YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Voting rights advocates and organizations gathered Monday virtually to share concerns about the Ohio GOP backed proposal that would make changes to the state's voting laws.

They call a provision in House Bill 294 that would limit the number of days for absentee ballots to be requested by mail "problematic".

"The House bill is so over reaching and it turns the apple cart upside down as it relates to a smooth, accessible process," Jim Mallory said, president of the NAACP Cincinnati branch.

The ACLU of Ohio, All Voting is Local, Common Cause, League of Women Voters and Ohio Voice held a virtual press conference via Zoom to go over the proposal.

The groups are joining forces to help form the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition.

While the coalition likes that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles can update a voter information for inactive voters, they don't like the tightened time frames on absentee ballot requests and the usage of ballot drop boxes.

Cutting the window for a mailed absentee request from 10 days prior to Election Day to three they believe is too restrictive.

Mallory says it would prevent individuals who are incarcerated within that window of time from voting. He says everyone is innocent until proven guilty and they should have the right to vote.

League of Women Voters Executive Director Jen Miller argues it would also pose a problem for those who have to make a correct to their mail-in ballots.

"Those voters that wait for 10 days, who then have a deficiency in their mail in ballot, maybe they forgot to sign it or they couldn't read something, those voters have less time to cure," Miller said.

PROPOSED CHANGES

Here's a breakdown of some changes included in House Bill 294:

- Allows for Ohioans to register for an absentee ballot online with two forms of authentication.

- Allows for electronic bank or utility statements as secondary forms of I.D. at the polls.

- End in-person voting the Monday before Election Day.

- Shortens the window to request a mailed absentee ballot from 10 days to three.

- Limits the number of drop boxes to one per county or up to 3 boxes 10 days before Election Day. All boxes must be located on board of elections property.

HOW OHIO COMPARES

Ohio and Texas are currently the two states that are looking at changes after the 2020 election.

Ohio Republicans introduced House Bill 294 to the Ohio General Assembly on May 6. 

One of the proposals is similar to one recently adopted in Georgia. The cut off date for a mail-in absentee ballot in Georgia is 11 days prior to a primary, general or run off election. House Bill 294 is proposing 10 days.

Georgia is also limiting ballot drop boxes to one per county, unless that county has a population of more than 100,000 active registered voters.

The boxes must be located on board of elections property. The updated restriction is expected to cut down on the number of overall ballot drop boxes in that state.