Gary Click and Jennifer Gross would like the political parties to be the gate keepers and decide who we can vote for. People are not beholden to political parties and are not required to officially pledge support for them. 

HB 210 would require voters to declare a party by December 31, before the next primary, to vote for candidates. You would have to do so before the candidates are even required to submit their petitions to run. This puts more control in the hands of politicians and less in the hands of the voters. 

The voter demographics of Seneca and Sandusky County are predominantly nonpartisan when voting in primary elections. The majority of voters do not wish to be controlled by a political party. This issue is not fixing a problem the voters of Gary Clicks precincts are experiencing. This is self serving for politicians and only benefits them. 

Gary Click thinks voters listening to candidates, understanding their words and actions, and using their vote, is “meddling”. He speaks about the problem with voters affecting outcomes while a political party is still “sorting things out” with their candidates. He assumes voters are familiar with each parties platform and stance on the big issues, so they should be able to decide which candidate to vote for purely based on party affiliation. This is over simplifying the election process. If that were the case, the political parties would internally select a candidate and then only hold a general election for the public. We don’t do this. And choosing a party before you know the candidates will have a negative impact on the voters ability to make the best informed decision. Again, he thinks the party is a gatekeeper to the voters. If someone wants to run, let them run. If voters want to vote for someone, let them vote. It’s really that easy. 

Politicians serve at the pleasure of the people. Not the other way around. Creating more laws controlling how people can vote does not help anyone but the politicians. Rep. Click and Rep. Gross claim this helps the honesty, integrity and security of our elections. It does no such thing. There is not one word in the bill that attempts to improve the security of Ohio’s elections. It’s just more lies. 

Watch their testimony here.

Tell your representative this bill is not needed. Or tell Gary Click rep88@ohiohouse.gov or Jennifer Gross rep45@ohiohouse.gov directly.

I made an easier way to see the changes in the bill here. It’s 97 pages with the additions and redactions scattered throughout. It’s not easy to digest. Hopefully this helps.