Ohio House votes overwhelmingly to ban ranked choice voting in local elections

The Ohio House voted overwhelmingly to ban local governments from using ranked choice voting, sending the bill back to the Senate for a change before it goes to Gov. Mike DeWine. The ranked choice voting ban has both a Republican and Democratic sponsor, but the vote in both chambers has split largely along party lines.

Senate Bill 63, sponsored by Sens. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) and Bill DeMora (D-Columbus), passed the Senate 27-5 in May.

On the House floor, Rep. Sharon Ray (R-Medina) said the director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections testified he had serious concerns about ranked choice voting, specifically in terms of certifying when candidates are eliminated before proceeding to the next tabulated round.

"This process would delay election results substantially," Ray said, adding that it might be costly to update voting machines. “The ranked choice voting process creates confusion, delays and distrust in the process while burdening our election officials with the confusing system.”




https://www.statenews.org/government-politics/2026-02-25/ohio-house-votes-overwhelmingly-to-ban-ranked-choice-voting-in-local-elections?_amp=true