MICHAEL D.

D OVILLA VERNE RIFFE CENTER

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Sponsor Testimony of Representative Mike Dovilla

Regarding Uniform Military and Overseas Voter Act (House Bill 224)
Before the House Committee on State Government and Elections
Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Chairman Mecklenborg, Ranking Member Gerberry and members of the House State
Government and Elections Committee, thank you for the opportunity to offer sponsor
testimony on behalf of House Bill 224, which Representative Stinziano and I introduced earlier
this month.

It is a special privilege to be able to join you from Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, Japan, where
it is early Wednesday morning. We’ve done some research, Mr. Chairman, and believe I am the
first sitting state legislator to offer sponsor testimony from across the world via Skype.

Each May, we recognize on Armed Forces Day those who serve the Nation in our
military and remember on Memorial Day those who have made the ultimate sacrifice on
behalf of our republic. Today, in addition to recognizing and remembering, we respect with this
legislation their ability to participate in one of our most important civic duties as Americans: the
right and responsibility to vote.

House Bill 224 would implement changes to Ohio’s Uniform Military and Overseas
Voting law to make it more accurately reflect recommendations made by the Federal Voting
Assistance Program. This legislation will make a number of important revisions to Ohio law.
Specifically, it would:

 permit a uniformed services or overseas voter to apply for an absentee ballot by e-mail
or through Internet delivery;
 require boards of elections to accept and process federal write-in absentee ballots for
all elections for federal, state or local office and for all ballot questions and issues;
 establish an emergency process for uniformed services and overseas voters to cast a
ballot if an international, national, state or local emergency arises that makes
substantial compliance with the federal absent voting law impossible or impracticable;
and
 permit a uniformed services or overseas voter to use the declaration accompanying a
federal write-in absentee ballot to apply to register to vote simultaneously with the
submission of the federal write-in absentee ballot.
 This legislation is just one of the ways we can honor the military members within our
communities. While these brave individuals are protecting our country and our families around
the globe, we have a duty to protect their ability to vote. Their willingness to defend our
freedoms, including at the ballot box, only underscores the importance of this effort to allow
their voicesto be heard in each and every election.

For me, this bill has personal significance. During my deployment to Iraq in 2007, I fell
victim to the current process for military and overseas voting when, through no fault of my own
– and despite a proactive effort to obtain a ballot – I was disenfranchised in that year’s
municipal elections. Since that time, I have vowed that if I were ever in a position to be able to
address this public policy challenge and prevent it from happening to others serving in uniform
overseas, I would do so. I am privileged to have that opportunity here in the legislature.

House Bill 224 has gained early bipartisan support from our colleagues throughout the
state, and I am particularly fortunate to have Representative Stinziano as my joint primary
sponsor. Given his experience as a former director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, he
is uniquely positioned to offer a much-needed perspective on the need for these important
reforms. At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would yield to my colleague to offer his sponsor
testimony, after which we would be happy to answer any questions the members of the
Committee may have. Thank you, again, for this opportunity to testify on our legislation from
more than 6,500 miles away.