Representative Upchurch introduced House Bill No. 470 in the 136th General Assembly to create an automatic voter registration system that would use electronic records from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) and the Department of Medicaid to register or update eligible Ohio voters unless a person declines.

The bill would require the BMV and Department of Medicaid to transmit to the secretary of state, once per business day, electronic records for people who "appear to be eligible to register to vote or to update the person's registration." The transmitted data items are listed in the bill and include legal name, residence address, date of birth, a driver's license or state ID number (or the last four digits of the Social Security number), an indication of U.S. citizenship, and an electronic image of the person's signature.

Under the bill text, the secretary of state would forward those electronic records to the board of elections for the county where the person resides. County boards would review eligibility and, if the person is eligible, send a notice on a form prescribed by the secretary of state. The notice must state that the person will be registered or have the registration updated unless the person declines, explain how to decline or correct the information, identify the agency that provided the information, list the precinct where the person would be registered, and include a bolded statement about the state's photo identification requirement and provisional ballots.

The bill sets a procedural timeline: except in limited circumstances the board would register or update a person's registration not earlier than 21 days after sending the notice. If a nonforwardable notice is returned, the board must investigate; if an address cannot be verified the board would mark the person's registration record so that the first time the person appears to vote they would be required to provide identification and vote by provisional ballot. The bill also describes a confirmation-notice process and conditions under which a registration could be canceled after two federal elections if a person does not respond or vote.

H.B. 470 also directs the secretary of state to adopt rules to implement the system, including procedures to ensure only U.S. citizens who are eligible electors are registered through the system. It requires monthly public data reports on the secretary of state's web site listing the number of individuals registered or preregistered through the automatic system and the number who declined registration.

The bill amends many existing sections of the Ohio Revised Code that govern voter registration, provisional ballots, and election administration (the bill lists multiple sections by number). It includes provisions that reference federal laws and standards, including the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and requires the statewide voter database to meet federal HAVA requirements. The bill also preserves procedures for provisional ballots and cross-references existing Revised Code provisions that govern when a provisional ballot is counted and how boards should handle returned notices.

Section language in the bill includes additional administrative items: adoption of rules for removal of ineligible voters that comply with the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act, establishment of an Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator in the secretary of state's office, and requirements that boards and designated agencies participate in registration programs. The bill requires that monthly data about automatic registrations and declines be posted publicly on the secretary of state's website.

The text of H.B. 470 also contains repeal clauses. It names a list of existing Revised Code sections to be repealed and—separately—contains a provision that repeals section 3503.11 of the Revised Code. The bill text both enacts a new section 3503.11 describing the automatic voter registration process and, in a later section, states that section 3503.11 is repealed; the bill therefore includes both enactment language describing an automatic registration system and explicit repeal language for the same section.

Status: "As Introduced" (no committee referral or votes are specified in the text provided). The bill text lists Representative Upchurch as sponsor and several cosponsors but does not record legislative action, committee assignment, or a vote tally in the provided document.