Lima Reporter

The Ohio House of Representatives has approved a piece of legislation aimed at broadening the scope of voter protests against primary candidates' declarations. State Representative Angie King (R-Celina) expressed her support for this legislative effort on Wednesday.

The proposed bill, known as the Data Analysis Transparency Archive (DATA) Act or Senate Bill 71, seeks to modify existing law by allowing any eligible voter in a general election to protest a party's nomination. Currently, only registered voters of a political party can lodge such protests. The focus of these protests would be limited to questioning a candidate's eligibility to hold office.

King previously sponsored similar legislation, House Bill 471, in the House. She emphasized the importance of the bill by stating, "This legislation would have helped to ensure that Ohio voters understand who they are voting for." She added that while there was insufficient time to pass this legislation during the current General Assembly session, there remains significant work ahead to uphold election integrity.

Under this new proposal, reasons for protesting a candidacy for political party nomination include:

- The individual is not a U.S. citizen

- The individual does not meet the minimum age requirement for office

- A candidate surpasses an applicable term or age limit

- An individual has been convicted of a crime

- An individual is already running for another public office

- Candidate noncompliance and failure to provide former name as required by law

Additionally, the bill proposes changes to parts of the Ohio Revised Code that would disqualify candidates from holding office if they fail to include their former name on official documents required for running.