King Supports Senate Voter Protest Legislation

COLUMBUS – The Ohio House of Representatives approved legislation to expand voter protest of a primary candidate’s declaration with the support of State Representative Angie King (R-Celina) Wednesday.

The Data Analysis Transparency Archive (DATA) Act, Senate Bill 71, would expand the law that currently only allows a registered voter of a political party to protest their party’s nomination to anyone that is eligible to vote in a general election, regardless of political affiliation. The legislation would limit the protest to a candidate’s ineligibility to hold office.

King sponsored similar legislation, House Bill 471, in the House.

“This legislation would have helped to ensure that Ohio voters understand who they are voting for,” said King. “This simple, yet important legislation ensures voters have a meaningful choice of candidates. Unfortunately, we ran out of time in this General Assembly to see this legislation through, but there is still much more work to be done to ensure election integrity.”

This legislation recodifies the reasons why a voter may protest candidacy for political party nomination:

• The person isn’t a U.S. citizen
• The person is not the minimum age to hold the office
• A candidate would exceed an applicable term or age limit
• A person has a criminal conviction
• Is already a candidate for another public office;
• Candidate noncompliance and failure to provide former name as required by law

The legislation also includes additional parts of the Ohio Revised Code that would exclude an individual from holding office if the candidate does not include their former name on their documents to run for office.

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State Representative Angie King was elected in November 2022 to the Ohio House of Representatives. She represents the 84th House District, serving residents of Mercer, Darke and Auglaize counties. For more information, Representative King’s office at rep84@ohiohouse.gov.