Ohio governor 'reluctantly' signs bill eliminating grace period for late ballots

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The number of states that will accept late-arriving mail-in ballots during next year's critical midterm elections continues to dwindle, as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine “reluctantly” signed new restrictions into law Friday, citing the uncertainty of pending litigation to ban the counting of such ballots in his state.

President Donald Trump has also moved to eliminate the practice nationally.

DeWine, a term-limited Republican, had warned Ohio's GOP-led Legislature in 2023 that a sweeping package of election law changes he signed that year would likely be the last voting restrictions he would let past his veto pen. Election integrity in the state, he said, had been amply assured.

But, despite having reservations, DeWine on Friday signed legislation eliminating Ohio's four-day grace period for absentee ballots and making other voting changes.

“I believe that this four-day grace period is reasonable, and I think for many reasons it makes a lot of sense,” he told reporters. “Therefore, I normally would veto a repeal of this four-day grace period. And, frankly, that’s what I wish I could do.”

DeWine, though, said he his hand was forced, given the uncertain outcome of a Mississippi case that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide next summer. Justices have taken up the state's appeal after a panel of three judges nominated by Trump on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2024 that its law allowing ballots that arrive shortly after Election Day to be counted violated federal law.

“No one knows how the Supreme Court will rule," DeWine said. “However, if the court in late June upholds the 5th Circuit case and Ohio's grace period for counting late ballots is still in effect, the election situation in Ohio would be chaotic.”

Such a ruling would create one set of rules for state candidates and a different set of rules for federal candidates, the governor said. Ohio lawmakers would lack time to square the two in time for November ballots to be prepared, causing confusion for voters.

With his signature, the number of states accepting mailed ballots received after Election Day as long as the ballots are postmarked on or before that date has fallen to 14, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many states, including Ohio, continue to make exceptions for late-arriving ballots for certain eligible voters, such as overseas residents and U.S. service members and their families.

Democrats and voter advocacy groups in Ohio had urged DeWine to follow through on his earlier veto threat. They said the grace period bill also increases the number of sanctioned voter registration cancellations and forces more people to use provisional ballots.

“The bill puts thousands of voters at risk of having their ballots not counted simply because of mail issues, and it could cancel registrations for many, including women who might have changed their last names or newly naturalized citizens," Democratic state Rep. Christine Cockley said in a statement. "Our efforts should be on making it easier for people to participate in our democracy, not harder.”

Republicans continue to amend Ohio's election law despite post-election audits that show the state's results are routinely tallied to near perfection, including after the 2020 election whose results Trump continues to dispute.

The Election Transparency Initiative, a conservative election reform partnership, thanked DeWine for signing the bill.

“By passing SB 293, Ohio lawmakers stood with the majority of states nationwide in affirming that Election Day should be treated as Election Day — a commonsense standard that strengthens trust in our elections,” Ken Cuccinelli, the group's national chairman, said in a statement.