Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law that restricts local and state officials from closing churches or other houses of worship and from changing election dates.
The legislation prohibits a public official from ordering the closure of all places of worship in a geographic area and changing the time, place, or manner of conducting an election, except in certain circumstances.
The law will take effect in mid-December. DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said that the governor agreed to enact the law curbing his own power to close churches because he never even contemplated taking such a step.
DeWine has been criticized for postponing the state’s March 17 primary election due to COVID-19 fears at the time.
Tierney said DeWine doesn’t want to change the election dates again, as state officials instead have to prepare for a potential rise in the number of novel coronavirus cases around the voting.
The new legislation states that “no public official shall cause an election to be conducted other than in the time, place, and manner prescribed by the Revised Code.”
Tierney told reporters — “At that stage, remember, the pandemic was emerging in March, and the situation on the ground changed very rapidly and unexpectedly. That was certainly a unique situation.”
The spokesperson added, “Moving forward, the virus will not have the element of surprise.”