A new election law that faced being repealed this November by Ohio voters has instead been rescinded by members of the Ohio General Assembly.

Senate Bill 295 passed through the Ohio House of Representatives by a 54-42 vote Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

The bill essentially repeals House Bill 194 that would have overhauled much of the state’s election law.

Gov. John Kasich is expected to sign Senate Bill 295, which passed the Ohio Senate in March.

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said the action by the legislature means that Ohio’s election law is no longer in limbo and the potential for unnecessary voter confusion has been eliminated.

“Referendums determine if laws passed by the legislature should be upheld,” Husted said in an emailed statement. “With the law at the heart of the referendum on HB 194 having been repealed, there is no longer a question to place before the voters, and taxpayers will save more than $1 million in the process.”

One thing worth noting is Senate Bill 295 also reaffirms a change made last year in a separate bill that resulted in early voting ending on the weekend before the election.

Some Democrats wanted the referendum to appear on the ballot in November and were critical of the decision by the Republican-dominated Legislature.

They suggested because the bill made the additional change, the measure was not a “clean repeal”.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah