marked paper trail to back up
any electronic vote count.

Why it Matters: States that are totally dependent on a computer count, with no paper
back up, make it almost impossible to know whether widespread computer error or
fraud tainted election results. Also in Ohio, it is required by law to conduct an audit of
every General election and these post-election audits are based on this paper trail.
Many other states do not do this.

It may be too late to do anything about the 2020 elections, but the other forty-nine states
would do well to make it a New Year’s Resolution to enact the nine provisions above so as to
restore confidence that their vote counts are as honest as are ours in Ohio.