The Columbus Dispatch has the differences between the House and Senate versions:
• The House bill would move the presidential primary from March to May, while the Senate bill leaves it in March. “From my perspective, the primary in May makes sense because of the logistical problems of trying to do redistricting and reapportionment in such a tight time frame,” Niehaus said.
• Both bills would reduce the time for absentee voting by mail from 35 days to 21, but the Senate bill would start in-person early voting 16 days before the election, while the House sets it at 10 days.
• The Senate bill would allow full online voter registration. The House bill allows it for change of address only.
• To access the ballot, the Senate requires a minor political party to collect 0.25percent of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. The House bill sets it at 1 percent.
• The House bill would make it more difficult to prove poll-worker error and no longer require a poll worker to direct a voter to the correct precinct. The Senate did not address this.
• The Senate bill requires voters who choose to use their Social Security numbers for identification to use all nine digits. The House did not address this.
• The House bill would prohibit election observers from interacting with any precinct official. The Senate did not address this.
• The Senate bill would allow a vote to be counted if a voter mistakenly marks the ballot and also writes in the candidate’s name, if at least three members of the election board agree. The House bill would invalidate the vote.
• The Senate bill would allow the secretary of state to determine when a county election board should be placed under official state oversight. The House did not address this.
• The Senate bill would allow voters to use a United States passport as identification. The House did not address this.
• The Senate bill would require schools and governments to pay 70 percent of the cost of a special election in advance. The House did not address this.
• The House bill would prohibit turning away early voters who are already in line when the polls close. The Senate did not address this.
