On one side: Republicans, repealing an elections-law overhaul they crafted last year and still defend as good legislation.
On the other side: Democrats, fighting the repeal even though they dislike the law so much that they and their allies worked to get it on the November ballot where it could be overturned.
If Gov. John Kasich signs the repeal legislation, Democrats and progressive groups could file a lawsuit that adds more uncertainty to the mix.
For voters struggling to make sense of it all, know that Nov. 6 is still Election Day.
Republicans are taking the unprecedented step of repealing a law, House Bill 194, that is being challenged on the statewide ballot through a referendum.
Democrats argued that the bill, which passed the Senate weeks ago and cleared the House yesterday 54-42, is not a straight repeal because it still would not allow early, in-person voting on Saturday, Sunday and Monday before the Tuesday election. A true repeal would put the law back to the way it was before House Bill 194 was enacted, they say.
“We are going to be leaving it up to judges and not this body to determine what is a clean repeal,” said Rep. Michael Stinziano, D-Columbus, whose amendment to restore those three days of voting was defeated.
Rep. Louis Blessing, R-Cincinnati, said the bill is a clean repeal because the issue of those three days of voting was also addressed in separate legislation that passed after House Bill 194.
Blessing also noted that county election boards asked that voting end the Friday before Election Day to give them time to prepare. He said there is no reason not to repeal the law, a step that would save taxpayers an estimated $1 million in referendum-election costs.
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